Beau Soleil Private School - Summer Camp

Since 1910 Beau Soleil has been committed to providing young people from every continent with a thoroughly worthwhile education experience. Since its foundation the school has run a regular summer camp in the mountains, offering the chance for students to perfect their language skills in French and English while making the most of opportunities to be physically active. In the idyllic setting of the Swiss Alps, at an altitude of 1,300 metres, some 180 young people take part in our Alpine Language Camp, a combination of academic language classes, sporting activities andcultural outings.

Organisation

The leadership team
The Summer Camp Director is the school's Assistant Director during the main school year and has been running the summer camp for many seasons. He devotes a significant part of his time to the promotion, organisation and preparation of the summer camp. He is assisted by an academic director, campsite leaders and activity leaders.

The staff team
Our team of activity leaders have many years of experience between them, as well as qualifications earned in their country of origin. Most are also certified in first-aid training. They all speak French or English, and some are perfectly bilingual. We have instructors from a variety of countries.

Teachers
All our teachers of French and English are qualified and experienced. The majority are drawn from the school's full-time teaching staff, and are therefore familiar with the school routine and the learning expectations of the school. Classes are small (a maximum group size of 10) to encourage rapid progress. Lessons focus primarily on oral skills and the reinforcement of grammar and vocabulary.

Every summer 180 boys and girls aged 7 to 16 arrive at Beau Soleil. Many of them come back year after year. The camp has a truly international composition with participants from a wide range of countries in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The junior group, aged 7 to 10, enjoys a special programme that takes account of their specific needs.

The key ingredients of the programme are fun, friendship, respect, teamwork and a positive attitude. The key word is "balance" - finding the right balance between academic language courses, sports and cultural activities; between group and individual activities.

Alpine language camp

Classes are organised 5 mornings per week, from 9.00am to 12.00pm (maximum class size: 10).

The academic courses emphasise spoken language and communication. Solid foundations in grammar, spelling and vocabulary are taught at every level. Juniors have their own teachers, and the courses are geared to their age level. The final hour of teaching is devoted to an activity outside the classroom to sustain their interest.

We offer two different courses:

• French: Six levels, from beginners to advanced
• English: Six levels, from beginners to advanced

To create the best group dynamic, participants are split by age into one group for 7 to 10 year olds and another for 11 to 16 year olds.

Alongside these new activities we continue to offer our old favourites: theme evenings, the mountain camp, the lakeside camp, as well as numerous sporting activities and cultural excursions - all of this in our distinctive friendly family style.


General activities
These activities focus primarily on team sports and entertainment which are vital in creating a positive and co-operative community atmosphere. Students can practise a wide range of sports including ice skating, swimming, mountain hiking, rock climbing, football, volleyball, basketball, mini-golf and fitness training.

Excursions
Each week, a half-day excursion provides an introduction to a new part of Switzerland, such as Lucerne, Zermatt, Interlaken, Geneva (locationn of the International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations), Berne (capital of Switzerland), or Lausanne (Olympic Museum).

Evenings
Students and activity leaders organise a range of evening entertainment events such as dance nights, fancy dress balls, cabarets, sports evenigs, karaoke, bowling and several other activities. There are specially adapted programmes for the juniors.

Sports and leisure
Sundays ar set aside for special events such as "Olympic Games", "Jeux sans Frontières", water sports and treasure hunts in the spectacular Villars area.

Summer camp for mad enthusiasts
We all know how important it is to be "mad about something". And that's why it's the theme for our summer camp. Our participants are able to kick, climb, swing, serve, juggle, act, dance, sing and paint like mad! Each of the workshops we have organized is run by specially trained professionals with experiens in working alongside children. After the morning French and English language classes, which are run in small groups, our participants will have the weekly pick of one of the following options:

Mad about football: train with ex-France internationals.

Mad about golf: make the most of the fantastic Villars mountain course.

Mad about climbing: shin up indoor climbing walls and the magnificent outdoor summits of the area under the guidance of qualified instructors and guides.

Mad about tennis: become an ace server at the Villars tennis club.

Mad about the circus: learn the tricks of the circus-artist's trade.

Mad about the theatre: fulfil your footlight fantasies through improvisation and a range of stage skills.

Mad about music: whether on piano, guitar, drums, wind instrument or even the computer, this activity will strike a chord with music enthusiasts.

Mad about art: give expression to your creativity through colour, form and texture in the school art room.

Mad about dancing: strut your stuff doing Break Dance, Raga and other modern styles, led by teachers from the Monthey dance school.

Mad about white water: take to the rapids on the river Simme in the canton of Berne, and experience the thrills of canyoning and rafting.

ALPIN LANGUAGE CAMP 2012

Course dates and fees
From Sunday 1 to Friday 27 July 2012
Minimum stay 2 weeks

Stay A: from 1/07/12 to 27/07/12 (4 weeks)

Stay B: from 1/07/12 to 13/07/12 (2 weeks)

Stay C: from 15/07/12 to 27/07/12 (2 weeks)

Fees for 4 weeks	CHF 10'500.-
for 2 weeks	CHF 4'900.-
Mandatory pocket money	CHF 300.-
Registration fee	CHF 1'000.-
Shared private course (optional)	CHF 100.-/1h30 session per week
Shared private course (golf)	CHF 150.-/1h30 session per week

Extra expenses

Additional expenses such as private tutoring (CHF 100.- per lesson), shared private lessons, individual accompaniment to the airport (CHF 490.- each way), or supplementary day (CHF 450.-) must be covered in advance by an adequate deposit paid of the arrival of each child.