Switzerland · Villars
Aiglon combines English-medium study with boarding and regular mountain activities. Choose it for that complete programme, and confirm the day-place rules and full cost for your child’s entry year.
Aiglon College suits a family seeking English-medium boarding in which outdoor education is a regular commitment, not an occasional trip. Its curriculum, residential routines, meditation and expeditions belong to the same educational programme. A child’s willingness to participate matters alongside academic preparation; any health, mobility or learning-support needs deserve an individual discussion.
The school is in Chesières, above Villars-sur-Ollon at about 1,200 metres, at Avenue Centrale 61, 1885 Chesières. Aiglon estimates the journey from Geneva airport at about 1.5 hours. The Chesières – Aiglon College bus stop is next to the school.
Boarding starts in Year 5. The youngest entry point needs confirmation: current programme labels begin at Year 2, age 6, while the junior director’s text still describes day entry in Years 3–4. The site also retains older age descriptions. Ask admissions which entry year is available for your child.
Do not interpret the Years 3–4 statement as a ban on older day pupils. The 2026–27 Guide explicitly gives routines for day pupils in Years 5–8 and Senior School. They belong to a house, the school’s residential and pastoral group, even though they sleep at home. Confirm availability and attendance requirements for the intended year.
Aiglon describes admission as selective but not based on a conventional score threshold. It considers academic readiness and its principles of challenge, respect, responsibility, diversity and service.
Junior School has occupied the upper campus since 1991 and is led by Stuart Hamilton. The youngest pupils are accompanied by teachers around the wider site. Junior boys live in La Baita and junior girls in La Casa. Each house has a resident houseparent, an assistant and a teaching tutor team.
The website labels junior houses ages 6–13 and senior houses ages 14–18, with separate boys’ and girls’ houses. Names include Delaware, Le Cerf, Exeter and Alpina. Ask which house is appropriate for the pupil’s year and whether preferences can be considered. A single room, a particular house or holiday accommodation should not be assumed.
The Guide gives these arrival arrangements:
An exeat is an authorised weekend away with a parent, guardian or responsible adult. Families living abroad should establish the permitted number and the arrangements for local supervision and travel.
Pupils change roommates during their time at Aiglon. Houses provide kitchens, snacks and common rooms. Pupils have keys to their own house; visits to other houses outside free time require permission. Day pupils also receive a house key, access to shared rooms and a place for belongings.
Visitors need a guest badge. The admissions page provides a map and virtual tour; an in-person visit is useful for assessing the slopes and distances. If booking local accommodation, the school asks visitors to mention the Aiglon visit.
English is the teaching language. Junior teaching combines literacy and numeracy with critical thinking and creativity. Pupils use Chromebooks with supervised-access software, and Discovery Years include an instrument in the timetable.
Current programme labels describe Wonder Years as Years 2–6, ages 6–11, and Discovery Years as Years 7–9, ages 11–14. These learning stages do not exactly match the Junior School/Senior School division, with Senior School starting in Year 9.
Years 3–4 have a weekly Mountain Day developed with the Bear Grylls Survival Academy. Shelter-building and fire skills, local forests, rivers and huts are linked to classroom topics such as soil and deforestation. Activities change with the Alpine seasons. Older pupils undertake expeditions, independent trips and the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, a programme of skills, activity, service and expedition work. The school describes mountain learning as a weekend commitment.
Before the final diploma years, teaching develops inquiry, independent learning and familiarity with International Baccalaureate assessment. The current website describes two Years 10–11 routes: the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and IB Foundation preparation.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) occupies Years 12–13. It comprises six subjects, normally three at higher and three at standard level, plus Theory of Knowledge, an extended research essay and Creativity, Activity, Service. Aiglon adopted the full Diploma in 2010.
Its Inspiration Years page reports that all 66 candidates in a cited examination cohort passed and describes the school as among the world’s top 50 IB schools. These are the school’s claims, not a prediction of an individual result; the passage does not clearly identify the cohort year.
The Aiglon High School Diploma is distinct from the IB Diploma. It is the school’s own award, associated with its accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and requires completion of the wider programme. The Guide allows an IB or school-diploma route; in some cases the school requires the latter only. “IB on contract” means conditional participation where IGCSE results or conduct have raised concerns. Ask who decides, what conditions apply and whether the intended qualification meets the pupil’s university plans.
The regional Magic Pass is included in boarders’ fees; day families buy their own. The Guide sets ski-rental costs at no more than CHF 700 and accessories at up to CHF 300. The related student-account charge should not exceed CHF 1,000 without parental permission. Weekend lessons cover beginner, intermediate and advanced skiing and snowboarding; junior weekend skiing is on Sundays only.
Core programme trips are included in tuition. Wider-experience trips extending partly into holidays cost extra. Request a breakdown of optional music and trips rather than assuming every activity is included.
The published sequence is enquiry, visit, application, interview and assessment, then decision. Use the admissions team for current contacts and arrangements. Before paying, confirm whether assessment must take place on campus, whether a registration fee is due before visiting and how additional assessment time is arranged.
The Guide accepts applications up to one year ahead and throughout the year if places remain. The Admissions Committee considers applications monthly and may accept, waitlist or decline them. No general closing date or score cutoff is published. Year 13 entry and a single-term stay require specific confirmation; their appearance in the FAQ is not an offer of availability.
Re-enrolment is not automatic. In January the school tells families whether a pupil is invited back; parents must accept or decline by 15 February. Ask separately about notice and fees if a relocation ends during the school year, and about the school’s role in obtaining a Swiss residence permit.
The researched public pages do not provide a complete tuition table in Swiss francs. The Helpful Resources page links Tuition Information, covering fees, financial conditions and payment. The Guide says fees are updated annually in January, when the following year’s charges become available. Obtain a written quotation for the exact entry year.
Alongside tuition and boarding, check uniform and kit, insurance, skiing, music and optional trips. Insurance arrangements differ for day and boarding pupils. Keep included core trips and the boarder’s Magic Pass out of the extras total.
Aiglon offers a small number of full, merit-based scholarships to families unable to afford any of the costs. They cover tuition and extras, including participation in trips, through graduation subject to annual review. The separate scholarship brochure gives the application timetable. Budget against the actual award letter, not an assumed discount.
The Health Centre arranges boarders’ planned appointments through the house team. The Guide limits day pupils’ use to urgent situations. Discuss medical care, wellbeing, learning support and examination adjustments before applying. An average class of 12 does not establish specialist support capacity; share current reports and ask what can be provided in lessons, boarding and outdoor activities.
The affiliations page names Council of International Schools (CIS) and NEASC accreditation programmes and IB Diploma authorisation. Memberships are not interchangeable with accreditation.
Other stated affiliations include the Alliance for Sustainable Schools, Google Reference School, National Online Safety and the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. Aiglon describes itself as Switzerland’s first Google Reference School, cites Cleantech Suisse objectives with the Confederation through 2029, holds an Eco-School label and says refurbishments follow the Swiss Minergie energy standard. These describe institutional commitments, not a guarantee of a particular pupil’s experience.
Choose Aiglon if English-medium study, residential life and regular mountain education are all wanted. The important choice is the whole programme, not just an IB place in Switzerland.
Compare Le Rosey if the French baccalaureate or its Rolle–Gstaad campus arrangement matters more. Compare Ecolint if the family plans to live in Geneva and wants day education across its three campuses rather than boarding.
Official pages and documents we read. If a figure matters to your budget or your application, open the link and confirm it is still current.
Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.
Collège Champittet is a co-educational private school in Vaud, part of Nord Anglia Education. Its Pully campus offers day education and boarding, with Swiss Maturité, French Baccalauréat and English-taught IB pathways.
Versoix, Geneva areaCollège du Léman offers day and boarding education in Versoix, with five upper-school diploma routes. The main decisions are the teaching language, the qualification and whether the family needs boarding.
GenevaFlorimont is a Geneva day school with French-language and French/English bilingual education. Upper-secondary choices are the Swiss maturité, French Baccalauréat and IB Diploma; fees differ by route.
Rolle (winter term in Gstaad)Le Rosey is a bilingual Swiss boarding school for ages 8–18. Pupils spend the winter term in Gstaad and the rest of the year in Rolle. Admissions depend on academic and boarding fit as well as class, language and nationality capacity. The confirmation payment includes the first term; it must not be added again to the annual fee.
Start with the child and a realistic weekly timetable. Then confirm who provides care, which nights are covered, and what happens when plans change.
7 minStart with the qualification your child would actually receive. Then check its subjects, language demands, and recognition in the countries where they may study next.
7 minStart with your child and the family's likely plans. Define the non-negotiables, verify the school's claims, compare three realistic options and visit with specific questions.
7 minTuition is only one line of the budget. Separate charges from advance payments, record what each figure includes, and ask the school to confirm your calculation in writing.