BEAU SOLEIL

Nothing could have prepared us for the stunning view of the Alps, from the classrooms at College Alpin International Beau Soleil or even how different the campus, ambience and overall character would be from the other boarding school we had visited. With countries like Italy, France and Germany as close neighbours, Beau Soleil, established in 1910, looks more like a resort than a school facility, located in Villars-surOllon, at an altitude of 1,300 m. Wrapped around the curve of a hillside with a campus area of around 15,000 sq m (an additional 30,000 sq m will to be added this year as part of an elaborate renovation). The school believes in making its students feel at home and takes extra care to make it happen in theory and practice as well. For instance, when they had an Indian student from a Delhi-based Jain family on board, they got the chef to train and perfect special cooking techniques to take into account the boy’s special meal requirements. Academics are important at Beau Soleil, but a lot of the focus is on outdoor pursuits, entrepreneurship, and the arts. Students have to take at least two extracurricular clubs per week and can choose from 30 to 40 different activities, including performing arts, expeditions or charity. During winter, skiing is the main sport with the slopes at an easy walking distance from the campus building. Fact File The school follows two academic programmes; the international section has English as teaching medium, whereas it is French for the French section Fee 98,500 CHF (`66 lakh) per year for boarding and tuition, plus 25,000 CHF (`16 lakh) for extras like skiing, uniform, expeditions, excursions, pocket money, and health insurance At Route du Village 1, CH1884 Villars-sur-Ollon Tel + 41 24 496 26 26 www.beausoleil.ch