It has two locations, costs 108 900 Swiss francs (R1,4 million) a year, and its famous alumni include King Albert II of Belgium, the Shah of Iran, Prince Rainier of Monaco, and King Farouk of Egypt.
That’s a whole lot of royalty.
Switzerland’s oldest boarding school, Institut Le Rosey, is also the most expensive school in the world, reports Business Insider, and was founded in 1880.
While spring/summer terms are spent in the 14th-century Château du Rosey estate in Rolle, winter takes every member of the school to a ski resort in Gstaad where they stay in chalets.
Super casual.
At the end of it all, the school says 30% of its students “join universities ranked in the top 25 in the world — including those in the Ivy League, MIT, and Oxbridge — after graduating”.
Here’s Felipe Laurent, an alumnus and Le Rosey spokesman:
We have a certain weight that goes through the name because of families that have been here before.
I think that some families are looking for that, in that they might have studied here and so they want their children to continue that sort of legacy.
So what really goes on at the school? Laurent gave some us insight:
The 28-hectare summer estate…
…has indoor and outdoor pools as well a concert hall, nursery and a library with books in over 20 languages.
Sports are also a major part of day-to-day life at Le Rosey:
[T]he school offers over 25 sports every year. There are football and rugby pitches, an athletics track, basketball courts, beach volleyball pits, tennis courts, and two fitness rooms.
The private riding stables have 20 horses.
During winter term pupils can ski up to four times a week.
There are currently 400 students between the ages of eight and 18 at Le Rosey:
They come from 67 countries, and there is a perfect gender split. They’re expected to be bilingual and can study up to four languages at a time, including Dzongkha or Swahili.
A full Le Rosey education is split into four stages: juniors, cadets, jeunes seniors, and seniors. At the high school level, students choose between the baccalauréat français or the International Baccalaureate diploma.
Although dorms are shared between two students:
[T]hey change roommates three times a year because of the winter term in Gstaad. Some have an individual room in their final year, but they share a bathroom with one other student.
About 90 of the 150 teachers also live among the students.
Dinner is a formal affair, starting at around 7:30PM:
All meals are prepared by in-house chefs, and the students rotate as waiters.
Students must sit in a seat marked by a personal napkin that’s fixed for the entire term. They rise when an adult arrives and don’t leave the table until invited to do so by the director of boarding.
They must use Swiss table manners, which means eating with a straight back, keeping elbows off the table, and lifting the food to the mouth rather than moving the head closer to the plate.
And that’s not even half of it.
From how to speak to an adult when standing, to the views to the casual but strict dress code, Institut Le Rosey is not only a school, but clearly a way of life.
Oh, and Phil Collins performed there last year.
Check Business Insider’s full breakdown of it here.
It’ll be okay, Hilton.
[source:businessinsider]
