Switzerland · Geneva and Vaud
Ecolint is a day school for ages 3–18. “Private” here means a foundation with published fees, not a château. Read which campus offers which diploma before you fall in love with the lake view.
Dieses Porträt steht noch auf Englisch. Die anderen Sprachen kommen Schule für Schule.
Curriculum laut Schule:IB PYP, MYP, DP and CP at Campus des Nations · Universal Learning Programme and IB DP at La Grande Boissière · PYP, MYP-aligned Years 7–9, then IGCSE and IB DP or Swiss maturité fédérale at La Châtaigneraie
Unterrichtssprachen:English, French
The International School of Geneva — Ecolint — is a not-for-profit foundation and a day school for ages 3 to 18. The English homepage calls it the world’s first international school, founded to serve a bilingual, globally minded community “accessible to all children from Switzerland and beyond.” A school for peace is their phrase. IBO records, on its own key-facts page, that the Diploma Programme was created by teachers at the International School of Geneva, with help from other international schools. That is history, not a ranking.
It is large. The homepage currently prints 4,450 students on three campuses, 140 nationalities and 80 home languages. Add the campus pages and you get the split they want you to see: La Grande Boissière 1,800, La Châtaigneraie 1,560, Campus des Nations 1,090. The Foundation’s accounts, in the annual report hosted on the useful-documents page, say 4,509 children at the end of June 2025 (4,520 a year earlier). Treat those as official snapshots, not a headcount we did in the playground.
There is no boarding house. The financial conditions are explicit: students must live with their parents or a close relative who can be named legal guardian. If that is not true, the school can end the contract. A posting that has not found a flat is not solved here.
The useful questions are: Which campus still has a chair in the year you need? Which diploma does that campus actually offer? Can this child work in English, French, or both? And can you pay the one-time fees as well as the tuition — plus lunch, bus, and the extras the PDF lists as not included?
Ecolint calls itself non-selective and inclusive. The admissions page says every child deserves the chance to learn, belong, and excel, and that the school works with families to make that real. That is a philosophy, not a promise that every file is offered a place. Places are finite. The process page says the earlier you apply, the better your chances.
It is a Geneva–Vaud day school for families who can do the commute: central Geneva (La Grande Boissière), the international quarter at Grand-Saconnex and Pregny (Nations), or Founex in Vaud, about twenty minutes from Geneva (La Châtaigneraie). Many Nations families, the campus page says, work at the UN, the ILO, the WHO and nearby missions. That is a neighbour story, not an admissions quota we were given.
Children must be toilet-trained before they start. The first six weeks are probationary. In that window the school can cancel the contract if it decides it cannot offer the education the child needs. Principals may extend probation. Class on the contract is provisional. If the file you sent was thin or wrong, the place can be pulled.
Learning support exists on all three campuses. Students with moderate to complex needs may be offered the Extended Support Programme (ESP) — “a few students,” limited places, and double tuition. Additional support beyond the general programme can also be charged on top of regular fees. This is in the contract. Bring the current reports to the first meeting and ask whether Ecolint can staff what your child actually needs — and at which campus.
It is not a school for a child who will live with a host family the office has not accepted. It is not three identical diplomas with different postcodes.
La Grande Boissière — 7, rue Marie-Thérèse-Maurette (formerly Route de Chêne 62), 1208 Geneva. Wooded grounds, an 18th-century château, arts and sports centres, STEM, libraries. Primary, Middle and Secondary on one site. The campus page prints 1,800 students, 88 nationalities, 19 languages taught to over 200 students. Secondary alone is 870 students aged 13–18. Current campus and Secondary principal named there: Jonathan Halden.
Campus des Nations — two sites. Pregny (14, route de Pregny, 1292 Pregny-Chambésy) for Pre-Reception to Year 3. Saconnex (11, route des Morillons, 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex) for Years 4–13: purpose-built classrooms, performing arts, sports hall, cafeteria. The campus page prints 1,090 students, 181 teaching staff, 90 nationalities, 15 World Languages, and a 100% IB Diploma pass rate in 2022 — one year, their figure. Current campus and Primary principal named there: Isla Gordon.
La Châtaigneraie — 2, chemin de la Ferme, 1297 Founex, Vaud, about twenty minutes from Geneva. The campus page prints 1,560 students, 82 nationalities, 500 in the Music School each year, and a 98% IBDP pass rate over five years. Secondary also prints 1,050 students aged 11–18. Current campus and Secondary principal named there: Soraya Sayed Hassen.
After School Care runs to 18:00 where offered. Cafeteria and buses are extra; grids below. Ask to see a year-group corridor, not only the château or the UN view.
Do not assume every campus is the same diploma.
Campus des Nations is the IB continuum campus: Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme, Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme. Instruction is “primarily in English, with strong emphasis on French.” If you want the four IB programmes under one roof, this is the campus that says it offers them.
La Grande Boissière runs a Universal Learning Programme (ULP) — created on campus, they say — through the middle years, then the IB Diploma in the final two years. Secondary: Years 9–11 on the ULP, Years 12–13 on the DP. Most subjects at all levels are offered in English and in French; students can choose the language of instruction in almost any subject. “À la carte bilingualism” is their phrase. School hours on the Secondary page: Years 9–11 08:15–14:50 or 15:35; Years 12–13 08:15–14:50, 15:35 or 16:20.
La Châtaigneraie is bilingual French/English for everyone up to Year 9. Years 7–9 follow a curriculum aligned with the IB MYP; the live Secondary page still says the school is working toward full MYP accreditation — do not call it a finished IB MYP authorisation unless the live page has changed. From Year 10 a child chooses: the anglophone IGCSE then IB Diploma, or the francophone Swiss maturité fédérale (also available as a bilingual qualification depending on options). This is the only Ecolint campus that offers the Swiss national secondary diploma. Hours: Years 7–9 08:20–14:55; Years 10–13 08:20–16:30 (Friday 08:20–14:55).
Pre-Reception has two shapes: “light” (mornings and two afternoons) and “regular” (same hours as other Primary classes). Regular is not available at La Châtaigneraie because of cantonal Early Years staffing rules. The choice is locked for at least a term; changes need a month’s notice before the end of term.
Holiday camps for ages 3–13 run Monday–Friday, 08:00–17:30, on Geneva and Founex campuses. That is camp, not term.
English and French are the working pair. How they pair depends on the campus.
At La Grande Boissière, almost every subject can be taken in either language — ask how a child with school French and kitchen English is placed in Year 8 science. At La Châtaigneraie, bilingual life is the default to Year 9; then you choose an anglophone IB road or a francophone maturité road. At Nations, English leads; French is emphasised. World Languages tutorials are not inside tuition; rates come from school secretaries.
All files go through a central Admissions office (admissions@ecolint.ch, +41 22 787 26 30), not a campus secretary acting alone. Applications are online, any time, for the current year or later years. Mid-year entry is possible until 1 May if a seat exists.
What to upload, from the process page:
Principals look at present-school placement, how often the child has already moved, languages, “final goals,” maturity and age (exceptions case by case). They may ask for more information or to see the child. Toilet training is a hard line.
September offers go out from February to the end of August, by phone or email. Accept, sign the contract, and pay the registration fee and the Capital Development Fund fee within 15 days or the contract is cancelled.
Campus tours run on published weekday slots. Use them. Three campuses can look like one brand from the car park and still be the wrong Tuesday.
The Board’s numbers sit on the tuition page and in the General & Financial Conditions 2026–2027 PDF. They will move. Confirm the live PDF before you budget.
One-time costs (new children, or returners after two years or more)
| Fee | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Application (non-refundable, non-deferrable; per child) | CHF 250 |
| Registration | CHF 2,500 |
| Capital Development Fund (once, not re-charged after a long absence) | CHF 4,000 |
Registration and CDF are non-refundable and due with the signed contract.
Annual tuition 2026/27, and the four instalments
Tuition is a full-year commitment. Pay 20% / 30% / 30% / 20% on 30 June 2026, 31 August 2026, 31 December 2026 and 31 March 2027. Mid-year joiners are pro-rated from October on the start date agreed at contract. Books and teaching materials are included. Re-enrolment advance: CHF 1,000 per child, due with the re-enrolment contract by 15 February 2026, deducted from the first instalment, kept if the child does not return.
| Class | Annual | 30 Jun (20%) | 31 Aug (30%) | 31 Dec (30%) | 31 Mar (20%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Reception light (mornings + 2 afternoons) | 20,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 |
| Pre-Reception regular* | 23,000 | 4,850 | 4,850 | 6,400 | 6,900 |
| Reception | 24,000 | 4,800 | 7,200 | 7,200 | 4,800 |
| Classes 1–4 | 28,160 | 5,630 | 8,450 | 8,450 | 5,630 |
| Classes 5–6 | 29,550 | 5,910 | 8,865 | 8,865 | 5,910 |
| Classes 7–9 | 33,560 | 6,710 | 10,070 | 10,070 | 6,710 |
| Classes 10–11 | 35,290 | 7,060 | 10,585 | 10,585 | 7,060 |
| Classes 12–13 | 36,540 | 7,310 | 10,960 | 10,960 | 7,310 |
*Regular Pre-Reception is not offered at La Châtaigneraie. Its instalments are adjusted for term-based invoicing, which is why they do not match 20/30/30/20 exactly.
Extended Support Programme: double the tuition above.
Not inside tuition, from the same PDF: an annual Capital Development Funding of CHF 500 (capital cost and equipment — this is listed separately from the one-time CHF 4,000 new-student CDF); World Languages and other tutorials; IB and Swiss maturité exam fees; study trips, field week, winter sports; transport; restaurant; extra-curricular activities; anything else not in the mandatory programme. Each campus publishes a summer calendar of activity costs.
Late instalments can draw up to 1.25% per month. Unpaid invoices can mean no class, no final exams, and withheld diplomas, reports and transcripts.
Withdrawals. Any started term is due. Written notice to Admissions (email, registered post, or the online form), with an exact leaving date:
| Notice received | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Until 30 April 2026 | None (non-refundable fees stay gone) |
| 1 May–15 June 2026 | 15% of annual tuition |
| 16 June–31 July 2026 | 25% of annual tuition |
| 1 August–30 September 2026 | 1st term |
| 1 October–31 December 2026 | 1st and 2nd terms |
| From 1 January 2027 | 100% of annual tuition |
A February leaving date announced before 30 September is still billed for terms 1 and 2. Extra services (ECA, transport, cafeteria) are generally a full-year forfait; exceptions for relocation with three months’ written notice before the next term, or illness of two or more consecutive months with a medical certificate. After School Care flat rates are never reduced.
Multi-child discount (ask; renew each year; no back-dating): 10% third child, 15% fourth, 20% each further child. An ESP student counts as two children for that rule. Bursaries are for families already at Ecolint who hit temporary difficulty — one year, funds limited, forms from Finance or bursaries@ecolint.ch. This is not a new-applicant scholarship scheme.
Lunch cards 2026/27 (SV Group; VAT extra; 4-day = Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri). Not every option exists on every campus.
| Group | 4-day year | 5-day year |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Reception (2 days) | — | 470 (that is the 2-day line) |
| Pre-Reception–class 2 | 920 | 1,165 |
| Classes 3–6 | 1,225 | 1,550 |
| Classes 7–9 | 1,685 | 2,130 |
| Classes 10–13 | 1,915 | 2,430 |
School buses 2026/27, five zones per campus, door-to-door is not offered. Minimum age 5 (or turning 5 during the year). Book by 31 July for a normal chance at a seat.
| Zone | Round trip year | One way year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3,505 | 2,625 |
| 2 | 3,740 | 2,800 |
| 3 | 3,855 | 2,895 |
| 4 | 4,090 | 3,070 |
| 5 | 4,440 | 3,330 |
Zone maps are in the PDF (LGB Champel-to-Versoix; Châtaigneraie Founex-to-Geneva and the Pays de Gex; Nations Grand-Saconnex-to-Nyon and parts of France). Long routes may cost extra. Children living in France need the usual AST paperwork.
A first-year class 7 is not “about CHF 34,000.” It is application + registration + CDF + tuition — CHF 40,310 — before the annual CHF 500 capital line, lunch, bus, ski week, World Languages, or ESP. If a company pays, the parent is still the person on the contract.
Keep the campus in the sentence.
The IB Diploma is the portable one, offered at all three campuses in the final two years. Six subjects, TOK, Extended Essay, CAS. Campus pages print pass-rate sentences (Nations 100% in 2022; LGB 98% over five years; Châtaigneraie 98% over five or, on the Secondary page, three years). Those are the school talking about itself. We are not forecasting your child.
The IB Career-related Programme exists at Nations. Ask what the career-related piece is this year before you assume it is a lighter Diploma.
IGCSE at La Châtaigneraie is the anglophone bridge through Years 10–11 into the DP, not a leaving certificate that replaces the Diploma for most university doors.
The Swiss maturité fédérale is only at La Châtaigneraie, from Year 10, in French or as a bilingual diploma depending on options. It is the national secondary diploma, accepted by Swiss universities and, the campus says, universities worldwide. It is not the IB. If you might later need a Swiss-looking document, this is the conversation to have in Year 9, not in April of Year 11.
The Universal Learning Programme at LGB is the school’s own middle-years framework. It is preparation, not a second diploma.
IB and maturité exam fees are extra. Subject options can be cancelled if too few students sign up.
Ask which campus still has a seat in this year group, not “at Ecolint.” Ask how bilingual placement works for a child who is strong in one language and shy in the other. Ask how many Year 12s at this campus are on the full Diploma, the CP (Nations), or the maturité (Châtaigneraie). Ask what the six-week probation has meant in practice this year. Ask whether ESP or extra support would apply, and what that does to the bill. Ask what happens if the posting ends in March (read the withdrawal table: from 1 January the whole year is due). Ask to see Year 5 and Year 10, not only the château.
If you might stay in Switzerland, ask the maturité question twice: once for Swiss public universities, once for a later move. The campuses have already told you they are not the same document.
We are not saying Ecolint is the best school in Geneva. We are not guessing a waitlist. We are not inventing a 2027/28 fee. CIS re-accredited the International School of Geneva on 31 March 2022; that is the CIS news page. Confirm the live accreditation story, because those cycles move. Homepage and campus headcounts do not perfectly match the June 2025 accounts; we reported both.
Read the current General & Financial Conditions and write to admissions before you resign a flat in another country. This is a map. The school still has to be the right Tuesday — and the right campus.
Offizielle Seiten und Dokumente, die wir gelesen haben. Wenn eine Zahl für Budget oder Bewerbung zählt, öffnet den Link und prüft, ob er noch gilt.
Freundliche Orientierung, kein Antrag. Termine, Gebühren und Programme ändern sich. Alles bei der Schule prüfen.
Genf ist UN-Wetter und eine französischsprachige Stadt. Die Schule, die man zuerst meint, sind oft drei Standorte, kein Schloss. Lest, welcher Campus welches Diplom anbietet, bevor ihr euch in die Aussicht verliebt.
16 minDie Buchstaben auf dem Abschlusszeugnis zählen. Sie sind nicht das ganze Kind. So unterscheidet ihr sie ohne Kopfschmerz — und ohne so zu tun, als bliebe jede Tür offen.
16 minIhr braucht keinen perfekten Algorithmus. Nur ein paar wahre Dinge über euer Kind, eine langweilige Liste am Kühlschrank — und den Mut, einen schönen Campus zu ignorieren, der nicht passt.
15 minDas Schulgeld ist die Zahl auf der Startseite. Das PDF ist die Zahl, die im März kommt. Hier steht, wie ihr die zweite lest, ohne einen Euro, eine Krone oder eine Frist zu erfinden.