Prime Language & Activity Summer Camp for Young Learners in Via Collina d'Oro, Switzerland

Course Description: Prime Language & Activity Summer Camp for Young Learners in Via Collina d'Oro, Switzerland

🎓 Course Overview

This three-week summer programme in southern Switzerland is designed for children aged 7–10. Each child chooses English, French or Italian as their main language and studies it in small morning classes, then enjoys sports, swimming, performing arts, STEAM projects and creative electives for the rest of the day. Children come from dozens of countries, and both boarding and day places are available; boarders also enjoy weekend trips to nearby mountains and cities.

📚 Academic Content

Language Classes

Children follow daily language lessons of around 90 minutes to two hours in small classes at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels:

• English as an Additional Language: immersive English that builds on existing skills.

• French: exploring French-speaking countries and cultures with a focus on building confidence.

• Italian: useful vocabulary and phrases for real situations off campus, such as ordering gelato.

STEAM

An hour of science, technology, engineering, arts and maths every afternoon is taught in the child's target language, encouraging creative thinking and problem-solving.

Performing Arts & Electives

Working artists lead singing, dancing, drama, musical theatre, percussion, ukulele and more, and children can help prepare an original musical for the Summer Arts Festival. Each week children also choose two afternoon electives from culinary arts, visual arts, design and science; past options have included crêpe-making, wax sculpture, painting, drumming, knitting and crochet, soap-making, fashion design, robotics and environmental science.

Sports

Late-morning sports include kickball, basketball, dodgeball, cooperative games, yoga, hiking, table tennis, mindfulness and swimming. Optional clubs replace this slot at extra cost: a tennis club (CHF 500, coach ratio 1:5), Milan Academy football coaching (CHF 500), paddle sports on Lake Lugano (CHF 500) and, for boarders, a Sunday horse-riding club (CHF 300, maximum six children).

📍 Campus & Location

The school sits on a hillside in Montagnola, in the municipality of Collina d'Oro just above Lugano in Italian-speaking southern Switzerland, with views of snow-capped mountains, palm trees and Lake Lugano. The campus has 25 buildings, ranging from a 17th-century villa to a modern science centre, and students use the lake for watersports and the surrounding Ticino region for trips and outdoor adventures.

Unaccompanied boarding students are met at Milan Malpensa Airport (flights landing between 09:00 and 17:00 on arrival day) or at Lugano railway station, and departure buses run to the same points at the end of the session.

🏫 Accommodation & Meals

Boarders live in separate boys' and girls' dormitories with children of their own age group, mostly in rooms for two to four; siblings and friends are not placed together. Boarders receive breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner, and laundry is included. Day students receive lunch and snacks.

🚌 Excursions & Activities

Children take day trips and cultural visits around Switzerland, and boarders head off campus every weekend to nearby mountains and cities, with Sunday weekend clubs. An overnight hut hike is offered in both sessions, along with an optional camping adventure. Evenings for boarders are filled with supervised activities.

⏰ A Day in the Life

• 07:00 — Wake up (boarders)

• 07:15 — Breakfast and phone calls home (after the first week)

• 08:30 — Day students arrive

• 08:45 — Morning meeting

• 09:00 — Language classes and a light snack

• 10:30 — Sports and recreation or sports clubs

• 12:15 — Lunch, then rest time

• 13:45 — Singing with the performing arts team

• 14:30 — STEAM hour

• 15:40 — Arts activities or musical rehearsal

• 17:30 — Day students depart; dinner for boarders

• 18:00 — Evening activities

2027 Dates & Fees 📅

The programme runs in two three-week sessions. Children arrive on the first day (registration 10:00–16:00), and classes begin the following day. Day students attend Monday to Friday. Fees are quoted in Swiss francs (CHF).

• Session One: Sunday 27 June – Saturday 17 July — Length: 3 weeks — Boarding: CHF 9,200 — Day: CHF 4,500

• Session Two: Monday 19 July – Sunday 8 August — Length: 3 weeks — Boarding: CHF 9,200 — Day: CHF 4,500

The last programme day for day students is Friday 16 July (Session One) or Saturday 7 August (Session Two); boarders may leave after the Arts Festival performances.

Optional extras: sports clubs (CHF 300–500) and optional trips (prices on application).

Payment: a non-refundable deposit of CHF 1,500 secures a place, and the balance is due by 15 May 2027 (later enrolments must be paid in full within seven days of the invoice). Cancellations before 15 May may receive a tuition refund minus the deposit; after that, enrolment is binding and there are no refunds for absence, withdrawal or dismissal except in documented emergencies. Optional sports and trips are non-refundable after arrival.

Other costs: if an airline's unaccompanied-minor service is booked, a CHF 200 chaperone fee applies. Suggested pocket money is CHF 40–50 per week.

✔️ What's Included

• Boarding: tuition, books, dormitory accommodation, all meals, laundry, daily excursions and weekend trips, and health and accident insurance for non-Swiss residents.

• Day: tuition, books, lunch and snacks and daily excursions (no programme on Saturdays or Sundays).

Not included: optional sports clubs, optional trips, personal spending, uncovered medical costs and travel to Switzerland.

🛡️ Safety & Welfare

Children follow a carefully structured day, including rest time after lunch, and boarders can phone home after the first week at set times. Weekend activities are fully supervised.

The on-campus Health Center is staffed by three nurses providing round-the-clock care, and the Civico Hospital in Lugano is about 15 minutes away for emergencies. Boarding students who are not Swiss residents are covered by the school's health and accident insurance plan, which has no deductibles (dental and eye care are not covered); Swiss residents and day students need their own policy, although non-Swiss day students can apply to join the plan.

💡 Who This Programme Is For

This programme suits 7–10-year-olds who are curious, sociable and ready to learn a new language through play, music and hands-on projects. It works for complete beginners as well as children who already speak some English, French or Italian, and for families looking either for a first boarding experience in a nurturing setting or a rich day programme near Lugano.

TASIS The American School In Switzerland — Google Maps ↗

Via Collina d'Oro 15, 6926 Montagnola, Switzerland Google Maps ↗