Collège Champittet, is a private day and boarding school in Switzerland, on the edge of Lake Geneva – close to the centre of Lausanne and the Olympic Museum.  Founded in 1903, we are known as The Swiss School Open to the World and we have provided an outstanding education to both local and international students for over 117 years. We welcome day students as of 3 y.o. and we have a dynamic and vibrant boarding community, which caters for up to 80 girls and boys, aged 11 to 18.

Three diploma programmes are available at Collège Champittet:

– International Baccalaureate (IB), taught in English

– Bilingual Swiss Maturité

– French Baccalaureate

Students who would like to improve their French can take our intensive French immersion course – the FLE programme (French Foreign Language); students who need support in English, can benefit from the EAL programme (English as an Additional Language).

We strive to strike the perfect balance between formal education, sports, culture and leisure.  Various extra-curricular activities are offered after class and local and overseas excursions are planned during the year, with students’ interests in mind.

Each summer, during July and August, we offer the Champittet Summer Leadership Course: a residential course, for 11 to 16-year-olds.  The course was designed in collaboration with the renowned Swiss Leadership Academy and focuses on helping students develop the communication, organisational and teamwork skills that make for great leaders. English is the language of instruction for the Champittet Summer Leadership Course.

At Collège Champittet we work every day to inspire our students to be the best they can be and we are ambitious for all of them to achieve more than they thought possible in their personal, social and academic endeavors. This aspiration is underpinned by a commitment to always act with courage, ambition, integrity, respect and openness.

It is with our eyes turned towards the future that, together, teachers and staff pledge to give Collège Champittet the full measure of its particular spirit. We want to further reinforce academic excellence, and also build up confidence: confidence in our own capacities, as well as trust among our community.

Courses Offered

Collège Champittet welcomes students from preschool to 14th grade and teaches three specific diploma programmes: the Swiss Maturity, the French Baccalaureate and the International Baccalaureate.

Whichever of these programmes students decide to follow, our private high school experience is designed to prepare them to apply to some of the best universities in Switzerland and worldwide. Our Swiss private school supports them every step of the way as they solidify the skills and knowledge they will need to achieve their goals.

Our approach to teaching enables students both to learn, and to understand how they learn. It helps them develop into inquisitive and highly skilled lifelong learners. They develop the teamwork and leadership skills they’ll need to succeed in all their future endeavours.

Our French-English bilingual programme is also available in secondary school and becomes optional from the 9th grade. There are also two levels of German language teaching: standard and advanced.

Ideal Address for Education

We provide opportunities for students to build their skills, broaden their interests and participate in interactive team activities on an international and a local level. Our school offers a variety of extracurricular activities such as athletic programmes, arts, music, dance, skiing, languages and many others. Though these extracurricular activities, students bring their classroom learning to life and become connected to the larger community. Extracurricular activities provide a physical, social and mental outlet. They teach students to engage in active learning both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to after-school clubs, Collège Champittet hosts frequent outings that complement what students learn in class.

Our students benefit from collaborations with world leading organisations, such as: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who worked with us to co-develop our multidisciplinary STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Maths) program; The Juilliard School for the Performing Arts, with whom we developed our world-class performing arts program for our younger students; and UNICEF, with whom we work so that our children can use their knowledge to help tackle important, real-world issues. Finally, Nord Anglia’s bespoke Global Campus offers our older students the uniquely valuable opportunity to collaborate online and around the world with their peers from the other Nord Anglia schools across the globe.

We are running three terrific new programs available to all our boarding students:

• A proven leadership training program to build positive leadership skills for the 21st century
• In collaboration with the Lausanne Hotel Management School, our students will learn good manners and etiquette needed to function gracefully in any type of society
• The health & wellbeing of our students will be optimized thanks to our new program which includes personalized coaching

We educate the whole child – we want our students to achieve outstanding academic results but also to become confident, principled, respectful and open-minded young people who are ambitious for their future and who will make a difference in the world. Thus we enrich learning and encourage social responsibility through one of a kind opportunities, such as our humanitarian expeditions to Madagascar, Cambodia and Thailand as part of the Collège Champittet Foundation.

Beyond Traditional Curriculum

Our educational methodology equips students to harness their resources and find their own solutions. We also offer comprehensive tutoring programmes to assist students who need additional one-on-one attention. By the time they graduate, Champittet students will demonstrate technical competence and academic success.

Students learn best when they believe they can succeed. Collège Champittet faculty and staff employ a positive discipline mindset to encourage self-sufficient learners. Positive discipline is based on encouragement and helps teachers and staff members build a healthy, balanced relationship with students. We collaborate with our students and work together to find solutions, rather than using negative forms of discipline.

This collaborative approach helps students discover their skills and develop a sense of confidence and belonging. As they grow, this positive discipline shapes them into independent adults who are engaged within their communities.

Our students rise to the challenge. They’re innovators, problem-solvers and enthusiastic learners. For every student, it’s important to establish healthy study habits and encourage an optimistic attitude. Through learning support and after-school tutoring, Champittet helps promote student success in all endeavours.

Our programme is designed to provide one-on-one attention for students outside of class. Students are encouraged to have a vision beyond their assignments and grades by setting goals and identifying why they are attending school. After-school tutoring also encourages good time management skills and helps students set concrete goals for each day, week and month. Students have the opportunity to receive individualised support, ask questions and focus on their strengths and weaknesses.

An Environment Empowering Holistic Growth

At Champittet we have a dedicated Careers Counselling and Guidance Service, which supports all students from Class 9 to 14 with the decisions that they make regarding their secondary private education, examinations, preparing for university and career choices. A range of questionnaires and discussions are organised to help our students start to make decisions about their future. By understanding their likes and dislikes, talents, abilities and interests, we can work with them to understand which subjects and interests they should pursue and how best to do this.

Every year we organise university fairs to help our students choose the destination and their degree. We also have the Career Fair with our alumni who are now working in different organizations and companies in Switzerland such as the Red Cross, Edwards Lifesciences, Nestle, IUCN and others. We invite professionals in different fields such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, HR professionals, entrepreneurs, musicians, producers, journalists to presents to our students and inside of their profession and which path to take to reach it.

Our counsellor helps students with their applications to these different universities and destinations-  advising them on their application letters and essays, answering queries from universities on behalf of students, she also communicates with different university admissions officers all over the world and keeps them updated on student progress and on other matters pertaining to our students applications. 

We maintain excellent contacts with some of the world’s leading universities to help us give our students the best opportunities in life. We are proud that our students enter top universities in the world including EPHL (Switzerland), Bocconi (Italy), University of Toronto (Canada), UCL (UK), Kings College (UK), McGill (Canada), UNIL (Switzerland), EHL (Switzerland) and many others.