International School of Geneva

Infobox Private School
background = #f0f6fa
border = #ccd2d9
name = The International School of Geneva


established = 1924
type = Day School
religion = No religious affiliation
head_name = Director-General
head = Dr. Nicholas Tate
city = Geneva and Founex in
state = Geneva & Vaud (respectively)
country = Switzerland
enrollment = 3940
athletics = Rugby, Football, Skiing, Cross Country, Basketball, Lacrosse, Horseback Riding, Track and Field
colors = Navy Blue and White

homepage = [http://www.ecolint.ch/ www.ecolint.ch]
The International School of Geneva (in French: "Ecole Internationale de Genève") also known as "Ecolint", is a private international school based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the first ever established International School. The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, which most English-speaking students at the school follow, was created at the Grande Boissière campus. It is a bilingual school, with instruction in both French and English. General Director of the International School is Dr. Nicholas Tate.The International School is a testing center for the US college boards (SAT, ACT,etc.), as well as the British IGCSE Exam. The International School is now composed of three separately governed campuses. [http://www.ecolint.ch Ecole Internationale de Genève - Home ] ]

In 2006, the British "Guardian" newspaper listed it as one of the best UK-curriculum international schools in the world. [ [http://education.guardian.co.uk/publicschools/story/0,,1970352,00.html A guide to schools abroad that offer a British curriculum] , Education Guardian, December 12, 2006]

According to the "Good Schools Guide International", "Students receive a truly international education and as a result leave as rounded and worldly young people." [http://gsgi.co.uk/countries/switzerland/geneva/international-school-of-geneva-la-chataignerie-campus?form.submitted=1&country=switzerland&countryCity=&submit=Go&city=]

History

From 1920 to 1921 the League of Nations and the International Labor Office, established their headquarters in Geneva. In 1924 the International School of Geneva was founded by senior members of two international organizations, in conjunction with Adolphe Ferrière and Elisabeth Rotten. Ferrière housed the first class in his family's chalet. He was also technical adviser to the school from 1924 to 1926. Other prominent individuals involved in the creation of the School were Arthur Sweetser and Dr. Ludwig Rajchman. They were supported by William Rappard, Rector of the University of Geneva and Sir Arthur Salter, a senior official of the League of Nations.

The foundation continued to evolve as it acquired new campuses in the Vaud countryside at La Châtaignairaie (also called "La Chat") near Founex and at Prégny (near the European Headquarters of the United Nations). A sports hall was built in 1977 and a new primary building was built in 1980 on the Châtaigneraie campus. In 1993 a sciences building was built and in 2002 the old "La Ferme" building, which used to house the girls' boarding lodgings, became the music building. Finally, the most recent development was the MMC (Multimedia Centre), finished in 2002. The next planned development project is a new sports hall to replace the long-defunct swimming pool, the aging "Bubble", which was inflated in 2000 to protect from harsh climates, and the old PTA offices.

The third campus, Campus des Nations has had two beginnings. The first was in the 1940s with Rigot which became Pregny-Rigot, the second in 2005 with the closure of Rigot and the opening of Saconnex. The Pregny-Rigot campus was a pre-K through year 6 school that adopted the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program in 2002. This campus had two buildings, Rigot which was an old Swiss farmhouse just off Place des Nations housing the early childhood classes, the other a unique architectural structure up the hill from the United Nations and Red Cross which hosted the primary school and learning center. In 2005, Pregny-Rigot shifted with the opening of a new building, Saconnex, near the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization. The early childhood classes at Rigot were moved to a renovated Pregny and Rigot was returned to the city of Geneva. Years 3-6 were moved from Pregny to the new building, Saconnex, which also opened a secondary school. The Secondary school offers the IB's Middle Years Program and the IB Diploma. Additional construction will commence on a sports center and post-16 Learning Center.

Campuses

La Grande Boissière (also called "LGB") is the oldest and largest of the three. Primary School (beginning from age three) has 650 students, and runs through grade 4. The Middle School has 450 students, and runs from grade 5 to grade 8. The Secondary School has 650 students, beginning with 9th grade and going to grade 12 or 13. All three stages offer bilingual programs. Campus Principal: Jean Guy Carpentier.

La Châtaigneraie (also called "La Chat") became part of Ecolint in 1971 and is located in the Vaud countryside, near Founex and overlooks the Alps and Lake Léman. It has a primary and a secondary school, and has approximately 1420 students. The oldest building on campus is the main secondary building and it was completed in 1908.

Campus des Nations, (also simply called "Nations") opened in 2005 and operates on two locations:

* Saconnex is located near the International Labour Organization and World Health Organization headquarters. Saconnex offers classes to 500 students from years 3 through 13.
* Pregny is located near the United Nations and Red Cross and is a school of 220 students from pre-school, kindergarten to year 2.

Notable alumni

*Harry Albright, Journalist and former Editor of "The Friend", shared in the Michener Award in 1991.
*Gail Carpenter - Professor, Boston University, Director of the Cognitive and Neural Systems Technology Laboratory. [http://alumni.ecolint.ch/search/search.asp?y=9349 Member Search Results - International School of Geneva ] ] [ [http://cns.bu.edu/~gail/ Gail A. Carpenter, Boston University, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Home page ] ]
*David Chardavoyne - American attorney, professor, and author.
*Chehab Family Members - Prominent Lebanese aristocracy, descendants of the last Emirs of Lebanon, closely related to Lebanese President Fuad Chehab.
*Richard Corbett - Member of the European Parliament.
*Joe Dassin - French-speaking American musician, famous for singing "Les Champs-Élysées".
*Michael Douglas - Oscar-winning and Emmy Award-nominated American actor and producer.
*Indira Gandhi- Former Prime Minister of India.
*Ronald M. George - Chief Justice, California Supreme Court.
*Douglas Hofstadter - American academic, Pulitzer Prize winner.
*Yasmin Aga Khan - Daughter of Prince Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth.
*Rami G. Khouri - Prominent Middle-Eastern journalist and intellectual; internationally syndicated columnist; director of the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut; editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star; and co-laureate of the 2006 Pax Christi International Peace Award. [ [http://www.agenceglobal.com/author.asp?type=2&id=7 Rami G. Khouri ] ]
*Christopher Lambert - French actor famous from films such as "Highlander "and "Greystoke".
*Eric Margolis - prominent journalist.
*Joakim Noah - NCAA division 1 basketball MVP of the final four 2006
*Bob Rae - 21st Premier of Ontario, and the first leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) to serve in that capacity.
*H. Norman Schwarzkopf - Retired U.S. Army General and Commander of U.S. and coalition forces for Operation Desert Storm. Attended high school for one year, in which he mastered the French language, a language that later got him a key advisor job in the South Vietnam Airborne in 1965-66.
*Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand (Srikit Kitiyakara). She attended kindergarten class at Rajini School, but subsequently went to St. Francis Xavier convent school at Samsen District in Bangkok. Her father later on became Thai Minister to France, then to Denmark and, ultimately, Ambassador to the Court of St. James in England. Her Majesty accompanied him and continued her general education in the three countries and lastly in Switzerland.
*Kellogg Stelle - Professor of Physics, Head of Theoretical Physics, Imperial College, London. [http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/k.stelle]
*Mark Trueblood - American engineer and astronomer. He is noted for early pioneering work in the development of robotic telescopes.

Languages offered

While the school itself offers its curriculum in English, French or bilingual programs, it offers some other foreign languages such as Spanish, German, Italian as part of the curriculum. Swedish, Japanese, Swahili, Finnish and other foreign languages are available via private tuition but can be counted towards credits; this route is often chosen by students who have little other opportunity to learn their mother tongue. The two curricula for the different language programs are, in theory identical, other than the fact that they are in two different languages and ultimately lead to two different diplomas, with the English language program leading to the International Baccalaureate (or a High School Certificate with graduation one year earlier), and the French language program leading to the Swiss Maturité Fédérale. However, the International Baccalaureate bi-lingual section also offers a vast array of its courses in French.

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.ecolint.ch International School of Geneva]
* [http://alumni.ecolint.ch/?AlumniAssocCentralCo Ecolint Alumni Association]
* [http://www.ibo.org/ International Baccalaureate Organization]
* [http://www.ecolint.ch/ecolint/ch/en-ch/index.cfm?page=/ecolint/home/campuses/chataigneraie La Châtaigneraie]
* [http://www.ecolint.ch/ecolint/ch/en-ch/index.cfm?page=/ecolint/home/campuses/boissiere La Grande Boissiere]
* [http://www.ecolint.ch/ecolint/ch/en-ch/index.cfm?page=/ecolint/home/campuses/nations Campus des Nations]
* [http://gsgi.co.uk/countries/switzerland/geneva/international-school-of-geneva-la-chataignerie-campus?form.submitted=1&country=switzerland&countryCity=&submit=Go&city= Review from the Good Schools Guide International]