The British School of Geneva teaches the British National Curriculum (BNC) with a hint of Swiss influences to children of over 40 nationalities. It has a newly developed primary school as well as a secondary school who are all taught in the same building. It has class sizes of less than 14 children per class (usually two school years mixed in one class) and they love to combine classes every so often.
Staff here are very friendly and welcoming and will help with anything they can. As the school teaches the BNC they welcome your help and expertise however there is lots to learn and the cultural experience is amazing. You get to know the staff and the children very quickly supporting all areas of development. Due to there being little help for children with additional needs in Switzerland in general, they are very thankful for your offer of one-to-one support with some of the children.
The school itself is relatively new and is situated on a main road. From the outside the school does not look much like a school, but once inside the building is perfect for those students currently attending. The majority of children who attend the school often don't start at year one and complete their schooling at this particular school. They are often moved schools due to a parents job and will have often attended more than one school previous to attending the BSG. The way in which staff work together to create an environment which is suitable for all of the children is really interesting and valuable to learn from.
English is the spoken, written and taught language here however it is not the first language of many children.
I have friends who live in Geneva so I was able to say with them for the two weeks whilst I undertook my placement.
There are plenty of hotels in Geneva, however it is a very expensive place to live so I would recommend having someone to stay with, or even looking for a host family.
I took two buses each day to get to the BSG which took me about an hour in the morning and about 40 minutes on the way home during the late afternoon. I took the number 44 bus from the village I was staying in which stopped in the center of Tours-de-Carouge (approx. 20 minute journey) where I then transferred to bus number 22 (towards Nations) which would drop me practically right outside the school. (Get off at the 13th stop called Chatelaine)
You can buy an hours transport ticket for 3.50CHF (approx £2.50) to use on any bus, tram or boat within the hour which you can buy from the ticket machines at the bus stops (some buses have the ticket machines on board). Make sure you DO buy a ticket, although they are not checked on every journey, there are "ticket police" who swarm the bus at random stops and if you are found without a ticket you are humiliated, marched off the bus and made to pay a 70CHF fine!! (I thought this was ridiculous until i saw it happen myself.. it did not look pleasant!)
My flights cost £106 with Easy-jet including the return flight from Birmingham International Airport to Geneva Airport with 20kg of luggage.
Taxi's are VERY expensive and will increase the rates during the evenings and on a Sunday. I paid 69CHF on a Sunday evening for a twenty minute taxi journey... approx £50!
I did not use the trams or boats whilst I was in Geneva but like I previously mentioned you can use the tickets purchased for the buses on the trams and the boats.
Switzerland is known for skiing, but with this being very expensive here, the French boarder is less than an hours drive from Geneva and skiing prices here are much more reasonable.
Geneva has a gorgeous lake which you can walk around as well as travel across by boat to see various attractions.
There is also what is known as the "old town" which is full of designer shops, cafés and restaurants. It is also very nice just to walk around. As far as bars and nightlife are concerned, there is very little in Geneva!
Things to do, things not to do
THINGS TO DO:
1. visit the lake
2. buy a bus ticket for every journey
3. go into the mountains if you have the opportunity
THINGS NOT TO DO:
1. try not to travel (fly) on Saturday's during winter as this is skiing transfer day and the airport is awfully busy - if you are just allow plenty of time for check in and security checks.
British School of Geneva (BSG)
TELEPHONE: 022 7957510
EMAIL: principal@britishschoolgeneva.ch (school principal)
jacqueline.smith@britishschoolgeneva.ch (head of primary)
1. Exchange your money in the UK as the exchange rates are much better.
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