Boarding school life
What is it like living at our boarding school?
The Ecole d’Humanité is a small and welcoming international high school. Everyone finds a place at the Ecole, and there is a place for everyone. We live in rustic, Swiss-style chalets in small co-ed groups of six to ten students. Our boarding school dorm rooms are simple, yet cozy, featuring incredible views of the mountain landscape. Most students live in double rooms together with a roommate.
Living at a boarding school is a dynamic experience, and our campus is energetic and full of life! Ecolianers spend their mornings deeply engaged in academic study, while afternoons are packed with enrichment activities as part of our co-curricular program. We offer a wide array of co-curricular courses, including outdoor activities, studies in music and the arts, and opportunities to learn practical skills like woodworking or weaving in one of our handcraft workshops.
Our weekly rhythm is shaped with intention to help nurture a sense of community and belonging. Students and and their family heads enjoy meals together in our dining hall. We have several weekly Family and school-wide activities that bring us together, strengthening bonds and enhancing connections.
Boarding School Dorm Life at the Ecole d’Humanité
The Ecole d’Humanité is a small private boarding school in Switzerland offering a progressive education, and community is one of our most important values. We know that students thrive when they have a sense of belonging and an encouraging, caring group of people around them. Ours is a tight-knit school where differences are celebrated, and fun and togetherness are a priority. Students live in small, supportive Family groups of six to ten young people and two or three Family Head teachers who offer regular check-ins, a listening ear, or a celebratory high five.
The Ecole Rhythm
We are a bold, dynamic, and vibrant international school. As a progressive and holistic boarding school, the Ecole d’Humanité encourages our students to invest time in intellectual, creative, social, and athletic pursuits. Equally, we encourage students to experience nature, spending time in the majestic landscape of the Swiss Alps. Our mornings are devoted to diving deeply into academic subjects in small, focused classes. The afternoons are spent exploring artistic, athletic and social interests in our co-curricular program. Evenings are reserved for homework, social activities, and time together with Ecole Families.
Weekends
Weekends are balanced with studying and fun. Saturdays start off with a big putz - a campus-wide cleaning session. Then we meet for Singgemeinde - an all-school singalong - followed by two academic courses. Activities are held in the afternoons, when teachers and students organize ‘offers’, inviting community members to bake a cake together, head to the skatepark, enjoy a movie, or play an epic game of capture the flag. In wintertime, many students spend Saturday afternoon at the ski resort located just a few minutes’ walk from our campus.
On Sundays our students enjoy a sleep-in followed by a traditional Swiss brunch. Afternoons are free for study, activities, socializing, or skiing. The school comes together on Sunday evenings for Andacht, where we explore a topical theme or current event in a school-wide meeting led by students and teachers. The day closes with a Family Meeting and preparing for the week ahead.
Boarding School Rules at the Ecole
At the Ecole d’Humanité, we believe in freedom and limits. Our students are given a wide range of possibilities for academic and personal development, self-expression, and exploration within the boundaries of our boarding school rules.
We do not use drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. A proven Intervention Concept helps students to remain aware of the consequences of the choices they make.
“Our deepest need is for community and significant relationships to other people, and that’s what the Ecole offers. We know that it takes a village to raise a child; it also takes a whole community of common values for young people to become secure in themselves. That's what happens at the Ecole, and it then becomes easier for those young people to go out into the world and change it.”
- Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed, Former Student and Teacher, Author and Public Speaker
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