College International Brillantmont

Brillantmont School was founded in 1882. This is one of the oldest educational institutions in Switzerland, a member of the Swiss Association of Private Schools, accredited by the "New England Association of Schools & Colleges" and the "European Council of International Schools".

Five generations of the family that founded the school worked tirelessly to create a favourable atmosphere for the development of students' personality, stimulating their intellectual, creative and sports activity. This family still runs the school, a warm family atmosphere is felt as soon as you cross the threshold of the school, and this is very important for children who come from afar.

Waiters serve children in the cosy dining room during meals, self-service is not accepted here. The founders of the school are convinced that breakfast, lunch and dinner are rituals when the whole family gathers at a table, communicates, relaxes in a calm and respectable atmosphere, becomes closer to each other.

Once a week, all students gather for a general assembly, where they listen to the latest news, announcements and are imbued with a common team spirit and desire to achieve their goals. Annually, children of 35 countries of the world study at the school.

Director (stand 2023)

Ann Frey, Education - University of San Francisco; Université de Lausanne; Master's degree in law; Université de St-Gall.

KEY FACTORS

• This is a very small, “home”, friendly school, as foreign children say who studied here for several years.
• Russian students are accepted in an amount of not more than 10% of the total number of students, and this figure includes all Russian-speaking nations of the CIS countries.
• Brillantmont School has an impeccable reputation both in the field of language teaching and in preparing students for admission to universities in all countries of the world. Each student is enrolled in the university at the school: filling out all the necessary papers and helping to choose the university itself.
• Every week, children are given no more than 100 francs for pocket expenses.
• The official language of communication at school is French, with emphasis on students learning at least two foreign languages.
• We visited this school and are familiar with the principal.

EQUIPMENT

Brillantmont School is located in the centre of Lausanne in a magnificent park of 15,000 sqm The school complex includes seven buildings and two sports grounds. There are also tennis courts. The college is well equipped with scientific laboratories, libraries with Internet access, a photo laboratory, a multimedia centre for learning foreign languages, and an art studio.

Despite the safety of the city of Lausanne, the school grounds are equipped with cameras that the school founders considered it necessary to have so that their parents do not worry.

Parents are given the opportunity to monitor the successes and lives of their children on-line: they are assigned a personal password, using which the parent can see the grades, attendance, health status, diligence of his offspring, today's menu, travel plan and news of the week. The school has a nurse and a doctor.

The convenient location of the school allows our students to walk to shops, post office and a bank in a few minutes. A school minibus will take them to the shores of Lake Geneva and the surrounding forests in 10 minutes. An hour-long trip will take the children to the winter - to the ski slopes of the world-famous alpine ski resorts. Under the supervision of experienced instructors, students will be able to practice skiing, for which Switzerland is an extremely favourable place.

PROGRAM

A stay at Brillantmont school is a high school program with compulsory French language instruction under the guidance of experienced teachers, a fascinating discovery of a new country in the warm atmosphere of an international team.

The school adheres to good British traditions in raising children and organizing school life. The difference from British schools, however, is the lack of school uniforms. However, a specific dress code is assumed.

For foreign students, ESL is provided - a special department that helps them learn English and gradually move to a class that is engaged in a school curriculum (studying more and more subjects as the language level improves). In addition, the assistant director Magda Bonetti, who speaks seven languages, including Russian, works at the school.

1) The American branch - preparation for entering American universities: High School program from 9 to 12 levels, including the highest 13 level (post-grade), SAT, IELTS - teaching in English.

2) English department - preparation for admission to all universities in the world according to the requirements of the "General Certificate of Education" program (IGCSE and A levels, Cambridge Board and IB). Teaching in English.

3) Department of Languages ​​- preparation for obtaining official diplomas in knowledge of languages ​​for admission to higher vocational schools. Teaching in the target language.

ACCOMMODATION

Pupils live in very comfortable rooms with home furniture, indoor plants, large windows, high ceilings and great views. As a rule, two people live in a room. Most rooms do not have amenities, but for every 2-4 people there is 1 shower room located next to the room. The rooms, as in most schools in Switzerland, never lock. However, there are lockers. As the children themselves say, nothing disappears: in Switzerland theft is not accepted.

Children over 15 years of age can freely go to Lausanne, warning their mentor. Upon return, everyone is tested for alcohol. Children are taught to be responsible for their actions: if you are 1-4 minutes late for a lesson or have not made a bed, you will have to write three sheets with the phrase “You must not be late” (and the like), as is customary in British schools. If the delay was 5 minutes or more, you have to stay at school on Saturday, every 30 minutes visiting a mentor who will have to sign that you are in place and are serving a sentence!

SPORT

On the school grounds, on specially equipped playgrounds, students, under the guidance of trainers, practice tennis, volleyball, basketball, athletics, and swimming.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

The concept of "better and better" - each student develops his intellectual, physical and creative abilities in order to become a harmoniously developed personality. The school encourages the participation of pupils in the cultural life of Lausanne: visits to museums, art exhibitions, national festivals and performances.

In addition, Lausanne is a half hour drive from Geneva Airport, from where you can reach Paris in an hour, in London and Barcelona in one and a half hours, and in Berlin in two hours. All this allows the school to organize weekend trips to these capitals, where students get acquainted with various currents of European culture and improve in the languages ​​they study.

The school also tries to involve children in society, to give, and not just to take and consume. Children periodically travel to Romania, where they help build homes for the poor or help the elderly.

COST, 2024-2025

CHF 90,500 - 103,500 per year (depending on age)

Included in cost

• Teaching
• Accommodation and meals
• School trips

Extra paid

• Registration fee - CHF 2,000
• Deposit - CHF 12,000
• Flights
• Transfers to / from the airport
• Visa
• Services of the company "Paradise"

SERVICES OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMPANY INCLUDE:

• Selection of 5-6 schools that best meet the individual characteristics of the child, further goals, talents, with the desired environment. Help in the correct interpretation of school ratings, an explanation of why the school occupies one place or another. Help in obtaining reliable information about schools that are not included in the ratings, with an explanation of the reasons for non-participation in it.
• Admission to 1-3 schools, selected from the proposed. Which includes the preparation of the necessary documents, school reports, characteristics, recommendations. Selection and submission of tests to prepare the student for exam testing, assistance in preparing essays. Preparation for an interview with the teacher / principal, registration for the exam. The necessary list of recommendations when attending school for passing entrance examinations. Correspondence with the school (not all schools enter into correspondence with foreign parents, treat them with caution, trust only a trusted agent).
• Assistance in paying registration fees, deposits, bills. Clarification of school rules, including disciplinary and legal aspects.
• Filling out the required medical forms.

Student supervision during the first month of training is provided as a gift: assistance in resolving issues related to resettlement, billing, informing parents about the child’s health status, assistance with understanding of academic programs, organization of ext. classes for the child in a particular subject, help in choosing the program most suitable for the child, transfer to another class, etc.

Impressions from a visit to the College International Brillanmont school

Natasha Strein
Founder of ‘’Paradise’’

I visited Brillanmont School today. Last time I was here was 8 years ago. Everything is stable, they just built a new gym and updated the dormitory rooms: parquet, spaciousness, a five-star frontal view of Lake Geneva ... It’s more like a solid Swiss sanatorium! The library is flooded with light, students at recess expose the faces of the still hot September sun on their balconies. Lunch will be on the terrace: everything, as in a luxury hotel.

The school is small, only 150 children, 100 live in the school. The same family has run the school for 5 generations. In a cosy dining room, everyone starts and finishes eating together: a joint meal is a ritual, communication, time when a family should get together. Adults sit with children and enjoy the conversation. As expected in a decent society.

There have been no problems with drugs and drinks for 7 years: a family atmosphere where everyone knows everyone makes it possible to constantly talk with children, preventing problems. The door of the director’s office is always open.

Chic interiors, magnificent garden. But the main thing is the children. Everyone is smiling, everyone is saying hello, modest and discreetly dressed. An ideal school for health, development without pressure, without scoliosis and myopia, good for quiet, "home" children, accustomed to comfort.