LVIS is proud to present a new Swiss Dream Starter package especially aimed at parents who would love their children to attend an affordable boarding school Europe option, but don’t want to commit for a full year. The French Host Family package will allow your child to stay in Switzerland, go to school, learn french and enjoy a dream 90 day minimum stay in Europe. Your child can of course stay longer, there are no limits on length.

The idea for this program came from speaking to dozens and dozens of parents that were curious about the idea of living in Switzerland themselves for a year, but couldn’t possibly afford the time away from their current living situations. Some parents we speak to have had the dream of sending their children away to a private education in Europe or Switzerland, but just aren’t sure about the length of commitment.

I mean let’s face it. A year abroad is a pretty life changing commitment, and we understand that. There are also visa requirements that make it challenging for countries outside Europe, like the US, Canada, or Australia to stay for longer than 6 months. The current Schengen Visa also non Europeans for a maximum of 6 months, and it’s challenging for those families that would like to stay longer than a year.

The good news about our program is that LVIS can take of ALL of the immigration details for you. It is much easier for LVIS to apply for a single student visa from inside of Switzerland than having you fumble around in a foreign language, wondering who the right person is to speak with at the canton. Basically, the sounds of this task is so daunting as to stop even the most intrepid mum dead in her tracks. So, cross that one mommy’s to do list, and trust me, this is a big one. We can expedite the visa for you child usually within 30 days from the time you submit your application.

The other big thing that you can not worry about is room and board. With our exciting new French Family host program, we can place your child with a french speaking host family to make sure that your child is as comfortable and well taken care of as possible. We have English, Spanish and Swedish speaking families available as well for parents that want their child to learn another language, or speak in their native tongue. When your child lives with a french speaking family, they’ll really be able to get the full immersion experience. Can you imagine how much your child will learn by forcing him or herself to speak french after coming home from school each day and speaking only french at home? The effect will catapult their language confidence abilities to something that will change them for the course of their lives. French is still considered one of the most sophisticated diplomatic languages spoken today, and will be sure to shape and enhance your child’s eligibility when under the admissions officers’ lens while applying for Universities a few years down the road.

Now for the most important element of the Swiss Dream Starter Package, the actual school environment. LVIS is located in Verbier, Switzerland which was just voted the best Ski Resort in all of Switzerland, which really means the rest of the world. Everyone knows that Switzerland has some of the oldest and most elegant resorts on the planet. Verbier is nuzzled in between the French and Italian borders, a stone’s throw from legendary mountain town of Chamonix, France. The school currently houses between 100 and 150 students from foundation stage or preschool through to year 11 and beyond. The course work follow the well documented and widely accepted University of Cambridge’s General Certificate of Secondary Education. The course work that is accepted around the world follow the University of Cambridge’s accepted testing qualifications that allow children’s marks to transfer to most any generally accepted international program around the world.

Your child will be taught all of the classic subjects that they’d learn at home. History, Social Sciences, Mathematics according to the level accept by the University of Cambridge, Geography, Science, English, and of course French. The format is generally 60% English, and 40% in French with French being the primary language spoken in the town and surrounding area. Many of our alumni are very happy with the standards that they are taught during their time at LVIS, and nearly always end up ahead when they head back to their home districts. Generally, the amount of homework that LVIS teachers send their students home with each night ranges from 30 minutes in the lower grades to 1 or 2 hours in the higher grades. We don’t want your child to be completely swamped with school work, and realise that part of the experience should also be to enjoy their time in Switzerland. After all, this could be a once in a lifetime experience, and it should be treated as such. It’s not all just about work.

Of course, sports is also taken very seriously at LVIS. Being in one of the best ski resorts in the world means that the access to skiing is right out the front door. The ski lifts giving access to hundreds of kilometers of ski trails and 5 massive mountain networks are located in the heart of the town. Skiing is literally a way of life in Verbier, and as such, we take it seriously. Ski classes and training are incorporated into the curriculum during the winter semesters during the months of January, February, March and April. During these months your child will be able to take Wednesdays and Friday afternoons off to ski, as part of their course work. How great is that?

The ski training focuses primarily on traditional alpine racing, freeride skiing and freestyle skiing. The Swiss coaching level is world class for all three of these skiing activities but it doesn’t mean that your child needs to be at an advanced level. We have ski classes and training for all levels, from beginner to expert. There are also many other sports asides from skiing. There’s triple A hockey, horseback riding, climbing, swimming, squash, and football/soccer, tennis and golf in the spring.

Another added bonus of having your child spend time is Europe are the cultural excursions that they can expect to do on a monthly basis. We bring your child and try and show them as much of the surrounding area as possible. Places likes A’osta Italy, Chamonix France, Geneva, Gruyere, Interlaken, Lucern and many other places in the nearby area.

While the program is called the Swiss Dream Starter Package and starts at 90 days, you are more than welcome to have your child stay longer than that. Up to a full year in fact is normal for most of our host family students.

If you still have questions about how this program works, or the costs to send your child to Switzerland under this excellent starter program, feel free to contact us at info@lvis.ch, or hit the apply button below. By now, I am sure that you have a whole host of questions, and we will be more than happy to walk you through your particular child’s situation. We know that each and every child has their own set of special circumstances and we are experts in handling those as we are used to doing so on a daily basis.