Alpine Adventure

Nestled on a sunny Swiss Alpine plateau surrounded by nature, you will ­find Préfleuri International Boarding School. James Matthews visited the prestigious school for an exclusive tour

Pré­fleuri is an exclusive international boarding school in the Swiss Alps that caters for children from 3 to 13 years of age. Since 1948, the school has been a loving home to many pupils, giving them the very best in education and sports, as well as life ethics. Pré­fleuri still upholds a strong tradition of care and education for children from all over the world.

Pré­fleuri teaches children to think independently, deeply and creatively, and is fully engaged in the new world society that is being born, offering children the possibility of becoming actors in a world where communication is the basis of all interrelation and evolution. The school is located in a traditional wooden chalet, situated in a private park of two hectares, surrounded by pristine woods and traditional farmland. Classes are small and teachers are specialists in one-to-one tuition. Sports, cultural and other extra-curricular activities complement the children’s’ experience of living in Switzerland. Pupils are also welcomed for Winter and Summer camps with intensive language courses. Préfleuri believes in child-centred education, emphasising the importance of the development of the whole person, as well as in the introduction of a foreign language at an early age. It’s with these aims in mind, that each pupil is guided and encouraged, step-by-step, towards gaining the self-assurance of being a responsible citizen of the future, positively shaping their own life. By discovering different cultures and customs, pupils acquire an openness that will stay with them for life.

At Pré­fleuri learning English and French is a priority. Asian students naturally become trilingual. Bilingualism at Pré­fleuri means keeping one’s roots, one’s culture, whilst becoming receptive to differences. The academic programme follows official English and French curricula; in addition to providing teaching of mother languages such as Chinese, Japanese or Russian. The school believes that young people who graduate from their educational institution are fully equipped to cope not only with challenging secondary education environments, but also the demands of a fast-changing world.

www.pre­fleuri.ch