Leysin Summer Leadership Camp in the beautiful town of Leysin

Course Description: Leysin Summer Leadership Camp in the beautiful town of Leysin

🎓 Course Overview

This two-week summer leadership and outdoor adventure camp for teenagers aged 13–17 takes place in Leysin, a mountain village in the Vaud Alps above Lake Geneva. Under the motto "Challenge yourself. Lead together.", the programme combines leadership modules and workshops with demanding outdoor activities, so that students practise communication, goal setting and teamwork in real situations. Students leave with a Course Completion Certificate and a formal Personal Action Plan.

📚 Academic Content

Leadership learning follows a "learning by doing" approach: each day opens with a short leadership topic, which students then apply during the day's activities and team challenges, encouraged and challenged by experienced coaches.

Leadership Modules

• Communication: connecting with others and understanding different communication types.

• Goal setting and prioritisation: setting personal goals and deciding what matters most.

• Teamwork: working together through team challenges and outdoor activities.

• Personal Action Plan: a formal plan, completed by each student, setting out how they will keep developing after camp.

English is the main language of the camp, and basic everyday English is sufficient to take part. There are no formal language lessons, but students naturally improve their English (and often French) through daily interaction with staff and international peers.

📍 Campus & Location

The camp is based in a historic former palace hotel, a private mountain campus in a safe and quiet setting in Leysin, with views across the Vaud Alps. Facilities include a spacious dining room, a large terrace overlooking the mountains, conference rooms for workshops and indoor games, and leisure facilities. Students arrive via Geneva International Airport or Geneva train station, from where transfers are included during regular hours.

🏫 Accommodation & Meals

Students share rooms of two to three with peers of the same gender and similar age, with private showers next door. Boys and girls are housed on separate floors, and students are mixed with peers of different nationalities; friends or relatives can be placed together if requested before camp. One laundry service during camp is included.

Meals are prepared by the campus chef, with European and international dishes made from fresh ingredients, and salads, vegetables and fruit always available. Vegetarian, religious, medical and other special diets are catered for.

🚌 Excursions & Activities

Outdoor activities are central to the programme and include via ferrata, rock climbing, zip lining, canyoning, river rafting, a high ropes course, bushcraft and forest games, mountain biking, go-karting and scavenger hunts.

A highlight is the Glacier Expedition up to 3,000 metres, which combines leadership workshops with an Alpine coaster ride, glacier learning and a walk between two summits. Excursions to places of interest in the region are also part of the programme.

⏰ A Day in the Life

A sample day (for illustration only):

• 07:30 — Wake-up

• 08:00 — Breakfast

• 08:45 — Morning assembly

• 09:00 — Leadership session: connecting with others and communication types

• 09:15–12:30 — High ropes course or bushcraft and forest games

• 12:30 — Lunch

• 13:30–17:30 — Canyoning or mountain biking

• 17:30 — Leisure time

• 18:30 — Dinner

• 19:30–21:30 — Go-karting or scavenger hunt

2027 Dates & Fees 📅

This is a residential camp with one two-week session in 2027. The fee is all-inclusive and quoted in Swiss francs (CHF).

• Saturday 3 July – Friday 16 July 2027 — Length: 2 weeks — Residential: CHF 7,400

Sessions are usually two weeks; shorter stays may be possible on request. Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Transfers: pick-up and drop-off at Geneva International Airport or Geneva train station between 10:00 and 15:00 on arrival and departure days are included; outside these hours there is a charge of CHF 300 per direction. Parents are also welcome to bring students directly to campus.

Payment and cancellation: a non-refundable deposit is required to secure a place (the amount is confirmed on booking), and a visa support letter is issued only once the full fee has been paid. Under the most recently published cancellation terms (summer 2026), cancellations until 1 May receive a full refund minus the deposit; 80% of the total fee is charged from 15 May to 1 June, 50% from 1 to 14 June, and no refund is given from 15 June, including for visa refusal, early departure or force majeure. Pocket money of around CHF 100 per week is recommended for personal purchases on excursions.

✔️ What's Included

Accommodation, all meals, the full leadership programme and workshops, all outdoor activities and equipment, the Glacier Expedition, excursions, insurance, one laundry service, a Course Completion Certificate and Personal Action Plan, and Geneva airport or train station transfers during regular hours.

Not included: flights, transfers outside regular hours (CHF 300 per direction), early arrival, dry cleaning and pocket money.

🛡️ Safety & Welfare

The camp is run by an experienced international team with an emphasis on safety, health and wellbeing. The standard ratio is one trainer to six students, and some camps go as low as 1:3 or 1:4. Trainers form a multilingual senior team with backgrounds in areas such as mountain guiding, ski instruction, education and media training, and outdoor activities are led by qualified local instructors; activity risk assessments can be shared with parents on request. Each day starts with a morning assembly that includes a safety briefing.

Students are covered by accident, liability and health insurance for the whole camp, giving 24/7 access to online consultations and in-person doctor visits near the campus. Medication is given only with family approval and in line with the health and consent form, and families are kept informed. Parents can reach camp management 24/7 in an emergency, and visits must be arranged in advance. Phones may be used at set times (before breakfast, on bus rides, during leisure time before dinner and before bed) and are otherwise stored by staff.

💡 Who This Programme Is For

This camp suits teenagers aged 13–17 who want to grow in confidence, learn to lead and work in a team, and enjoy real Alpine adventure. It is ideal for active students who like a challenge and want to make friends from around the world, and only basic everyday English is needed.

SHMS Swiss Hotel Management School (Leysin) — Google Maps ↗

Av. Léopold de Reynier 2, 1854 Leysin, Switzerland Google Maps ↗