Institut Le Rosey — boarding in Rolle and Gstaad

Institut Le Rosey is a Swiss boarding school for pupils aged 8 to 18. Most pupils board throughout the year. A limited number of day places is available only in the three youngest Junior classes.

The school year uses two campuses. Pupils live and study in Rolle, on Lake Geneva, from early September to mid-December. They move to the winter campus in Gstaad from early January to mid-March, then return to Rolle from early April to late June. This is a major part of the school model, not an optional ski trip.

Le Rosey offers two final qualifications: the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and the French Baccalauréat. Teaching is bilingual in French and English. Families should decide whether this combination of boarding, languages and two campuses suits the child before focusing on the school’s reputation.

Who it suits

Le Rosey is best suited to a child who is academically ready, wants a highly structured boarding life and can adapt to a mid-year campus move. Sport, arts, service and outdoor programmes form a substantial part of school life.

Language expectations become stricter with age:

• For Juniors aged about 8–12, prior French or English is not essential.
• From the Cadet years, around age 12, an applicant should understand at least one of the two languages.
• From age 15, an applicant must be able to study confidently in French or English.

The admissions page says the school can support minor or temporary learning difficulties but is not designed for severe learning disabilities. Families should discuss the child’s needs in detail before applying.

Le Rosey sets nationality and language quotas. A qualified child may therefore be deferred or wait-listed because the relevant class or quota is full. The school says it does not accept development donations and that agents cannot influence admission.

The school may suggest its sister school, Le Régent International School in Crans-Montana, when a suitable applicant cannot be offered a place because of capacity or quotas. This is an alternative school, not guaranteed admission to Le Rosey.

Boarding, day places and campuses

The Rolle campus is at Château du Rosey, 1180 Rolle. Published facilities include extensive sports grounds, swimming pools, riding and sailing facilities, arts spaces and the Rosey Concert Hall.

The winter campus is in Gstaad. Ask what the move means for your child’s age group: academic routines, room allocation, equipment, skiing for beginners, medical support and weekend arrangements. Transport of pupils’ belongings between the campuses is included in the boarding fee.

The Junior fee schedule allows day places only in classes 9, 8 and 7. Older pupils must board. Subject to beds being available, a Junior day pupil may be able to board for the Gstaad term. Confirm both day-place availability and the winter arrangement before applying.

Curriculum and qualifications

The school’s class numbers run in the opposite direction from many English-speaking systems. Its admissions page maps classes 9 to 4 approximately to UK Years 4–9 or US Grades 3–8. Classes 3 and 2 form the two-year Pre-Bac; classes 1 and Terminale are the final examination years.

In the Pre-Bac, French-taught subjects follow French national programmes. English-taught subjects use Cambridge syllabuses and may lead to IGCSE examinations. A third language is compulsory and a fourth may be added. Pupils study some subjects in their second school language when ready.

Senior pupils follow either:

• the IB Diploma, with six subjects plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS); or
• the French Baccalauréat, following the relevant French programme and assessments.

The school also awards its own bilingual recognition to pupils meeting its language and subject requirements. This does not replace the IB or French Baccalauréat. Ask which certificates will appear in university applications.

Le Rosey says it is hesitant to admit pupils only for the final two IB years because places are limited and the transition is demanding. Families seeking late entry should discuss subject combinations and language readiness early.

Admissions

Applications are submitted online with school records and a medical report completed by a doctor. Most applicants are then invited for a campus day. This normally includes tests in mathematics, French or English, and the pupil’s mother tongue, plus an interview with an academic adviser.

Mid-year entry is rare and normally depends on a place becoming available in January or April.

Younger applicants: classes 9 to 4

Admission is rolling. A campus day is arranged no earlier than 15 months before the intended entry year. The Admissions Committee meets weekly and can issue four outcomes: acceptance, deferral, waiting list or refusal.

The school recommends applying between June and September of the year before entry. Once the file and tests are complete, a decision often follows within two weeks outside school holidays. A deferral means the file will be reconsidered at a stated later date; a waiting-list decision means the pupil meets the standard but no suitable place is currently free.

Older applicants: classes 3, 2 and 1

These applications are considered in rounds. The dates published for the current cycle are:

• complete by 8 October 2026 for a decision in early November;
• complete by 26 November 2026 for a decision in mid-December;
• complete by 11 February 2027 for a decision in early March.

Later applications may still be wait-listed or refused. Confirm the live dates before relying on them.

Fees for 2026–27

The figures below come from the official Cadets–Seniors and Juniors financial conditions, both versioned September 2025. The PDFs state that the French text prevails.

Annual tuition and boarding

Place	Annual fee	Three-term calculation
Cadets–Seniors boarding	CHF 159,600	CHF 53,200 × 3
Juniors boarding	CHF 105,900	CHF 35,300 × 3
Junior day place, classes 9, 8 or 7 only	CHF 56,100	CHF 18,700 × 3

Payments required for a new pupil

Payment	Cadets–Seniors	Junior boarder	Junior day pupil
One-time, non-refundable registration fee	CHF 3,000	CHF 3,000	CHF 3,000
Confirmation payment due within 10 days	CHF 68,200	CHF 50,300	CHF 33,700
Portion of confirmation payment that is the first-term fee	CHF 53,200	CHF 35,300	CHF 18,700
Portion held as a guarantee for extras	CHF 15,000	CHF 15,000	CHF 15,000

The confirmation payment is not additional to the full annual fee. For a new Cadet or Senior, CHF 53,200 of the CHF 68,200 confirmation payment is the first of the three term fees. The remaining CHF 15,000 is a guarantee against extra expenses; any unused balance is repaid after the pupil leaves, on the timetable stated in the contract.

The core 2026–27 cash commitment for a new Cadet or Senior is therefore:

• CHF 3,000 registration;
• CHF 68,200 confirmation, including term 1 and the extras guarantee;
• CHF 53,200 for term 2;
• CHF 53,200 for term 3.

That totals CHF 177,600 paid, of which CHF 15,000 is a potentially refundable guarantee. It is not CHF 159,600 plus CHF 68,200. Health cover, uniform, pocket money, optional expenses and any diploma charge sit outside that calculation.

Important additional charges

The Cadets–Seniors schedule lists:

Item	Published charge
IB section in classes 1 and t	CHF 13,300 a year
French Bac section in classes 1 and T	CHF 4,900 a year
Private music, one period each week	CHF 3,800 a year
Extra mother-tongue teaching, per weekly period	CHF 2,700 a year
School health cover for a non-resident pupil up to the 19th birthday	CHF 3,950 a year
School health cover from the 19th year	CHF 8,620 a year
Private academic lesson	CHF 100–120 per period

Pupils not permanently resident in Switzerland must normally join the school’s collective health policy. Families resident in Switzerland arrange statutory LAMal cover themselves. The school’s insurer can decline an applicant after reviewing the required medical questionnaire, in which case the family must discuss alternatives with the school.

Included and excluded costs

The main fee includes:

• official academic classes, standard school books and use of facilities;
• standard sports and the published campus activity programme;
• boarding, meals and local residence taxes in Rolle and Gstaad for boarders;
• linen and laundry, except dry-cleaning;
• transport of belongings between campuses;
• compulsory expeditions and the mountain programme;
• university counselling and transcripts, but not university application fees;
• mandatory school-supplied computers or iPads.

It does not cover uniform and expedition clothing, stationery, personal-device setup, pocket money, optional trips, flights, taxis, visas, dry-cleaning or most dental care. Optional group outings are typically charged separately. Read the current PDF for the full list and approval rules.

Renewal and withdrawal

Enrolment renews automatically unless the family or school cancels it. For withdrawal before 2027–28, written notice is due by 1 April 2027.

If a family cancels after that date but before the school year begins, the first-term payment is not refunded. If a child is expelled or the family withdraws unilaterally during the year, the current term and the following term are due. Where withdrawal is agreed with the school, only the current term is due. Temporary absence does not reduce fees.

When payments are due

The confirmation payment must arrive within ten days of an offer or the place is cancelled. Its first-term tuition component is non-refundable on withdrawal. The unused extras guarantee is repaid at the end of the term following the pupil’s departure.

For new boarders, the second-term fee is due by 1 April 2026, or within ten days of admission if the offer comes after 20 March. The third-term fee is due by 31 January 2027. These are the published dates for 2026–27, not a future-year schedule.

Returning Cadets–Seniors pay the first two terms together: CHF 106,400 by 1 April 2026, followed by CHF 53,200 by 31 January 2027. Junior boarders follow the same timetable at CHF 70,600, then CHF 35,300. Returning Junior day pupils pay one month before each term. New Junior day pupils should confirm the applicable instalment dates directly, because the document separates new-entry and returning-pupil provisions.

The Junior confirmation payments are CHF 50,300 for boarders and CHF 33,700 for day pupils. Each includes the relevant first-term tuition and the same CHF 15,000 extras guarantee. The CHF 3,000 registration fee is additional in both cases.

Financial aid

Le Rosey and the Rosey Foundation say they award three to five partial scholarships each year. They do not offer full scholarships, and families must still make a significant contribution and pay extras.

The published application window is 1 September to 31 December. The deadline for 2026–27 was 31 December 2025. The school lists a CHF 500 aid-application fee. Aid applicants may enter classes 3 to 1. The school seeks exceptional academic performance, strong French and/or English, maturity and achievement beyond the classroom. Families still pay a significant contribution and extras. Check the current window and eligibility on the live admissions page.

Our take

Choose Le Rosey if the pupil wants bilingual boarding, can cope with the move between Rolle and Gstaad, and is academically suited to the IB or French Baccalauréat route. Compare Aiglon if an English-medium mountain boarding school on one principal campus is a better fit. Compare Ecolint if the family wants international day schooling around Geneva.

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