International School of Geneva vs Surval Montreux
🇨🇭 Switzerland (boarding) · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither International School of Geneva nor Surval Montreux sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. One practical difference: Surval Montreux offers boarding while the other is day-only — decisive for families who need a residential option. Verify current fees against each school's own figures (see the table below).
Key Facts
| International School of Geneva | Surval Montreux | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | IB / British / American / National | British / American |
| Ages | 3-18 | 12-19 |
| Languages of instruction | English, French | English, French |
| Annual fees | CHF 19,800-35,470 per year (tuition only, 2025-2026; registration CHF 2,500 and a one-time Capital Development Fund fee of CHF 4,000 are charged separately) | CHF 112,000 per year (2025-2026, boarding) |
| Enrollment | 4,500 | 70 |
| Boarding | Day only | Yes |
| Accreditations | Council of International Schools (CIS), Middle States Association (MSA), IB World School |
Strengths
- ✓Founded in 1924 as the world's first international school and the birthplace of the IB Diploma Programme
- ✓Full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP, CP) plus Cambridge IGCSE and the Swiss Maturite
- ✓Genuinely bilingual English and French with a World Languages programme of more than 25 languages
- ✓Strong published 2025 IB outcomes (94-99 percent pass rates; average around 35 points)
- ✓Triple independent endorsement from CIS, MSA and the IB across three established campuses
- ✓Distinctive, clearly-stated niche as a small all-girls international boarding school, a rare single-sex offer in the Lake Geneva cluster
- ✓Very small cohort (roughly 60-80 students) with average class sizes of about 6-8, allowing close individual attention
- ✓Recognised UK academic pathway through Cambridge IGCSE and A-Levels, alongside an American High School Diploma route
- ✓A Foundation Year and English-medium teaching that ease entry for international students still building academic English
- ✓Heritage in languages, culture and leadership development modernised from the school's 1961 finishing-school origins
Trade-offs
- !Large multi-campus scale (around 4,500 students) can feel institutional rather than intimate
- !Some pathways are campus-specific (IGCSE and Maturite only at La Chataigneraie; CP only at Campus des Nations)
- !Day school only, with no boarding
- !Premium fees plus separate registration and a one-time CHF 4,000 capital fee
- !No single graded public inspection rating exists in the Swiss system
- !No publicly verifiable major international accreditation (CIS / NEASC) and no graded inspection rating to corroborate quality
- !Swiss SERI does not approve its upper-secondary provision as a recognised Swiss Mittelschule / College / Liceo
- !No published examination results (A-Level or IGCSE outcomes) available to evidence academic performance
- !Very small single-sex cohort limits peer breadth, subject-option scale and the size of any given year group
Best Fit For
- • Internationally mobile families wanting an IB pathway from early years to Diploma
- • Bilingual French-and-English households seeking genuine dual-language instruction
- • Families valuing heritage, scale and breadth of recognised curricula
- • Students considering the Swiss Maturite or IGCSE alongside the IB
- • Families specifically seeking a small, single-sex (girls-only) boarding environment
- • International students who benefit from very small classes and high adult-to-student ratios
- • Students pursuing UK A-Levels or a US-style diploma while immersed in a French-speaking region
- • Learners needing a Foundation Year and English-language support before mainstream secondary study
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: Ecolint publishes 2025 IB Diploma pass rates of 99 percent (Campus des Nations), 98 percent (La Grande Boissiere) and 94 percent (La Chataigneraie), with an average of about 35 points, drawn from its own admissions FAQ and not independently audited here.
School-reported, unverified: the school promotes a Master Class supporting applications to universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Ivy League institutions, but no verified destination or placement data was found in public sources.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose International School of Geneva or Surval Montreux?
International School of Geneva is best for: Internationally mobile families wanting an IB pathway from early years to Diploma. Surval Montreux is best for: Families specifically seeking a small, single-sex (girls-only) boarding environment. The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between International School of Geneva and Surval Montreux?
International School of Geneva: CHF 19,800-35,470 per year (tuition only, 2025-2026; registration CHF 2,500 and a one-time Capital Development Fund fee of CHF 4,000 are charged separately). Surval Montreux: CHF 112,000 per year (2025-2026, boarding). Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do International School of Geneva and Surval Montreux offer?
International School of Geneva: IB, British, American, National. Surval Montreux: British, American.
Do International School of Geneva or Surval Montreux offer boarding?
International School of Geneva: day school only. Surval Montreux: offers boarding.
Questions parents ask
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →