Collège du Léman Pre-University Summer Programme

The Pre-University Summer Programme at Collège du Léman is a two-week academic course held on the school's campus in Versoix, a short distance from Geneva and directly beside Lake Geneva. It is designed for students in the final years of high school, roughly ages fifteen to eighteen, who are weighing up what to study at university and want more than a brochure to go on. Students choose one of four academic streams and stay with it for the whole course. Architecture covers architectural history, core design concepts and the methods architects use to analyse and shape a space, with practical exercises throughout. Global Finance and Business introduces stocks, bonds, investment and economic policy, and works through case studies on subjects such as cryptocurrency, inflation and the role of the finance sector in public policy. Medicine gives a working grounding in clinical medicine and biomedical science and includes application workshops and discussion panels for students considering medical school. Psychology covers cognitive, social and developmental theory, research methods including experimental design and survey work, and applied psychology in areas such as mental health, education and behaviour change. Group projects run alongside the taught sessions. Each stream is given a shared dilemma that students research together and present at the end of the course, which puts the academic content to work and builds the teamwork and presentation skills that university study demands. The course is organised in partnership with Bucksmore Education, and teaching is in English; the school asks for an English level of B1 or above. The programme comes in two formats. Boarding students live on the campus for the full stay, arriving on a Sunday and leaving on the Saturday at the end of the second week, with accommodation in the school's own residential houses. Day students attend Monday to Friday, from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon. Both formats include the academic programme and the activity programme that runs around it. Outside the classroom, students use a campus built for a full boarding school: the Olympus Gymnasium, an all-weather pitch and outdoor multi-sports courts, science laboratories equipped for robotics and 3D printing, music rooms, a library and gardens with a walking track and an outdoor fitness zone. Time is also spent on Lake Geneva and on excursions elsewhere in Switzerland, so students see something of the country as well as the campus. The result is a course that sits between a summer camp and a taste of university. Students come from a range of countries, live and study alongside each other for a fortnight, and leave with a clearer sense of whether the subject they are drawn to is the one they want to spend three or four years on. Availability, dates and prices may change quickly. Please always confirm details directly with the camp provider before making travel arrangements.