Punita Shah is an educational specialist. After working as a teacher with The Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai for more than a decade, she founded Punita Shah Education Services, which provides educational advisory services, specialising in Boarding School selection and admissions abroad. She also organises specialised summer programmes and seasonal camps abroad.
For those of you who have been following my articles, I have so far focused on affordable and easily accessible boarding schools. However, as we have learnt, boarding schools come in all shapes, sizes, locations and of course price points. In this article, I am going to talk about some of the most exclusive and expensive boarding schools in the world – the Swiss Boarding Schools. While they may not appeal to everyone’s interests and tastes, they do offer the most sought after education in the world.
Background
Switzerland has been the traditional host to boarding schools for generations. These schools used to be famous as ‘finishing schools’ for the elite. Now, not only do they groom children in the lost arts of etiquette and social graces, but also offer university prep education that holds its own against any other prep school in the world. The location in the middle of Europe, the safety and stability of the country and the beautiful landscapes add to the appeal. They are also considered the most trusted Boarding Schools for foreigners, in the world.
The demand for boarding schools among local Swiss families is no longer as high as it used to be, as they have enough education opportunities closer to home that are relatively cheaper than boarding schools. Thus, today there are more than 100,000 foreign students studying at Swiss Boarding Schools, making up a majority (~70%) of the student body.The foreign student body consists of students from Russia, Germany, France, Britain, United States of America, China and Japan, and most of these schools ensure real diversity by having a quota system to limit students coming from any one country. Currently, very few Indians students opt for Swiss Boarding Schools because of the high costs involved.
Range of options
This story is from the March - April 2017 edition of ParentEdge.
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This story is from the March - April 2017 edition of ParentEdge.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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