Parent's Review of International School of Berne in Gümligen, Switzerland

What is the name of your child's school? (Please report on one school per survey.)

International School of Berne

In what town or city is this school located?

Gümligen

How would you describe this school? (i.e. American, British, International, Local, etc.)

International

What grade levels are represented at this school?

pre-K-12

How do most children get to school everyday? (bus, train, walk, etc.)

Parents drop off younger students but most older students, Grade 5/6 and up, take the tram. It's generally a very safe community and public transport is used by local children as well. There is a private van hired and used by some of the embassy families.

How would you describe the facilities at this school? What extra-curricular activities are available?

The new campus is beautiful! Really nice facility and a lovely cafeteria and common space, open to parents as well for morning coffee (but I am writing during the pandemic. Many of the usual offerings are on hold)

What has this school done to help your child transition from the curriculum in your home country into the curriculum in your new country? Are there programs to prepare your child for repatriation?

My children were happy within a week. They found friends very quickly. The whole community is very welcoming and everyone knows what it feels like to be new and foreign.

How would you describe the social activities available for parents through this school? Are there parent-teacher organizations?

There is the PTC that meets every month in the morning. It is hard to participate if you work, but given the demographics, most of the families have a "trailing spouse". There are weekday outings, hikes, walks, tours, etc as well as family activities, bowling night, quiz night, and weekend family hikes.

What advice would you give to someone considering enrolling their child in this school?

We are very happy here and are having a great experience living in Switzerland as a result. The teacher-student ratio is low so we feel the kids get a lot of attention from their teacher.

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