Institut Le Rosey
Encyclopedia
Institut Le Rosey, commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a school, in Gstaad, Switzerland
. It is described as one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the world. The school was founded by Paul-Émile Carnal in 1880 on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey near the town of Rolle
in the Canton of Vaud
. The school also owns a campus in the ski resort
village of Gstaad
in the Canton of Bern, where the student body, faculty, and staff move to during the Winter months of January through March. Institut Le Rosey is currently owned by its fourth generation of Directors
, Philippe and Anne Gudin, who assumed ownership of Le Rosey in 1980. Mr. Michael Gray is the current Headmaster of the school. During most of the 20th century, Le Rosey was referred to as the "School of Kings", as the school has educated many notable alumni, including 7 monarch
s.
Le Rosey is currently in the planning stages of constructing the CHF
45 million (estimated $43 million USD) Carnal Hall, an Arts and Performance Centre for Le Rosey and the La Côte
region currently scheduled for completion in 2012. The school is also planning the sale of its Gstaad winter campus, and a move to a location that can accommodate more personnel and students.
educationalist Howard Gardner
has called "multiple intelligences
": "its aim is to develop all Roseans’ talents through academic, sporting and artistic programmes." The school offers a demanding bilingual and bicultural education with the language of instruction being French
or English depending on the student's academic program; however, students may take many language classes while at Le Rosey. Students may sit either the International Baccalaureate, the most widely recognized pre-university educational program, or the Francophone
-oriented French Baccalaureate. To sustain an international atmosphere at Le Rosey, there exists a quota where no more than 10% of the students may come from a single country. The student body, ages 7 through 18, is composed of pupils from approximately 58 different countries, with 60% of the students being European. The school's current enrollment, over 400 pupils, is equally divided between male and female. The majority of students are between the ages of 14 and 18. The Student-teacher ratio
is 5:1 with the average class size being less than 10 students, and the average teacher's length of stay at Le Rosey is over ten years. Students at Le Rosey are nicknamed "Roséens" (in French) or "Roseans" (in English), and former students are labeled "Les Anciens Roséens".
The Le Rosey campus at Rolle is, in terms of area, the largest boarding school
in Switzerland, with 28 hectare
s (approximately 70 acre
s) of landscaped grounds. The school's sailing center, the "Fleur d'Eau", is situated along 100 meters of shoreline on Lake Geneva
. Le Rosey is reportedly the only boarding school in the world to change campuses seasonally. In spring and autumn, classes are held at the Château du Rosey campus in the village of Rolle in the Canton of Vaud, located between Geneva
and Lausanne
in southwestern Switzerland. For the winter months of January through March, the entire student body moves to a group of chalet
s in the ski resort town of Gstaad in the Canton of Berne
.
Le Rosey offers a wide range of sports, including: Football
(Soccer), Basketball
, Volleyball
, Badminton
, Equestrianism
, Rugby union
, cross-country running, Tennis
, Beach Volleyball
, Golf
, Sailing
, Rowing
, Competitive swimming, and Water skiing
during the spring and autumn terms. During the winter term, sports options are Skiing
, Snowboarding
, Ice-hockey, Curling
, Snowshoeing, and Sledding
.
Château du Rosey (depicted at left), a Feudal chateau
located on Le Rosey's main campus at Rolle, dates to the Middle Ages
and presently houses Le Rosey's central reception area.
In 1880, the site of the Le Rosey campus was chosen by the school's founder, Paul-Emile Carnal, "a lover of nature, history and the countryside". The Le Rosey campus at Rolle is situated adjacent to the famous Lake Geneva. In 1911, the founder passed the ownership of Le Rosey to his son, Henri-Paul Carnal. In 1917, the school began to go to Gstaad in the German
-speaking Canton of Berne for the winter months to escape the dense fog that settles in on Lake Geneva. In 1947, the third generation of directors, Louis Johannot and Helen Schaub, assumed ownership of Le Rosey. Under the same ownership, in 1967, Le Rosey admitted girls for the first time and opened a separate girls' campus. In 1980, the current owners, Philippe and Anne Gudin de la Sablonnière, became the fourth generation of Directors
at Le Rosey. Louis Johannot, in an interview with Life Magazine in 1965, made a comment that received considerable attention: "The only reason I always try to meet and know the parents better is because it helps me to forgive their children."
Prior to the introduction of the 10% quota, wherein no more than 10% of the student body may come from one country, different nationalities made up the majority of students at Le Rosey. In the 1950s and 1960s, the majority of students were Americans
, Italians
, and Greeks
, in the 1970s came the Arab
s and Iranians
, in the 1980s came the Japanese
and Koreans, and in the 1990s came the Russians
. The children of the Russian oligarchs
, which made up 1/3 of the student body in the 1990s, began to "terrorize" the other students at Le Rosey, and at least one non-Russian family withdrew their son in consequence.
is designed to "provide education of breadth, depth and quality for an international student body." Le Rosey offers a rigorous bilingual and bicultural education with the principal language of instruction being French or English depending on the student's academic program. Beginning in Class 9 (US 3rd grade; UK year 4) and ending in Class 7 (US 5th grade; UK Year 6), Junior students at Le Rosey follow the Primary Bilingual Programme. The Programme follows the French national curriculum for classes taught in French and the National Curriculum of the United Kingdom for classes taught in English, which are both complemented by the International Primary Curriculum to create an international education.
Le Rosey students in Classes 6-2 (US 6th-10th grade; UK Year 7-11) choose their principal language and continue their studies in French or English. If possible, students may study their mother tongue and a third or even a fourth language in addition to their principal language of instruction. Over 20 different languages have been taught at Le Rosey in the past five years. During the Secondary Bilingual Programme, English and French classes are obligatory, and upon entering Class 3 (US 9th grade), students begin the two-year "Pre-Bac" Programme to prepare the students for either the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme or the Francophone-oriented French Baccalaureate. At Le Rosey, the IB Diploma Programme
and the French Baccalaureate cover the last two years of schooling (Class 1 and Class t).
, karting, scuba diving
, and shooting
. On certain weekends a variety of activities are made available, including mountain expeditions, theatre trips to London, visits to Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Vienna and Madrid, athletic challenges (Rolle
–Gstaad
by bicycle), trips to watch football (soccer) matches, Formula One
racing, equestrian events, tennis tournaments, and school balls. During the Mid-October cultural trips, students are given the opportunity to visit countries and cities further afield, with recent destinations including university visits to the East Coast of the United States
and to Great Britain, humanitarian trips to participate in a Habitat for Humanity project in Romania
, to teach in the Rosey-Abantara School in Bamako, Mali, or a humanitarian mission to India, and cultural, leisure trips to Cuba
, Egypt
, Vietnam
, Mexico, Kenya
, Iceland
, and Aruba
.
, 14 specially-equipped rooms, 48 apartments for Le Rosey teachers, 2 infirmaries
, a library/media centre with about 20'000 to 30'000 literary and reference works, a theatre, 3 dining rooms and 2 cafeterias, an auditorium, 2 gym
nasiums, and an ecumenical chapel. Sports and arts facilities at Le Rosey include: 10 clay
Tennis court
s, a 25-meter indoor pool and wellness centre, a 25-meter outdoor pool, 3 football pitch
es, 1 synthetic rugby pitch, 1 wood chip running track, a shooting and archery range, an open-air theatre, and a computer-regulated greenhouse
. Off-campus Le Rosey owns: a private Equestrian centre housing 30 horses, 1 indoor riding school, 1 Dressage
area, and a clubhouse. Also off-campus is the Le Rosey sailing centre equipped with: 10 dinghies
, 3 motorboat
s, 3 yawl
s and a 38 feet (11.6 m) yacht
.
s, fitness centres, tennis courts, ice-hockey rink, a bowling alley, Curling, 250 kilometers (approximately 156 miles) of Alpine
ski slopes and 120 kilometers (approximately 75 miles) of Cross-country ski
tracks, 65 kilometers of Snowshoe
ing trails, climbing walls, and Via Ferrata
s.
s possible to "particularly deserving" students, and the four-member Rosey Scholarship Committee allots them to the approved students. However, Institut Le Rosey does not directly offer scholarships to any person, as scholarships are only made available through the Rosey Foundation.
l'Association Internationale des Anciens Roséens (AIAR), the International Association of Former Roseans, is Le Rosey's alumni association
, the members of which have been major contributors to 20th-century world history
. The AIAR, a prestigious network of former students, has alumni representatives in most countries and in many major cities across the world. Le Rosey's first alumni association, the "Old Rosey Association", was created on July 21, 1922 by a small group of alumni in the presence of the son of the school's founder, Henri Carnal. In 1926, the "Belgian Old Rosey Association" was founded; however, like the Old Rosey Association, it was declining due to slow international communication between alumni. The current alumni association, the AIAR, was established in 1964. The school's list of alumni is not published and access to AIAR events and meetings is exclusive to former students.
Institut Le Rosey is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
, the International Baccalaureate, the Académie française
of Grenoble
, the Minister of National Education of France
and the Council of International Schools
. Le Rosey is also a member of the European Council of International Schools
.
of New York and Paris. Carnal Hall will be owned by the Rosey Foundation, a State-approved non-profit organization
established in 1999; however, Institut Le Rosey will operate the Centre and will be responsible for organizing performances and functions. Separating ownership of Carnal Hall from Institut Le Rosey and granting it to the Rosey Foundation allows the public to contribute to the financing of the project. Institut Le Rosey will be the principal donor of the project. At the center of Carnal Hall there will be a performance hall seating up to 800 people with a modular balcony capable of seating an additional 800 people. The surrounding buildings will be composed of Carnal Hall's "Learning Centre", which will include 15 sound-proofed
music classrooms, an additional 50-seat theatre, and 2 large art studios. Carnal Hall will also feature a conference room seating between 150 and 200 people, a professional kitchen for culinary instruction, and a 100-seat restaurant with an outdoor terrace
for an additional 200 people. According to the Vaud regional newspaper, 24 Heures, construction of the Carnal Hall project will begin in 2010 and will be completed in 2012.
, the Rosey-Abantara School, in the suburbs of Bamako
, the capital city
of Mali
, in Saharan Africa. Rosey-Abantara is considered the most important charity project in Le Rosey's history. The project is entirely financed by the Le Rosey Charity Committee, with costs amounting to CHF 1,200,000 (approximately $1 million USD). An additional CHF 200,000 (approximately $167,000 USD) will be needed to purchase additional land for sports fields. By summer of 2007, primary construction work on the school was completed. By autumn of 2007, an estimated 1,500 Malian
children will attend Rosey-Abantara. An independent construction report, by Alfrique Expertises, was published in May 2007, with the report finding the Rosey-Abantara school's structure to be solid. Le Rosey students and teachers undertake humanitarian missions throughout the year to the Rosey-Abantara project to teach Malian students.
, Metternichs, Borghese
s, Hohenlohe
s, and Radziwiłłs
. The school has also famously educated royalty from around the world, particularly the deposed royal family members of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty
of Egypt
, Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
, the House of Glücksburg of Greece, and the House of Savoy
of Italy. Le Rosey has educated several monarch
s, including Aga Khan IV
, King Albert II of Belgium
, King Baudouin I of Belgium, King Fuad II of Egypt
, King Ntare V of Burundi, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
of Persia
, and Prince Rainier III of Monaco
. The future Grand Duke of Luxembourg
, Prince Guillaume
, was also educated at the school. At this moment, the future King of Bhutan is still educated there. Famous parents of past students at Le Rosey, who often visited the Rolle and Gstaad campuses, include: Elizabeth Taylor
, David Niven
, John Lennon
and Yoko Ono
, Diana Ross
, King Leopold III of Belgium
, Aristotle Onassis
, and Sir Winston Churchill
, a Rosean's grandfather. Rainier III once commented on Le Rosey: "The students were much friendlier because they were from such diverse, international backgrounds. I felt, for once in my childhood, that I could take a breath."
Emily Samantha Azzopardi, grand-daughter of French billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, also attends Le Rosey. The sons of high society playboy William Woodward, Jr.
, William "Woody" Woodward III and James "Jimmy" Woodward, were sent to Le Rosey after their father was accidentally shot and killed by his wife in 1955 in what Life
magazine called the "Shooting of the Century". In his autobiography, An Arc to Triumph, Rosey alumnus Richard René Silvin wrote of the school's encounter with Charlie Chaplin
. After moving to Vevey
, near Le Rosey's main campus, Chaplin called the administration requesting to enroll his children, but was turned down due to the 2-year waiting list. Musicians Julian Casablancas
and Albert Hammond, Jr. met at Le Rosey and later went on to form the garage rock revival band The Strokes
in 1998. Most recently, Tommy Hilfiger
model and singer Nick Hissom
graduated Rosey in 2010.
s, television program
s, biographies, magazine
s, and other forms of mass media. In fiction, the school is most commonly mentioned in novels relating to the rich and famous, and usually takes the role of being the choice of education for different characters. Le Rosey has been mentioned in Judith Krantz
's novels Princess Daisy
(1980) and Till We Meet Again
(1988), as well as in several romance novels by Karen Robards
. The school is also mentioned in Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel
(1975) by Truman Capote
, Any Woman's Blues (1990) by Erica Jong
, For Love Alone (1992) by Ivana Trump
, and What Became of Her (2002) by Marijane Meaker. Similarly, Le Rosey is mentioned in Bret Easton Ellis'
novel American Psycho
(1991), as the alma mater
of Evelyn Williams, who is the protagonist's fiancée for most of the novel. In a 2002 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
, affluent character Martha Strick, played by Veanne Cox
, says she attended Le Rosey.
In non-fiction, alumni Michael Korda
and James Laughlin
have written about their experiences and memories at Le Rosey. Columnist Taki Theodoracopulos
has written extensively on the school and its alumni, and was in the middle of a mild controversy when in 1998 he jokingly wrote in the The Spectator
that Osama bin Laden
had attended Le Rosey. The story resulted in an outcry from American readers, inquiries from several magazines, and the school publicly and "vehemently" denying that bin Laden had attended Le Rosey. In 1999, Russian journalist Paul Klebnikov
(murdered in 2004) wrote an exposé on Le Rosey in Forbes
magazine detailing the problems the school was experiencing with its majority Russian student body.
, published an interview with Le Rosey Director-General Philippe Gudin that revealed the school is currently seeking the sale of its Gstaad winter campus and the construction of a new campus in another location. Gudin is currently in negotiations with the local authorities in Schönried, a ski resort village adjacent to Gstaad, to construct a new main campus on an undeveloped piece of land, but has run into difficulties due to zoning restrictions. Reasons for moving to a new campus, according to the Director-General, include the fact that the school's personnel, who typically live on campus, are at maximum capacity, and that the student body can no longer increase in size due to the lack of space. Gudin stated that for the moment the new winter campus location will be in Switzerland, but he has not ruled out the French Alps
. The 100,000m² (approximately 25 acres) of prime real estate that the school occupies on Ried Hill in the centre of Gstaad is estimated to be worth several hundreds of millions of USD, considering the International Herald Tribune
reports that the price per square meter in Gstaad starts at 20,000 CHF
(19,000 US$) and can rise to 45,000 CHF (43,000 US$). Gudin asserts that the high value of the Gstaad winter campus has nothing to do with its planned sale.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It is described as one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the world. The school was founded by Paul-Émile Carnal in 1880 on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey near the town of Rolle
Rolle
Rolle is a municipality in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Rolle until 2006, when it became part of the district of Nyon. It is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Geneva between Nyon and Lausanne...
in the Canton of Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
. The school also owns a campus in the ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
village of Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
in the Canton of Bern, where the student body, faculty, and staff move to during the Winter months of January through March. Institut Le Rosey is currently owned by its fourth generation of Directors
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
, Philippe and Anne Gudin, who assumed ownership of Le Rosey in 1980. Mr. Michael Gray is the current Headmaster of the school. During most of the 20th century, Le Rosey was referred to as the "School of Kings", as the school has educated many notable alumni, including 7 monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s.
Le Rosey is currently in the planning stages of constructing the CHF
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
45 million (estimated $43 million USD) Carnal Hall, an Arts and Performance Centre for Le Rosey and the La Côte
La Côte
La Côte is part of the sloping Lake Geneva north shore, stretching from Nyon to Lausanne in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-Extent:Well known for its picturesque vineyards, it enjoys the most spectacular view towards the high Alps across the lake....
region currently scheduled for completion in 2012. The school is also planning the sale of its Gstaad winter campus, and a move to a location that can accommodate more personnel and students.
Overview
Le Rosey's philosophy is inspired by what HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
educationalist Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner
Howard Earl Gardner is an American developmental psychologist who is a professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero and author of over twenty books translated into thirty languages. Since 1995, he has...
has called "multiple intelligences
Theory of multiple intelligences
The theory of multiple intelligences was proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983 as a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into various specific modalities, rather than seeing it as dominated by a single general ability....
": "its aim is to develop all Roseans’ talents through academic, sporting and artistic programmes." The school offers a demanding bilingual and bicultural education with the language of instruction being French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
or English depending on the student's academic program; however, students may take many language classes while at Le Rosey. Students may sit either the International Baccalaureate, the most widely recognized pre-university educational program, or the Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
-oriented French Baccalaureate. To sustain an international atmosphere at Le Rosey, there exists a quota where no more than 10% of the students may come from a single country. The student body, ages 7 through 18, is composed of pupils from approximately 58 different countries, with 60% of the students being European. The school's current enrollment, over 400 pupils, is equally divided between male and female. The majority of students are between the ages of 14 and 18. The Student-teacher ratio
Student-teacher ratio
Student-teacher ratio refers to the number of teachers in a school or university with respect to the number of students who attend the institution. For example, a student-teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students for every one teacher...
is 5:1 with the average class size being less than 10 students, and the average teacher's length of stay at Le Rosey is over ten years. Students at Le Rosey are nicknamed "Roséens" (in French) or "Roseans" (in English), and former students are labeled "Les Anciens Roséens".
The Le Rosey campus at Rolle is, in terms of area, the largest boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Switzerland, with 28 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (approximately 70 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s) of landscaped grounds. The school's sailing center, the "Fleur d'Eau", is situated along 100 meters of shoreline on Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
. Le Rosey is reportedly the only boarding school in the world to change campuses seasonally. In spring and autumn, classes are held at the Château du Rosey campus in the village of Rolle in the Canton of Vaud, located between Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
and Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in southwestern Switzerland. For the winter months of January through March, the entire student body moves to a group of chalet
Chalet
A chalet , also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, native to the Alpine region, made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof with wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house.-Definition and origin:...
s in the ski resort town of Gstaad in the Canton of Berne
Canton of Berne
The Canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the Canton of Jura and the Canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the Canton of Neuchâtel, the Canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south...
.
Le Rosey offers a wide range of sports, including: Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
(Soccer), Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, Badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, Equestrianism
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
, Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, cross-country running, Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, Beach Volleyball
Beach volleyball
Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....
, Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, Sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
, Rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, Competitive swimming, and Water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
during the spring and autumn terms. During the winter term, sports options are Skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, Snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, Ice-hockey, Curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
, Snowshoeing, and Sledding
Sledding
Sledding , sledging , sleding or tobogganing is a common activity in wintry areas, similar to sliding, but in a prone or seated position requiring a device or vehicle generically known in the US as a sled or in other countries as a sledge or toboggan...
.
History
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
located on Le Rosey's main campus at Rolle, dates to the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and presently houses Le Rosey's central reception area.
In 1880, the site of the Le Rosey campus was chosen by the school's founder, Paul-Emile Carnal, "a lover of nature, history and the countryside". The Le Rosey campus at Rolle is situated adjacent to the famous Lake Geneva. In 1911, the founder passed the ownership of Le Rosey to his son, Henri-Paul Carnal. In 1917, the school began to go to Gstaad in the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking Canton of Berne for the winter months to escape the dense fog that settles in on Lake Geneva. In 1947, the third generation of directors, Louis Johannot and Helen Schaub, assumed ownership of Le Rosey. Under the same ownership, in 1967, Le Rosey admitted girls for the first time and opened a separate girls' campus. In 1980, the current owners, Philippe and Anne Gudin de la Sablonnière, became the fourth generation of Directors
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
at Le Rosey. Louis Johannot, in an interview with Life Magazine in 1965, made a comment that received considerable attention: "The only reason I always try to meet and know the parents better is because it helps me to forgive their children."
Prior to the introduction of the 10% quota, wherein no more than 10% of the student body may come from one country, different nationalities made up the majority of students at Le Rosey. In the 1950s and 1960s, the majority of students were Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Italians
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, and Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, in the 1970s came the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s and Iranians
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
, in the 1980s came the Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
and Koreans, and in the 1990s came the Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. The children of the Russian oligarchs
Business oligarch
Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
, which made up 1/3 of the student body in the 1990s, began to "terrorize" the other students at Le Rosey, and at least one non-Russian family withdrew their son in consequence.
Academic curriculum
Institut Le Rosey's academic curriculumCurriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
is designed to "provide education of breadth, depth and quality for an international student body." Le Rosey offers a rigorous bilingual and bicultural education with the principal language of instruction being French or English depending on the student's academic program. Beginning in Class 9 (US 3rd grade; UK year 4) and ending in Class 7 (US 5th grade; UK Year 6), Junior students at Le Rosey follow the Primary Bilingual Programme. The Programme follows the French national curriculum for classes taught in French and the National Curriculum of the United Kingdom for classes taught in English, which are both complemented by the International Primary Curriculum to create an international education.
Le Rosey students in Classes 6-2 (US 6th-10th grade; UK Year 7-11) choose their principal language and continue their studies in French or English. If possible, students may study their mother tongue and a third or even a fourth language in addition to their principal language of instruction. Over 20 different languages have been taught at Le Rosey in the past five years. During the Secondary Bilingual Programme, English and French classes are obligatory, and upon entering Class 3 (US 9th grade), students begin the two-year "Pre-Bac" Programme to prepare the students for either the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme or the Francophone-oriented French Baccalaureate. At Le Rosey, the IB Diploma Programme
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
and the French Baccalaureate cover the last two years of schooling (Class 1 and Class t).
Student life
Students at Le Rosey follow the "CASC" Programme, which aims to nurture all the talents of its students, through Creativity, Action, Service in the community, and Culture. Creativity includes performances, celebrations, and exhibitions, Action includes sport and physical competitions, Service in the community includes community service and projects, and Culture includes the attendance of music and drama performances, special trips, and conferences. Activities on offer to students include sports clubs, including airplane flying lessons, horse-riding, golf, sailingSailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
, karting, scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
, and shooting
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
. On certain weekends a variety of activities are made available, including mountain expeditions, theatre trips to London, visits to Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Vienna and Madrid, athletic challenges (Rolle
Rolle
Rolle is a municipality in the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Rolle until 2006, when it became part of the district of Nyon. It is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Geneva between Nyon and Lausanne...
–Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
by bicycle), trips to watch football (soccer) matches, Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing, equestrian events, tennis tournaments, and school balls. During the Mid-October cultural trips, students are given the opportunity to visit countries and cities further afield, with recent destinations including university visits to the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and to Great Britain, humanitarian trips to participate in a Habitat for Humanity project in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, to teach in the Rosey-Abantara School in Bamako, Mali, or a humanitarian mission to India, and cultural, leisure trips to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Mexico, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, and Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
.
At the Rolle campus
Le Rosey's main campus, near Rolle, is situated on 28 hectares of land adjacent to Lake Geneva. It is divided into two campuses, one for boys situated on the main campus and one for girls called La Combe. The boarding houses contain a total of 179 bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, and all together the academic buildings contain: 53 classrooms, 8 science laboratoriesLaboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
, 14 specially-equipped rooms, 48 apartments for Le Rosey teachers, 2 infirmaries
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, a library/media centre with about 20'000 to 30'000 literary and reference works, a theatre, 3 dining rooms and 2 cafeterias, an auditorium, 2 gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasiums, and an ecumenical chapel. Sports and arts facilities at Le Rosey include: 10 clay
Clay court
A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is slower than the green, or Har-Tru "American" clay. The French Open uses clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.Clay courts are more common...
Tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
s, a 25-meter indoor pool and wellness centre, a 25-meter outdoor pool, 3 football pitch
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...
es, 1 synthetic rugby pitch, 1 wood chip running track, a shooting and archery range, an open-air theatre, and a computer-regulated greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
. Off-campus Le Rosey owns: a private Equestrian centre housing 30 horses, 1 indoor riding school, 1 Dressage
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
area, and a clubhouse. Also off-campus is the Le Rosey sailing centre equipped with: 10 dinghies
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
, 3 motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
s, 3 yawl
Yawl
A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
s and a 38 feet (11.6 m) yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
.
At the Gstaad campus
The school's Winter campus, at the ski resort of Gstaad in the Bernese Oberland, is composed of several traditional chalets within the town. The girls' campus, at Schönried, is situated a 10-minute train ride away from Gstaad and is composed of 5 chalets used solely for boarding and dining. The students utilize local facilities, including: swimming poolSwimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
s, fitness centres, tennis courts, ice-hockey rink, a bowling alley, Curling, 250 kilometers (approximately 156 miles) of Alpine
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
ski slopes and 120 kilometers (approximately 75 miles) of Cross-country ski
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
tracks, 65 kilometers of Snowshoe
Snowshoe
A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....
ing trails, climbing walls, and Via Ferrata
Via ferrata
A via ferrata or klettersteig is a mountain route which is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes which are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities...
s.
Tuition
, the annual boarding and academic fees are CHF 94,500 (approximately $106,000 USD). Other services, both mandatory and optional, add up to approximately CHF 20,000 ($19,000 USD). Many international publications consider Le Rosey as one of the most expensive boarding school in the world. Since 1981, the Guinness Book of World Records has listed Le Rosey as one of the most expensive school in the world, initially publishing the annual fees to be "at least CHF 25,000 (about $23,000 USD)". The Rosey Foundation, which oversees the financing of Le Rosey's Carnal Hall, makes scholarshipScholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s possible to "particularly deserving" students, and the four-member Rosey Scholarship Committee allots them to the approved students. However, Institut Le Rosey does not directly offer scholarships to any person, as scholarships are only made available through the Rosey Foundation.
Associations
Alumni association
An alumni association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students. In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools , fraternities, and sororities often form groups with alumni from the same organisation...
, the members of which have been major contributors to 20th-century world history
World History
World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
. The AIAR, a prestigious network of former students, has alumni representatives in most countries and in many major cities across the world. Le Rosey's first alumni association, the "Old Rosey Association", was created on July 21, 1922 by a small group of alumni in the presence of the son of the school's founder, Henri Carnal. In 1926, the "Belgian Old Rosey Association" was founded; however, like the Old Rosey Association, it was declining due to slow international communication between alumni. The current alumni association, the AIAR, was established in 1964. The school's list of alumni is not published and access to AIAR events and meetings is exclusive to former students.
Institut Le Rosey is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
New England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
, the International Baccalaureate, the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
of Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, the Minister of National Education of France
Minister of National Education (France)
The Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sport , or simply "Minister of National Education," as the title has changed no small number of times in the course of the Fifth Republic) is the French government cabinet member charged with running France's public educational system and with the...
and the Council of International Schools
Council of International Schools
The Council of International Schools is a non-profit association of international schools and post-secondary institutions which aims to improve international education...
. Le Rosey is also a member of the European Council of International Schools
European Council of International Schools
The European Council of International Schools - ECIS is an association of international schools founded in 1965. ECIS is a collaborative network promoting the ideals and best practice of international education....
.
Carnal Hall
Carnal Hall, a planned CHF 45 million (estimated $43 million USD) Arts and Performance Centre, will be situated on Le Rosey's main campus at Rolle. Carnal Hall, named in honor of the founder Paul Carnal, his wife Marguerite, and their son Henri-Paul, will serve as a day-to-day arts centre for the students of Le Rosey and also serve as a cultural link between the students and the people of the La Côte region. The plans and designs for Carnal Hall were created by renowned Swiss architect Bernard TschumiBernard Tschumi
Bernard Tschumi is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated with deconstructivism. Born of French and Swiss parentage, he works and lives in New York and Paris. He studied in Paris and at ETH in Zurich, where he received his degree in architecture in 1969...
of New York and Paris. Carnal Hall will be owned by the Rosey Foundation, a State-approved non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
established in 1999; however, Institut Le Rosey will operate the Centre and will be responsible for organizing performances and functions. Separating ownership of Carnal Hall from Institut Le Rosey and granting it to the Rosey Foundation allows the public to contribute to the financing of the project. Institut Le Rosey will be the principal donor of the project. At the center of Carnal Hall there will be a performance hall seating up to 800 people with a modular balcony capable of seating an additional 800 people. The surrounding buildings will be composed of Carnal Hall's "Learning Centre", which will include 15 sound-proofed
Soundproofing
Soundproofing is any means of reducing the sound pressure with respect to a specified sound source and receptor. There are several basic approaches to reducing sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound waves, using...
music classrooms, an additional 50-seat theatre, and 2 large art studios. Carnal Hall will also feature a conference room seating between 150 and 200 people, a professional kitchen for culinary instruction, and a 100-seat restaurant with an outdoor terrace
Terrace (stadium)
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
for an additional 200 people. According to the Vaud regional newspaper, 24 Heures, construction of the Carnal Hall project will begin in 2010 and will be completed in 2012.
The Rosey-Abantara Project
In 2004, Institut Le Rosey's Charity Committee undertook a humanitarian program to construct and maintain a private schoolPrivate school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, the Rosey-Abantara School, in the suburbs of Bamako
Bamako
Bamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world...
, the capital city
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, in Saharan Africa. Rosey-Abantara is considered the most important charity project in Le Rosey's history. The project is entirely financed by the Le Rosey Charity Committee, with costs amounting to CHF 1,200,000 (approximately $1 million USD). An additional CHF 200,000 (approximately $167,000 USD) will be needed to purchase additional land for sports fields. By summer of 2007, primary construction work on the school was completed. By autumn of 2007, an estimated 1,500 Malian
Malian
Malian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Mali, a country in West Africa.* A person from Mali or of Malian descent. For information about the Malian people, see Demographics of Mali and Culture of Mali. For specific persons, see List of Malians....
children will attend Rosey-Abantara. An independent construction report, by Alfrique Expertises, was published in May 2007, with the report finding the Rosey-Abantara school's structure to be solid. Le Rosey students and teachers undertake humanitarian missions throughout the year to the Rosey-Abantara project to teach Malian students.
Notable alumni
Institut Le Rosey, with over 5,000 former students, has one of the most prestigious alumni registries in the world. Le Rosey has educated generations of dynastic families, including Hohenzollerns, RothschildsRothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
, Metternichs, Borghese
Borghese
Borghese is the surname of a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century holding offices under the commune. The head of the family, Marcantonio, moved to Rome in the 16th century and there,...
s, Hohenlohe
Hohenlohe
Hohenlohe is the name of a German princely family and the name of their principality.At first rulers of a county, its two branches were raised to the rank of principalities of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and 1764 respectively; in 1806 they lost their independence and their lands formed part of...
s, and Radziwiłłs
Radziwill
The Radziwiłł family is an noble family of Lithuanian origin. The descendants of Kristinas Astikas, a close associate of the 14th century Lithuanian ruler Vytautas, were highly prominent for centuries, first in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the...
. The school has also famously educated royalty from around the world, particularly the deposed royal family members of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty
Muhammad Ali Dynasty
The Muhammad Ali Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Egypt and Sudan, from the 19th to the mid-20th Century. It is named after its progenitor, Muhammad Ali Pasha, regarded as the founder of modern Egypt. It was also more formally known as the Alawiyya Dynasty...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
Alexander II Karadjordjevic, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia , is the former crown prince of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the head of the House of Karadjordjevic. Alexander is the only child of former King Peter II of Yugoslavia and Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark...
, the House of Glücksburg of Greece, and the House of Savoy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
of Italy. Le Rosey has educated several monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s, including Aga Khan IV
Aga Khan IV
Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
, King Albert II of Belgium
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
, King Baudouin I of Belgium, King Fuad II of Egypt
Fuad II of Egypt
Fuad II was the last King of Egypt and Sudan.- Biography :He ascended the throne on 26 July 1952 upon the abdication of his father King Farouk I following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952...
, King Ntare V of Burundi, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
of Persia
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and Prince Rainier III of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco , styled His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th century.Though he was best known outside of Europe for having married American...
. The future Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the sovereign monarch and head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it was elevated from a duchy when placed in personal union with the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, Prince Guillaume
Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg has been heir apparent to the crown of Luxembourg since his father's accession in 2000.-Early life and education:...
, was also educated at the school. At this moment, the future King of Bhutan is still educated there. Famous parents of past students at Le Rosey, who often visited the Rolle and Gstaad campuses, include: Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, King Leopold III of Belgium
Leopold III of Belgium
Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the Heir Apparent,...
, Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Sokratis Onassis , commonly called Ari or Aristo Onassis, was a prominent Greek shipping magnate.- Early life :Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna to Socrates and Penelope Onassis...
, and Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, a Rosean's grandfather. Rainier III once commented on Le Rosey: "The students were much friendlier because they were from such diverse, international backgrounds. I felt, for once in my childhood, that I could take a breath."
Emily Samantha Azzopardi, grand-daughter of French billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, also attends Le Rosey. The sons of high society playboy William Woodward, Jr.
William Woodward, Jr.
William "Billy" Woodward, Jr. was the heir to the Hanover National Bank fortune , the Belair Estate and stud farm and legacy,...
, William "Woody" Woodward III and James "Jimmy" Woodward, were sent to Le Rosey after their father was accidentally shot and killed by his wife in 1955 in what Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine called the "Shooting of the Century". In his autobiography, An Arc to Triumph, Rosey alumnus Richard René Silvin wrote of the school's encounter with Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
. After moving to Vevey
Vevey
Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District...
, near Le Rosey's main campus, Chaplin called the administration requesting to enroll his children, but was turned down due to the 2-year waiting list. Musicians Julian Casablancas
Julian Casablancas
Julian Fernando Casablancas is an American singer-songwriter and musician of The Strokes. Casablancas pursued a solo career during The Strokes' hiatus, releasing the album Phrazes for the Young on November 3, 2009....
and Albert Hammond, Jr. met at Le Rosey and later went on to form the garage rock revival band The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
in 1998. Most recently, Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...
model and singer Nick Hissom
Nick Hissom
Nicholas Robert Danenza Hissom is a British male model and recording artist. He is also the stepson of Las Vegas casino billionaire Steve Wynn.- Career :...
graduated Rosey in 2010.
In fiction and popular culture
Due to Institut Le Rosey's widespread reputation as one of the most exclusive educational institutions in the world, the school has often been mentioned in novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s, biographies, magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s, and other forms of mass media. In fiction, the school is most commonly mentioned in novels relating to the rich and famous, and usually takes the role of being the choice of education for different characters. Le Rosey has been mentioned in Judith Krantz
Judith Krantz
Judith Krantz , is an American novelist who writes in the romance genre. Her works include Scruples, Princess Daisy, and Till We Meet Again.-Early years:...
's novels Princess Daisy
Princess Daisy (novel)
Princess Daisy is a 1980 romance novel by American author Judith Krantz.-Plot summary:The novel tells the story of Princess Marguerite "Daisy" Valensky. She is the daughter of Prince Alexander "Stash" Valensky, a wealthy Russian-born polo player and former playboy, and his wife Francesca Vernon, a...
(1980) and Till We Meet Again
Till We Meet Again (Judith Krantz)
Till We Meet Again is a novel by Judith Krantz. It was also made into a 1989 television mini-series, Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again starring Bruce Boxleitner, Hugh Grant, Courteney Cox, Michael York, Lucy Gutteridge, Charles Shaughnessy, Mia Sara, and Barry Bostwick....
(1988), as well as in several romance novels by Karen Robards
Karen Robards
Karen Robards is a best-selling author of over thirty romance novels. After first gaining recognition for her historical romances, Robards became one of the first historical romance novelists to successfully make the switch to contemporary romantic fiction...
. The school is also mentioned in Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel
Answered Prayers: The Unfinished Novel
Answered Prayers is an unfinished novel by American author Truman Capote, published posthumously in 1986 in England and in 1987 in the United States.- History :...
(1975) by Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
, Any Woman's Blues (1990) by Erica Jong
Erica Jong
Erica Jong is an American author and teacher best known for her fiction and poetry.-Career:A 1963 graduate of Barnard College, and with an M.A...
, For Love Alone (1992) by Ivana Trump
Ivana Trump
Ivana Trump is a former Olympic athlete, socialite, and fashion model noted for her marriage to mogul Donald Trump.-Early years:...
, and What Became of Her (2002) by Marijane Meaker. Similarly, Le Rosey is mentioned in Bret Easton Ellis'
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
novel American Psycho
American Psycho
American Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
(1991), as the alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
of Evelyn Williams, who is the protagonist's fiancée for most of the novel. In a 2002 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
, affluent character Martha Strick, played by Veanne Cox
Veanne Cox
Veanne Cox is an American stage and screen actress and former ballet dancer.Cox was born in Norfolk, Virginia. She studied ballet at the Washington School of Ballet, acting at the Studio Theatre's Conservatory in Washington, D.C., and voice at Catholic University.Her Broadway debut was in the...
, says she attended Le Rosey.
In non-fiction, alumni Michael Korda
Michael Korda
Michael Korda is a writer and novelist who was editor-in-Chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City.-Early Years:...
and James Laughlin
James Laughlin
James Laughlin was an American poet and literary book publisher who founded New Directions Publishers.- Biography :He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Henry Hughart and Marjory Rea Laughlin...
have written about their experiences and memories at Le Rosey. Columnist Taki Theodoracopulos
Taki Theodoracopulos
Taki Theodoracopulos , originally named Panagiotis Theodoracopulos is a Greek/American journalist, socialite, and political commentator.Better known as Taki, diminutive for Panagiotis, he is a Greek-born journalist and writer living in New York City, London and Switzerland...
has written extensively on the school and its alumni, and was in the middle of a mild controversy when in 1998 he jokingly wrote in the The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
that Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
had attended Le Rosey. The story resulted in an outcry from American readers, inquiries from several magazines, and the school publicly and "vehemently" denying that bin Laden had attended Le Rosey. In 1999, Russian journalist Paul Klebnikov
Paul Klebnikov
Paul Klebnikov was a Russian-American journalist and historian of Russian history. He worked for Forbes Magazine for over 10 years and at the time of his death was Chief editor of the Russian edition. His murder in Moscow in 2004 was seen as a blow against investigative journalism in Russia...
(murdered in 2004) wrote an exposé on Le Rosey in Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine detailing the problems the school was experiencing with its majority Russian student body.
Plans to leave Gstaad
In January 2008, Swiss economics magazine Bilanz, a subsidiary of Groupe EdipresseEdipresse
Edipresse is an international media and communications company headquartered in Switzerland. Edipresse’s main activities include newspapers and magazine publishing and digital media....
, published an interview with Le Rosey Director-General Philippe Gudin that revealed the school is currently seeking the sale of its Gstaad winter campus and the construction of a new campus in another location. Gudin is currently in negotiations with the local authorities in Schönried, a ski resort village adjacent to Gstaad, to construct a new main campus on an undeveloped piece of land, but has run into difficulties due to zoning restrictions. Reasons for moving to a new campus, according to the Director-General, include the fact that the school's personnel, who typically live on campus, are at maximum capacity, and that the student body can no longer increase in size due to the lack of space. Gudin stated that for the moment the new winter campus location will be in Switzerland, but he has not ruled out the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
. The 100,000m² (approximately 25 acres) of prime real estate that the school occupies on Ried Hill in the centre of Gstaad is estimated to be worth several hundreds of millions of USD, considering the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
reports that the price per square meter in Gstaad starts at 20,000 CHF
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
(19,000 US$) and can rise to 45,000 CHF (43,000 US$). Gudin asserts that the high value of the Gstaad winter campus has nothing to do with its planned sale.