Collège du Léman: five diploma routes, day school and boarding

Collège du Léman (CDL) is worth considering if a family wants English, French or bilingual education and several upper-school qualifications on one campus. Boarding is a substantial part of the offer, not an equivalent to attending a Geneva day school. Confirm which programme the child can enter before treating five diploma options as five interchangeable choices.

The co-educational school is at Route de Sauverny 74, 1290 Versoix, in the Geneva area. It belongs to Nord Anglia Education and operates as Collège du Léman SARL. The school estimates the airport journey at about 20 minutes. Its 2026 welcome material names Dr Emmanuel Bonin as Director General.

Campus, language and qualifications

The school describes more than 50 acres between the Jura and Lake Geneva, with Olympus Gymnasium, an all-weather pitch and laboratories combining science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). It reports more than 120 nationalities. Nord Anglia collaborations include The Juilliard School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); ask how they appear in the relevant pupil’s timetable. For day attendance, test the commute from the proposed home at school-travel times.

The published stages are preschool, ages 2–6; primary, 6–11; Middle School/Secondaire I, 11–14; and High School/Secondaire II, 14–18. The fee table’s preschool ages 2–5 refer to its billing groups.

English, French and bilingual routes begin in the early years. The FAQ describes subjects alternating between languages on different days and the possibility of changing pathways between years. Request the actual timetable and transfer requirements; “bilingual” does not by itself specify the language balance in every subject.

Upper-school choices are:

• The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), an academic diploma.
• The IB Career-related Programme (IBCP), combining IB study with career-related learning; it is not the same qualification as the IBDP.
• The American High School Diploma.
• The French baccalauréat.
• The Swiss Maturité.

The school also offers the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) before the final diploma years. Ask which subjects, language requirements and prior studies are needed for the intended route and university destination.

School marketing cites a 100% pass rate across five diplomas, an IBDP average of 36.5 and 69% A*–A at IGCSE. These are reported cohort results, not a forecast; confirm the cohort year when comparing them.

Boarding and the school year

The researched homepage describes boarding for ages 10–18, while the admissions FAQ says 8–18. The 2026–27 boarding fee table covers G5–12 / CM2–Terminale. These are school year labels, not three equivalent minimum ages. Obtain written confirmation of eligibility and the appropriate house before applying for a younger child.

The admissions calendar gives 24 August 2026 to 25 June 2027 as the school year. Holidays are 12–23 October 2026; 21 December 2026–8 January 2027; ski week, 15–19 February 2027; and Easter, 26 March–9 April 2027. Ask for the separate boarding arrival and closure arrangements before booking travel.

Admission

Applications are accepted throughout the year, with mid-year entry subject to space. The school says an offer can take as little as two to three weeks from first contact; this is an estimate, not a deadline. Review of a complete file takes five working days.

Start with an enquiry specifying day or boarding, then a campus tour or virtual meeting. Submit the online application and supporting documents, the non-refundable CHF 500 application fee per pupil, and a confidential report from the current school. Prospective boarders also complete a video questionnaire.

An offer depends on availability and the school’s review of academic and pastoral needs. Enrolment then requires the signed contract and payments; a welcome pack and confirmed start date follow. The admissions page names Laura Bayat as Director of Admissions and Marketing. Use the admissions team to establish any support requirements and their cost.

Day fees for 2026–27

Amounts are Swiss francs, including VAT at applicable rates, from the official day fee table.

The first-year charges are CHF 500 application, CHF 3,800 admission and a CHF 600 refundable security deposit. Admission and deposit are due at enrolment. The CHF 2,500 tuition advance is part of annual tuition, not an additional annual charge, and is non-refundable. The table says it is due within 10 business days of an offer or re-enrolment; the general conditions refer to 15 days from the invoice. Confirm the applicable invoice deadline.

Admission fees are halved for a second child and waived from the third where parents or guardians receive no employer funding for tuition. Day tuition discounts also require no employer education funding: 10% for the third enrolled child, 15% for the fourth and 25% for the fifth.

The table retains the school’s grade labels: G means Grade, BIL a bilingual group, and CP–Terminale the French sequence. Confirm placement rather than equating these automatically with a home-country year.

Programme / school grade	CHF
Preschool, ages 2–5	24,900
Primary G1–5 / CP–CM2 / BIL1–5	29,300
Middle, English G6–8 / BIL6	34,700
Middle, French 6e–4e	33,700
Secondaire 3e & 2nde	35,400
High School G9–10	36,500
French 1ère–Terminale	36,500
G11–12 & IB	37,500

One set of books is included. Lunch, bus, additional supplies where applicable, trips, after-school activities and examination fees are separate. Uniforms are compulsory in preschool and primary and cost extra. Examination charges include school diplomas, IGCSE and external admissions tests such as TOEFL and SAT.

Payment Plan A is one payment on 15 June 2026; B is two halves on 15 June and 15 November 2026. Plan C is ten monthly payments from 30 June 2026 to 31 March 2027, with a CHF 500 administration charge and mandatory direct debit (LSV). The general conditions close C from 31 August 2026 and offer only A from 15 October 2026. Overdue scheduled instalments are added to the first payment for later enrolments.

For a new day pupil in G11–12/IB, the calculated baseline is CHF 41,800 in tuition and non-refundable first-year charges, plus the CHF 600 security deposit: CHF 42,400 before extras and discounts. Do not add the CHF 2,500 advance again.

The refundable deposit does not mean the contract can be cancelled without further cost. The day conditions provide escalating cancellation liability, reaching full-year tuition after 15 August 2026. Earlier-departure exceptions require the school’s express agreement. Obtain the written terms before signing or paying; the French version governs.

Boarding fees for 2026–27

The boarding table covers G5–12 / CM2–Terminale. First-year application is CHF 500, admission CHF 4,800 and refundable security deposit CHF 6,000.

Attendance	CHF
Full year	117,500
First semester only, subject to availability	64,700
Second semester only, subject to availability	76,500

The detailed PDF describes CHF 117,500 as annual tuition and boarding together. Its payment schedule is a CHF 43,000 advance within 15 days of invoice, then either CHF 74,500 on 15 June 2026 or two payments of CHF 37,250 on 15 June and 5 November 2026. The advance is included in the annual amount.

The fee webpage’s general wording suggests paying both day and boarding schedules. That conflicts with the PDF’s combined payment total. Use the detailed table as the budgeting baseline and have the signed quotation confirm it; do not automatically add a separate day tuition or the advance to CHF 117,500.

The calculated first-year boarding baseline is CHF 122,800 in annual and application/admission charges, plus the CHF 6,000 security deposit: CHF 128,800 before extras and discounts.

Included are health insurance, books and mandatory supplies, field trips, three mountain weekends, standard personal laundry, device insurance, September discovery days, sports uniform, extracurricular activities and supervised study. Excess laundry and dry-cleaning are extra.

English as an additional language (EAL) and mathematics support is included on request for new pupils at EAL levels A0, A1, A2 and B1. The English table says the first marking period; the French says first semester. Confirm the duration. Do not interpret this limited offer as all learning support being included.

Examination fees, additional learning support, boarding trips, private lessons and homework support are separately chargeable. The boarding table also lists tuition sibling reductions of 10%, 15% and 25% for the third, fourth and fifth child; obtain a quotation confirming eligibility and the amount to which the discount applies.

Our view

Compare Ecolint if a foundation-run day school across three Geneva-area campuses better suits where the family will live. Compare Institut Florimont for day education in Petit-Lancy, with Swiss, French and IB routes and a Catholic founding tradition.

Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.