Leysin American School (also referred to as LAS), founded in 1960 by Fred and Sigrid Ott, is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

independent boarding school focusing on university preparation for grades 7–12 (as well as optional PG and 13th grades). Approximately 340 students attend the school and English is the language of instruction. LAS is located in the alpine resort village of

Leysin Leysin is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in the Aigle district of Switzerland. It is first mentioned around 1231–32 as ''Leissins'', in 1352 as ''Leisins''. Located in the Vaud Alps, Leysin is a sunny alpine resort village at the easte ...

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

, Switzerland, two hours east of

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. The international school is home to students from sixty countries. Approximately 12% of students are American. Students pursue either the American high school diploma or the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

, with additional options of individual IB classes to suit particular interests. LAS also offers an extensive summer school, a pre-high school program for grade 7, and an ESL program. In October 2010, the school celebrated its fiftieth anniversary and officially inaugurated the opening of the newly renovated Grand Hotel, which was originally built in 1892 and houses IB students. LAS facilities include various classroom layouts (including open-plan classrooms in the IB facility), a media center, libraries, blackbox theater, performance hall, computer lab, a new art center, and access to horseback riding, ice skating, tennis, hockey, and swimming. The faculty to student ratio at LAS is 1:8 and the average class size is 12. LAS employs 72 full-time faculty, of which almost all live on campus; 95% are native English speakers, and 70% hold advanced degrees.

Trips

Throughout the year students and faculty take educational trips to destinations around the globe. Students often take weekend trips to other countries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and other parts of the world. There are mandatory trips referred to as Cultural Trips, which take students to numerous countries, including

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, and many more. Leysin is a two-hour train ride away from

, and an hour from

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

. In 2020 the Cultural Trips were cancelled as a COVID-19 safety precaution.

Dormitories

There are eight

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

for the students, divided by class and by gender. Savoy is the 10th and 11th grade boys' dorm. It is home to one of the school's dining halls, classrooms for grades 9-10, administration offices, and one of the school's libraries. Vermont is the 7th, 8th and 9th grade girls' dorm, and houses the Travel Office and IT department. Esplanade is the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade boys’ dorm. Beau Site is home to the 10th and 11th grade girls. The new Belle Époque campus is home to 12th grade boys and girls, (with the students living in separate wings), classrooms for grades 11-12, one of the school's library, and administration offices.

Purchase of Grand Hotel

On June 13, 2008, the Leysin American School purchased the Grand Hôtel at the upper edge of the Leysin village. The 10,000 square meter building and 4.3 hectare grounds were developed in 1890, during the Belle Époque period as a lavish hotel and

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

clinic for the world's elite families. In the early 1980s, after decades of transition in Leysin from health clinics to education centers, the complex became the home of the American College of Switzerland. Major renovations to the building have been completed and it is now home to the new LAS IB campus. This campus has a dining hall, the Grand Salle ballroom, new Art Center, The Cave lounge for students, a library, computer lab, and the boys’ and girls’ dormitories.

Leisure

Leysin is a ski and snowboard resort town. During ski season (January–March), LAS has all of the students spend Tuesday and Thursday afternoons on the mountain, either taking lessons (given by instructors from the town) or skiing or snowboarding freely.

References

External links

Leysin American School in Switzerland
{{Authority control Boarding schools in Switzerland Buildings and structures in the canton of Vaud Secondary schools in Switzerland Leysin Private schools in Switzerland American international schools in Switzerland International Baccalaureate schools in Switzerland Educational institutions established in 1961