Switzerland · Montagnola

TASIS Switzerland, an American hill above Lugano, not Beloura and not Zurich

The oldest American boarding school in Europe sits on the Collina d’Oro above Lugano, not on Lake Geneva and not in Sintra. Boarding starts at Grade 6. The 2026–27 table prints francs. Time the funicular hill, not Bahnhofstrasse.

externat et internatmixteRecherché 01/09/2026

Site officiel Lugano Suisse guide

Ce portrait est encore en anglais. Les autres langues arrivent école par école.

Programme tel que l’école le publie:American college-preparatory curriculum · US High School Diploma · Advanced Placement · IB Diploma Programme

Langues d’enseignement:English, Italian with English in Grades 1–9

TASIS The American School in Switzerland is a co-educational day-and-boarding school at Via Collina d’Oro 15, 6926 Montagnola, on the hill above Lugano. Official site tasis.ch. The glance page says M. Crist Fleming founded it in 1956, that it is the oldest American boarding school in Europe, and that Christopher Nikoloff is Head. Switchboard +41 91 960 51 51. Admissions: admissions@tasis.ch.

It is not TASIS Portugal in Quinta da Beloura. Same family name. Different country, different hill, different bill. It is not Institut Le Rosey on the lake, not Aiglon in Chesières, and not a Zurich hub card.

Day pupils from Pre-Kindergarten (age 3) through Grade 12 and a postgraduate year. Boarding from Grade 6 through PG. The glance page’s snapshot: 740 students — Elementary 205, Middle 125, High School 410 — of whom 258 board and 482 are day; 69 nations. The fees page still markets 737 and “60% boarding in the high school.” Treat those as the school’s own photographs, not a census we counted.

The useful questions are: Do you want an American diploma with AP and an optional IB Diploma, on a Ticino hill? Is this child a day pupil from Lugano, or a boarder from Grade 6? And have you added the Campus Enhancement Fund — CHF 5,000 once, from Grade 1 — because it sits beside the annual line.

Who it is for

Families who want an English-medium American week in Italian-speaking Switzerland, with beds on the same hill from Grade 6, or a day commute from the Lugano side.

The glance page says Grades 1–9 include bilingual English and Italian “in accordance with Cantonal requirements.” From 10–12, English is the primary language of instruction. Ask how much Italian a shy eleven-year-old actually meets after lunch, not only what the canton requires on paper.

The academic profile (2025–26) names a college-preparatory programme with IB and AP, a liberal-arts habit, community service, and academic travel. High-school students, it says, complete at least 19 credits and sit at least five full-credit courses a semester. The viewbook says more than 15 AP courses, or the IB Diploma. We will not invent which groups run this year.

Accreditation the glance names: CIS and NEASC.

It will not suit a family hunting a Swiss Matur in Zug, a Geneva lake day campus, or the Portuguese TASIS in Sintra. Walk those houses if that is the climate.

The campus you can actually picture

Collina d’Oro — the Hill of Gold — in Montagnola, lake below, mountains above. The glance page times it 10 minutes from Lugano airport and station, one hour north of Milan, two hours south of Zurich. Time that last number in January before you treat Zurich as a Tuesday.

25 buildings, 9 dormitories, the glance says. Elementary has its own classroom buildings, science labs, dining halls and playgrounds, and shares gyms and a theatre with the main campus. Boarding packing lists go to the same street: Via Collina d’Oro 15.

This is Ticino, not the lake of diplomats. Sunday evening on the hill is a different childhood from Rolle or Chesières.

How a child actually gets in

Applications are considered through the year. The home page invites a visit. Write admissions. We will not invent a CAT4 cutoff, a closing date, or a waitlist.

Money, as the 2026–27 tuition page and PDF print it

Annual tuition

Path	2026–27
Boarding, Middle and High School (all-inclusive)	CHF 106,500
Day, Grades 9–12 and PG	CHF 55,000
Day, Grades 7–8	CHF 49,000
Day, Grade 6	CHF 44,200
Day, Kindergarten–Grade 5	CHF 34,000
Day, Pre-Kindergarten (ages 3 and 4)	CHF 29,000

The boarding year, the PDF says, covers what is needed for the academic programme, EAL if applicable, meals, laundry, academic travel, and mandatory Swiss health and accident insurance for boarders. That insurance, the school says, is only valid while the child is in TASIS care. It does not replace a family policy. Confirm on the live sheet what a day invoice still adds for lunch.

One-off

Fee	Amount
Application	CHF 1,250, not refundable
Enrolment deposit	CHF 3,000
Campus Enhancement Fund, from Grade 1	+CHF 5,000, one time
Graduation (seniors)	CHF 350

Payment. One instalment: 100% by 1 July. Two instalments (full year): 70% by 1 July, 30% by 15 November. Four instalments (full year): 25% on 1 July, 1 September, 15 November, 1 February. Wire to UBS Lugano; the student’s name must be on the transfer. Cash accepted up to CHF 300. Credit-card link: tasis.ch/admissionspayment.

We will not invent a sibling rebate the pages we opened do not print.

What we are not claiming

We are not ranking TASIS against Rosey, Aiglon, or Montana. We are not putting this house on the Zurich hub. We are not calling Montagnola a Geneva suburb. We are not treating 740 students or a 6:1 ratio as a league table. We are not confusing this hill with TASIS Portugal.

Stairs questions

Ask whether this child is entering Pre-K, Grade 6 boarding, or a postgraduate year. Ask how Italian the corridor is after Grade 9. Ask what the all-inclusive boarding line still invoices on top — exams, flights home, the ski week. Time Montagnola on a Sunday evening if you are buying a bed, and on a wet Tuesday if you are buying the day gate.

The Lugano hub is the short map. TASIS also sits on the boarding page. The Switzerland country page is the wider one.