Aiglon College
Encyclopedia
Aiglon College is a private English-style boarding school in Switzerland
, registered as a not-for-profit charitable institution, with an international student intake (the proportion of nationalities attending the school may vary from year to year). The school gathers funds from full fee-paying students, from donations and via registered charitable trusts in different countries. Parents wishing to send a child to Aiglon, but who have insufficient funds to do so, may apply for their child to be granted a scholarship at Aiglon, funded through these trusts.
, Aiglon College has grown from relatively humble beginnings. As a charitable trust, the school does not cater to any particular elite group, but offers scholarships and financial support to children who are deemed to be deserving in some way (academically or otherwise), and also regularly enrolls "legacies" - that is, children of alumni. There is a large international Aiglon alumni network, with reunions held in cities around the world including, for example, London
, Boston
, New York
, Sydney
and Chicago
.
Aiglon College is located at an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 feet) above sea level, in the alpine village of Chesières-Villars, near the ski resorts Villars
and Villars-sur-Ollon
, in the canton of Vaud
. The closest larger town is Aigle
, and the nearest major cities are Montreux
and Lausanne
.
, who was a former pupil and teacher at Gordonstoun
, a private school in Scotland. It has had links with the Round Square
schools organisation for most of its history.
Originally a boy's-only school run along Gordonstoun
lines, the school went co-educational in 1968. Though the language of instruction is English, French is taught and encouraged with "French days", because the school is in a French-speaking part of Switzerland.
For "outward bound" type activities, students are required to:
The The Good Schools Guide International called the school "strong educationally, strong emotionally, tough physically."
Weekdays start with a morning meditation, and appreciation of nature is engendered with weekend expeditions on foot, ski or bicycle (the latter in the summer term only).
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, registered as a not-for-profit charitable institution, with an international student intake (the proportion of nationalities attending the school may vary from year to year). The school gathers funds from full fee-paying students, from donations and via registered charitable trusts in different countries. Parents wishing to send a child to Aiglon, but who have insufficient funds to do so, may apply for their child to be granted a scholarship at Aiglon, funded through these trusts.
Background
Since its foundation in 1949 by John C. CorletteJohn C. Corlette
John C. Corlette was born John Hubert Christian Corlette on 21 June 1911, and died 9 December 1977.Corlette was an English architect who, in 1949, founded the private English-style boarding school Aiglon College in Switzerland...
, Aiglon College has grown from relatively humble beginnings. As a charitable trust, the school does not cater to any particular elite group, but offers scholarships and financial support to children who are deemed to be deserving in some way (academically or otherwise), and also regularly enrolls "legacies" - that is, children of alumni. There is a large international Aiglon alumni network, with reunions held in cities around the world including, for example, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
Aiglon College is located at an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 feet) above sea level, in the alpine village of Chesières-Villars, near the ski resorts Villars
Villars
-In France:*Villars, Dordogne*Villars, Eure-et-Loir*Villars, Loire*Villars, Vaucluse*Villars-les-Dombes, Ain*Villars-le-Sec, Territoire de Belfort-In Switzerland:*Canton of Jura** Villars, Jura, Switzerland in the municipality Fontenais*Canton of Fribourg...
and Villars-sur-Ollon
Villars-sur-Ollon
Villars sur Ollon, commonly referred to as Villars, is a village in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, part of the municipality of Ollon. Accommodation consists largely of chalets...
, in the canton of Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
. The closest larger town is Aigle
Aigle
Aigle is the capital of the district of Aigle in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The town has a population of 8,100 people.The name of this municipality in French means eagle.-Geography:...
, and the nearest major cities are Montreux
Montreux
Montreux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.It is located on Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps and has a population, , of and nearly 90,000 in the agglomeration.- History :...
and Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
.
Foundation and founding principles
The school was founded in 1949 by John C. CorletteJohn C. Corlette
John C. Corlette was born John Hubert Christian Corlette on 21 June 1911, and died 9 December 1977.Corlette was an English architect who, in 1949, founded the private English-style boarding school Aiglon College in Switzerland...
, who was a former pupil and teacher at Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray in North East Scotland. Named after the estate originally owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 1600s, the school now uses this estate as its campus...
, a private school in Scotland. It has had links with the Round Square
Round Square
The Round Square Conference of Schools is a worldwide association of more than 80 schools that allows students to travel between schools,tour foreign countries, involve themselves in community service and discover cultures along the way.-History:...
schools organisation for most of its history.
Originally a boy's-only school run along Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray in North East Scotland. Named after the estate originally owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 1600s, the school now uses this estate as its campus...
lines, the school went co-educational in 1968. Though the language of instruction is English, French is taught and encouraged with "French days", because the school is in a French-speaking part of Switzerland.
For "outward bound" type activities, students are required to:
- go on at least two overnight hiking expeditions in the autumn term (in small parties);
- skiSkiingSkiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
at least twice a week during the winter term; - go on ski touring expeditions.
- take part in activities including mountain bikingMountain bikingMountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
, canoeCanoeA canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
ing, rock climbingRock climbingRock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
and Via FerrataVia ferrataA via ferrata or klettersteig is a mountain route which is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes which are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities...
(or "iron road"), during the autumn and summer terms.
The The Good Schools Guide International called the school "strong educationally, strong emotionally, tough physically."
Facilities and services
Academic:- Art
- Drama
- English
- Mathematics
- Languages (including French, German, Spanish and other languages offered on an individual basis)
- Information Technology
- Music
- Physical Education (PE)
- Science (including Biology, Physics, Chemistry)
- Geography
- History
- Economics and Business Studies
- Philosophy
- Media Studies
- Religious Studies
- English as a Second Language
- Learning Support
Changes to Aiglon
- The ranking system has been abandoned. Previously there was a ranking system - which was similar to GordonstounGordonstounGordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray in North East Scotland. Named after the estate originally owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 1600s, the school now uses this estate as its campus...
and which encouraged the development of personal responsibility of the children as members of the closed community within which they lived. - Central dining has led to the separation of staff and students during mealtimes. This replaces the previous custom where lunch and dinner were laid out in each house on tables of eight to ten students with a staff member at the head to lead and encourage conversation at table.
- Physical punishment (e.g., "beating" or caning) of the children - previously common practice in many English boarding schools - has always been forbidden at Aiglon. The previous customary punishment method meant that punishment was "earned" by a system of accumulation of "Laps"and then if more "Laps" are added to a student name then they will be "Gated" and meted out variously as loss of privileges, arduous physical exercise or arduous community service, according to the quantity of black marks earned. This system required quite a lot of administration and is no longer used.
Weekdays start with a morning meditation, and appreciation of nature is engendered with weekend expeditions on foot, ski or bicycle (the latter in the summer term only).
Notable alumni
- Sheherazade GoldsmithSheherazade GoldsmithSheherazade Bentley Goldsmith is an English environmentalist, author and socialite.During the 1990s, Goldsmith worked in the fashion industry, first as a model and then as a marketer...
- British author, environmentalist and socialite. - François GrosjeanFrancois GrosjeanFrançois Grosjean is a Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Language and Speech Processing Laboratory at the University of Neuchâtel . His specialty is psycholinguistics and his domains of interest are the perception, comprehension and production of language, be it speech or sign language,...
, psycholinguist and researcher on bilingualism - Leka, Crown Prince of AlbaniaLeka, Crown Prince of AlbaniaLeka, Crown Prince of Albania was the only son of King Zog of Albania and his queen, Géraldine Apponyi de Nagyappony. He was called Crown Prince Skander at birth...
- (born 1939) exiled from Albania and then invited back. - Laura HarringLaura HarringLaura Harring is a Mexican-American actress and former Miss USA . She is known for her role as Rita in Mulholland Drive.-Early life:...
- American actress and former Miss USA. - Roger C. FieldRoger C. FieldRoger C. Field is an inventor with over 100 patents, an award winning industrial designer and a guitarist.He is best known as the inventor of the Foldaxe folding electric guitar. He has also been written about in Playboy magazine in ten countries and in Penthouse magazine four times in Europe...
- inventor and musician. - Abhishek BachchanAbhishek BachchanAbhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
- an Indian actor and the son of Indian actors Amitabh BachchanAmitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
and Jaya BachchanJaya BachchanJaya Bhaduri Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Bachchan is the wife of Amitabh Bachchan, and is the mother of Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan...
. He is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya RaiAishwarya RaiAishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
. - Rohan SippyRohan SippyRohan Sippy is an Indian film director and producer who has directed three films: Kuch Naa Kaho , Bluffmaster! and Dum Maaro Dum . He is the son of Ramesh Sippy, the director of the Hindi blockbuster film Sholay, and grandson of producer G. P. Sippy...
- Indian film producer and director