{"id":342635,"date":"2026-03-16T11:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/?p=342635"},"modified":"2026-03-16T11:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:58:19","slug":"nearly-150-years-one-family-inside-switzerlands-most-personal-boarding-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/en\/2026\/03\/nearly-150-years-one-family-inside-switzerlands-most-personal-boarding-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 150 years, one family: inside Switzerland’s most personal boarding school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nestled in the heart of Lausanne, just a short flight from Nice, Brillantmont International School has spent nearly 150 years quietly doing what large institutions rarely can: knowing every student by name.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A family affair, five generations deep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are schools with a history, and then there is Brillantmont. Founded in 1882 and run continuously by the same family across five generations, it stands today as the oldest boarding school in Switzerland to remain in its founding family\u2019s hands \u2013 a distinction that has become rarer with each passing decade as institutions across the country are absorbed by private equity groups and educational chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs Sarah Frei, Head of Admissions and External Relations, who has been at the school for 33 years after meeting her husband there, knows this continuity from the inside. \u201cFamily is at every level of Brillantmont,\u201d she explains. \u201cOur head of boarding has been here over ten years. We have teachers who\u2019ve been here over fifteen. It creates a real sense of community that our students genuinely appreciate. They feel that somebody is looking out for them.\u201d That sense of belonging is no accident. With 80 to 90 boarding students, the school operates at a scale that makes individual attention not a promise, but a structural reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The connection runs deep enough to span generations of students, too. Families from Argentina have sent grandmothers, daughters and grandchildren to Brillantmont \u2014 a dynasty of loyalty that speaks more compellingly than any brochure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academic paths built around the individual<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brillantmont offers two distinct academic routes: the rigorous British A Levels and the American High School Diploma, both internationally recognised, and both capable of opening doors at leading universities worldwide, from the Russell Group in the UK to institutions across the United States and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The choice between them is guided carefully by the school. The A Levels demand strong examination performance under pressure; the High School Diploma rewards consistent effort throughout the year, with no single high-stakes test determining the outcome. \u201cIf a student finds exam pressure very difficult, they are probably better suited to the high school diploma,\u201d Mrs Frei notes. \u201cWhat we want to do is develop each child\u2019s individual potential, and that will vary from one child to another.\u201d Roughly 60% of students graduate with A Levels; 40% with the High School Diploma, a balance that reflects the school\u2019s refusal to impose a single academic mould.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Brillantmont International School Switzerland \u00a9Brillantmont <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Lausanne: the city as classroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Location is among Brillantmont\u2019s most distinctive advantages. As the only boarding school situated directly in the centre of Lausanne, students are within five minutes of caf\u00e9s, cinemas, museums and the lakefront promenade of Lake L\u00e9man, and within an hour of the ski slopes. \u201cWe go where the snow is,\u201d Mrs Frei says. \u201cWe have weekends in Zermatt, in Saas-Fee. That flexibility is very different from a mountain school limited to one resort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brillantmont International School Switzerland \u00a9Brillantmont <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Brillantmont International School Switzerland \u00a9Brillantmont <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Inside the city, students access ballet academies, football leagues, rowing clubs and the opera. One student last year maintained twelve hours of weekly dance training for a performance in Rome while completing her academic studies a schedule the school accommodated without hesitation. Freedom, independence and cultural richness are woven into daily life at a level that few campuses anywhere can match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closer to Monaco than you might think<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For families on the French Riviera, proximity matters and Brillantmont is closer than most realise. Geneva Airport is just 45 minutes from the school, and with its excellent connections to Nice C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur Airport, the journey from Monaco is remarkably straightforward. In an emergency, a parent could reach the school by car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe proximity is reassuring, particularly for parents of younger children,\u201d Mrs Frei says. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s their first time away from home. The physical distance matters psychologically.\u201d The French-speaking environment also makes Brillantmont a natural extension of life in Monaco, with all students learning French throughout their studies, an invaluable asset for families newly arrived on the Riviera and eager to immerse their children in the language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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