Photo: Wikimedia Commons

By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS     

The Swiss child psychiatrist Jean Piaget once said, “the principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered.”

That is the key philosophy behind Switzerland’s internationally acclaimed educational system, and it is the message that Swiss Learning (SL) – a group of 11 primary-to-preparatory Swiss boarding schools and two Swiss gastronomic institutes – wants to impart to potential students and their families.

Last week, two representatives of SL were in Mexico to promote the exclusive academic cooperative, and while they admitted that there are currently only about 180 Mexican pre-University students studying in Switzerland, they stressed that an investment in a Swiss education is an investment in a child’s future.

“Swiss academic standards are among the highest in the world, and students at Swiss schools gain a well-rounded education in science, literature and the arts, and they also learn to appreciate and understand other cultures,” said Lilia Moreno, from Collège Champittet, a group of 42 schools around the world operated by Nord Anglia Education.

“My two children studied in Switzerland and are now global citizens with a social conscience and a sense of environmental responsibility,” added U.S.-born Paul Dyer, who represented Leysin American School, a family-run boarding school in the Swiss Alps.

But study in Switzerland at these elite schools does not come cheap.

A year’s tuition at a private boarding school in Switzerland can run between $50,000 and $200,000 a year, and scholarships are few and far between.

“These are private schools and, yes, they are costly,” admitted Moreno, “but they offer a safe environment and the highest levels of multicultural academic schooling, and that is what every parent wants to offer their children.”

For more information about Swiss Learning and the schools it represents, consult the webpage http://www.swisslearning.com.