Intensive English, French or German Language Summer School in Blonay, Switzerland

Course Description: Intensive English, French or German Language Summer School in Blonay, Switzerland

🎓 Course Overview

This summer language school on the shores of Lake Geneva offers 20 hours a week of English, French or German in small groups, combined with afternoons of sport, outdoor adventure and excursions across Switzerland. It runs from 27 June to 1 August 2027 for Juniors (ages 6–11) and Teens (ages 12–16), with stays of one to five weeks. The camp is small, family-run and genuinely international, and students live in a year-round boarding school with full board and round-the-clock supervision.

📚 Academic Content

Lessons take place each morning from 09:15 to 13:15, adding up to 20 hours a week. Classes are small and taught by experienced native-speaker teachers, with levels for everyone from beginners to advanced learners.

Learning by Doing

Teaching is project-based and immersive. Students practise real-life communication, develop critical thinking through research and debates, and build the confidence to use the language outside the classroom, during afternoon activities, at mealtimes and on excursions.

Languages Offered

• French: learnt in the heart of French-speaking Switzerland, where students can use the language every day.

• English: for international students who want to improve fluency and accuracy.

• German: also available within the language programme.

Intensive Creative Writing

Students at B1 level and above can choose an intensive creative writing track in French or English, working on stories, essays and creative exercises.

📍 Campus & Location

The camp takes place at a family-run, year-round international boarding school founded in 1966 in Blonay, in the canton of Vaud. The campus overlooks Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps, close to Vevey, Montreux and Lausanne, with easy access to the rest of French-speaking Switzerland. The summer camp is deliberately small, welcoming around 65 students from all over the world, which keeps the atmosphere personal and family-like. The school holds the Swiss Made label and is a member of the Swiss and Vaud private-school federations (FSEP and AVDEP).

🏫 Accommodation & Meals

Campers live in the school's boarding house, in rooms shared by two or three students, with separate living areas for boys and girls. Full board is provided: breakfast, lunch and dinner are balanced, home-style meals prepared with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Day students take lunch and, on the full-day option, dinner at school.

🚌 Excursions & Activities

Afternoons, evenings and weekends are packed with activities and excursions, all included in the boarding fee:

• Adventure & discovery: lake and mountain adventures by scooter and bike, an outdoor camping experience, sunrise and sunset forest hikes, sleeping under the stars, trips to major Swiss cities and heritage visits such as the salt mines, a chocolate factory and caves.

• Europa-Park: a two-day trip to the theme park in Germany.

• Sport: aquapark visits, kayak, paddle and sailing, self-defence and fitness, ropes park, archery and climbing, football, basketball, volleyball and tennis.

• Arts & creativity: cooking and baking, painting, arts and crafts, dance and music, and 3D printing.

• Evenings: games, workshops, picnics and social events.

Optional professional sport academies, run with local clubs, are available at all levels in football, basketball, tennis, ice hockey, golf and horse riding, and can be combined with the morning programme.

⏰ A Day in the Life

A typical day (subject to change):

• 08:00 — Wake up and breakfast

• 09:15 — Morning learning programme

• 13:15 — Lunch

• 14:30 — Afternoon activities: sports, academies, outdoor adventures and excursions

• 19:15 — Dinner

• 20:30 — Evening activities: games, workshops and social events

• 22:00 — Lights out (depending on age)

2027 Dates & Fees 📅

The language programme is available throughout the summer camp, from Sunday 27 June to Sunday 1 August 2027, with weekly arrivals on Sundays. Fees are quoted in Swiss francs (CHF). Boarding prices are all-inclusive:

• 1 week: CHF 2,800

• 2 weeks: CHF 4,950

• 3 weeks: CHF 6,250

• 4 weeks: CHF 7,500

• 5 weeks: CHF 8,900

Available stays:

• 27 June – 4 July 2027 — 1 week — Boarding CHF 2,800 — Full-day CHF 1,600

• 27 June – 11 July 2027 — 2 weeks — Boarding CHF 4,950 — Full-day CHF 3,200

• 27 June – 18 July 2027 — 3 weeks — Boarding CHF 6,250 — Full-day CHF 4,800

• 27 June – 25 July 2027 — 4 weeks — Boarding CHF 7,500 — Full-day CHF 6,400

• 27 June – 1 August 2027 — 5 weeks — Boarding CHF 8,900 — Full-day CHF 8,000

• 4 July – 11 July 2027 — 1 week — Boarding CHF 2,800 — Full-day CHF 1,600

• 4 July – 18 July 2027 — 2 weeks — Boarding CHF 4,950 — Full-day CHF 3,200

• 4 July – 25 July 2027 — 3 weeks — Boarding CHF 6,250 — Full-day CHF 4,800

• 4 July – 1 August 2027 — 4 weeks — Boarding CHF 7,500 — Full-day CHF 6,400

• 11 July – 18 July 2027 — 1 week — Boarding CHF 2,800 — Full-day CHF 1,600

• 11 July – 25 July 2027 — 2 weeks — Boarding CHF 4,950 — Full-day CHF 3,200

• 11 July – 1 August 2027 — 3 weeks — Boarding CHF 6,250 — Full-day CHF 4,800

• 18 July – 25 July 2027 — 1 week — Boarding CHF 2,800 — Full-day CHF 1,600

• 18 July – 1 August 2027 — 2 weeks — Boarding CHF 4,950 — Full-day CHF 3,200

• 25 July – 1 August 2027 — 1 week — Boarding CHF 2,800 — Full-day CHF 1,600

Day camp: a full-day option (08:45–21:45, with lessons, lunch, dinner, activities and excursions) costs CHF 1,600 per week, and a half-day option (lessons and lunch, 08:45–13:45, no activities) costs CHF 1,100 per week. Day students pay CHF 200 for return airport transfers and CHF 300 for the Europa-Park trip if required.

Sport academies (per week): football, basketball, half-day tennis or horse riding +CHF 600; ice hockey, full-day tennis or golf +CHF 800.

Payment: a non-refundable first payment of CHF 800 secures the place, and the balance is due at least 30 days before arrival (in full at registration if booking later). Written cancellations more than 60 days before arrival are refunded except for the first payment; between 31 and 60 days, 50% of programme fees are refunded; within 30 days there is no refund. If a visa is refused, all sums except the first payment are refunded on presentation of the official refusal. Prices are published as indicative.

✔️ What's Included

For boarders: courses and materials (20 hours a week), full board, 24/7 supervision, all activities and excursions, two days at Europa-Park, and airport transfers (08:00–18:00).

Not included: medical insurance (CHF 8 per day), sport academies, and for day students, airport transfers and the Europa-Park trip.

🛡️ Safety & Welfare

The school is run by its founding family, who live on site together with the educational team, providing attentive supervision around the clock. A school health supervisor is on site and a permanent night watch is in place. Boys and girls have separate living areas, and screen time is deliberately limited so that students spend more time on sport, arts, the outdoors and making friends. With only around 65 campers, staff know every student personally and offer individual support.

💡 Who This Programme Is For

This programme suits children and teenagers aged 6 to 16 at any level who want to make real progress in English, French or German in a small, caring international environment, while enjoying the best of a Swiss summer by Lake Geneva. Flexible stays of one to five weeks make it easy to fit around family plans, and confident writers can push further with the creative writing track.

Chantemerle International School — Google Maps ↗

Chem. de Chantemerle 7, 1807 Blonay, Switzerland Google Maps ↗