The Benefits of the LAS Summer Program

Summer camp allows kids to meet new people, try new things, and push themselves out of their comfort zones in a safe and encouraging environment. Pair that with picturesque Alpine landscapes, a multicultural community, and a diverse range of activities, and you get the LAS Summer program! Many people associate Switzerland with skiing, hot chocolate, and warm fires. Although this is an accurate depiction of the winter months, for many people, summer is the best season in the Swiss Alps! Lake swimming, mountain biking, and warm summer evenings are just a small taster of all that this area of the world has to offer. 

Here at Leysin American School in Switzerland, we love hosting students from around the world in the summertime. Summer camps equip students with social skills, confidence, and independence, allowing them to meet many new international friends and socialize confidently with others. Here at LAS, we host two different groups of summer schoolers for three weeks at a time. Our bespoke summer programs provide students with ample opportunity to experience boarding school life in the Alps and make new friends from all over the world. Students participate in many activities such as paddle boarding, parapenting, swimming in Lake Geneva, football, arts and crafts, French lessons, and yoga, to name just a few! 

Here are a few reasons why we believe students from around the world benefit from the LAS Summer in Switzerland program:
 

• Students gain new skills, such as independence and confidence.

Going to summer camp equips students with the skills they need to become confident and independent young adults. Combine this with the varied range of cultures and backgrounds at LAS and you get a group of confident and independent campers by the end of the summer! Students can explore opportunities, spend time in a new environment, and live as boarding school students while they reside with us. Providing students with choices and options for how to spend their time develops agency and teaches them about their likes and dislikes, all within a fun and encouraging environment. We always love seeing how our students change and mature over the few weeks they are with us!

 

• Students meet people from all over the world.

At Leysin American School, we think of our students as citizens of the world. We love welcoming students and young adults from different cultures onto campus, as this facilitates cultural sharing and teaches students more about the world around them. Our summer students love meeting friends from other countries, as they are people they would never have had the opportunity to meet otherwise! Meeting people from different backgrounds promotes empathy and opens up a whole new world of curiosity and travel. We can’t wait to see how many different cultures are represented on campus next year!

 

• Summer Schoolers can create their own bespoke program.

Students can create their own customized summer program by choosing their activities, whether that’s language acquisition, sports, leadership, or enrichment courses! This promotes independence and lets students progress in skills through intensive programs. Being flexible is what the summer program is all about, so improving skills while also trying new activities and having fun ensures students have a fantastic summer! 

 

• Students can experience a wide range of exciting activities.

Have you ever tried parapenting? Or maybe paddleboarding on Lake Geneva? Students who come to Leysin American School for the summer program have many opportunities in a friendly, family-like environment. We love allowing students to enjoy all that Switzerland has to offer and learn lots of new things in the process, both about themselves and the world around them. We cater to all kinds of interests, including learning a new language, baking, gardening, visual art and music, tennis, creative writing, math workshops, and so much more!

 

• Students can be immersed in the language.

Here at the LAS Summer in Switzerland program, students are given the opportunity to learn a new language! Located in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, students can become immersed in the language and practice with locals that speak the language. This allows them to become proficient in the language really quickly and gives them the confidence to use their skills in the real world. At LAS, experiential learning is a huge part of the curriculum and that extends to the summer program. Allowing students to use their skills in the real world reinforces their knowledge and helps them apply it to their everyday lives. 

 

• It’s so much fun! 

Our summer students always report that they have so much fun during our summer program. We always enjoy combining enriching educational sessions with activities that allow students to relax during their summer vacation! Here are some quotes from our students and parents last year:

• “What I liked best was spending time in the dorms at night.  My roommate was from Spain, and she even taught me some Spanish! What a great opportunity to meet other kids from all over the world.”
• "Thank you so much. I truly appreciate you being so helpful and kind during this entire process. Tiffany is having a blast and can not wait to share her summer camp experiences with her friends.”
• "I can’t think of a better way for my children to spend their summer! They spend their mornings learning a new language, their afternoons exploring the best spots in the Alps, and their evenings hanging out with friends. It’s the best summer ever!"