Aiglon Magazine | Issue 12, Summer/Autumn 2019

AIGL ON THE MAGAZINE

ISSUE 12 SUMMER/AUTUMN 2019 School: Then and now: celebrating the 70th anniversary of Aiglon College Mountain: Earning the Bouquetin – what it means to go above and beyond Ideas: Aiglon parents face their own challenges. This is your survival guide People: Fifty years on, Aiglon’s women continue to blaze a global trail

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AIGLON ISSUE 12 SUMMER/AUTUMN 2019

Contents

Features

Aiglonology 02 Letters 03 News 05 View from the mountain 06 Around the mountain 09 Here’s looking at you 10 Private passions 13 Staff room 14 Laid bare

39 Class notes 44 Personal best 46 Behind the scenes 48 Why I love‌

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Pia Jeskanen shares her love of yoga with sisters Anita and Kamilla Shaikh.

The inspirational ideas that are still a part of Aiglon life 70 years later.

Private passions

Aiglon then and now

The Aiglon Magazine is published twice a year, in the winter and summer, and is sent free to Aiglonians. It is available to other readers on subscription. The opinions expressed in The Aiglon Magazine are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Aiglon College.

Editor: Valerie Scullion Managing Editor: Karen Sandri YBM Editor: Mira Katbamna YBM Managing Editor: Steve McGrath YBM Designer: Kate Monument Produced for Aiglon College by YBM www.ybm.co.uk

www.aiglon.ch

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The children are settled, but what is it like for those who leave the mountain?

Earning a Bouquetin takes dedication, but the memories are priceless.

Meet the parents

How I won my Bouquetin

Cover: Ondine Peck-Voll, photographed by Joe McGorty

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Successful women following in the footsteps of the first female students.

Year 12 student Aiden Liu says boxing has helped him in unexpected ways.

Trailblazers

Personal best

ISSUE 12 AIGLON 1

Editor’s letter

Your letters

W E LC O M E T O I S S UE 1 2

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t’s 70 years since John Corlette realised his vision for a new type of school in the mountains – and Aiglon College was founded. Integrity and honesty were his watchwords: “Purity of thought and action; forbearance and goodwill; and the service of one another.”

Since then, the look of the school may have changed, but the distinctive feel has stayed much the same; a unique environment focusing on the development of mind, body and spirit.

It may have begun as a school for boys but, in 1968, Aiglon welcomed the first cohort of girls. The school has now grown to a place where boys and girls lay the foundation for a successful future, as shown by the impressive list of global university destinations for this year’s graduates (page 3).

So, in this issue, as well as a look at the school then and now (page 16), we also celebrate the impact of those female trailblazers (page 34). We look at one of the cornerstones of the Aiglon experience – the expedition – and what it takes to earn your Bouquetin (page 28). And as we start the new term, we welcome all returning students, but we also spare a thought for the parents who leave those children in our care (page 22).

Enjoy the issue, and please do keep all the emails and letters coming.

Valerie Scullion Director of Admissions and Advancement Send your comments to advancement@aiglon.ch.

LIFE LO NG INSPIRAT I ON I read the tributes to Aiglon teachers with great interest (Issue 10). My lifelong involvement in science I attribute to the patient and inspiring teaching of Patrick Roberts (Chemistry) and Tony Hyde (Physics). The other wonderful teacher, who gave me a lifelong interest in history, was Tim Stunt, who brought the subject alive in an amusing and interesting way: the Defenestration of Prague as well as an outing to Morat on a cold winter’s day to learn about Charles the Bold are some of the things I can still remember 47 years later!

Jamie Page (Belvedere, 1975)

MOVIE ME MO RIE S Wow, what a surprise when I read the story about the Aiglon movie from 1971 (Issue 11).

I was there then but never saw it, but there I am with my 1970s long hair throwing a javelin and painting with Mr Perryman! My kids and grandkids also got a kick out of seeing their old man as a high-school kid. We loved it so much that my wife, Lea, and I are coming back this winter for some skiing.

James Watson (Delaware, 1972)

E NTICING RE AD Thanks for another great issue. You again manage to strike a good balance of articles to entice the wide range of readers!

Peter Benson (Staff 1959-64 and 1977-86)

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Summer/Autumn 2019

ON E TO REM E M B E R

News

I clearly recall one memorable ride in JC’s earlier Bentley when he took me and some other boys to the entrance of the nearly completed St Bernard Tunnel in 1961. It was a very good way to start a long expedition walking up the Valley of Death on skis with skins to the Grand St Bernard Monastery.

And, yes, the monks really did have those beautiful dogs. The famous alpine pilot Hermann Geiger flew over and dropped supplies of coarse, round loaves of bread for us. I also remember climbing up to a narrow mountain ridge where there was a marker showing the Swiss/Italian border.

We all enjoyed the novelty of lying down with one half of our body in Italy and the other in Switzerland.

Graduate destinations

This year, we are once again delighted that so many Aiglon students will be joining some of the world’s most prestigious universities, and have also won places on highly sought-after scholarships and programmes.

These include: the Global Citizenship Scholarship at Babson College; the World Bachelor in Business; and the Presidential Scholarship at Boston University.

Many will be heading to American institutions, including Middlebury College, Stanford and Tufts Universities. The UK is well represented, with students gaining offers from the Russell Group of world-class, research-intensive universities, including Imperial College London, King’s College London, London School of Economics (LSE) and University College London (UCL). In keeping with our global outlook, students have also won places at institutions all over the world, such as New York University-Abu Dhabi, Yale-NUS College in Singapore and Duke Kunshan University in China. Congratulations to one and all.

Nicholas Brazil (Belvedere and Clairmont, 1965)

I also remember being a passenger in JC’s Bentley, as it was the first time – being an American – that I had ever sat in the front left passenger seat!

Sandy Faison (Belvedere, 1964)

AN EN GL I SH P U C K I often look back at my time at Aiglon and remember the wonderful times I had there.

When I left, I was fortunate to travel and work all over Europe, even some years working for NASA at their tracking stations north of Madrid. My only claim to fame while at Aiglon was that for a season I was the sole English boy on the ice-hockey team, but not a patch on the American and Canadian boys! I am amazed at how well Aiglon has progressed and expanded over the years and often meet people who wish they could send their children there – I was certainly one of the lucky ones.

John Gardner (Clairmont, 1965) Thank you to Jenny Moore Vandeventer (Exeter, 1979) for identifying John Cross (‘JX’), Staff (1972-84), on page 34/35, and Edward Hutley (Alpina, 1980) on page 36 of Issue 11.

New leadership posts

Aiglon’s headship function is to be split into two posts.

Current Head Master Richard McDonald will assume the role of Executive Director and will focus on strategic planning, income generation, major special projects and partnerships. Nicola Sparrow, the current Deputy Head of Curriculum, will become Head of School, concentrating on school improvement and all educational aspects of school life.

SCHOOL

MOUNTAIN

PEOPLE

Aiglon Life, the new online community site for alumni, parents and staff, has launched. As well as being a complete alumni directory, the members-only site lets you sign up for events, create your own groups (based on location, age and interests, for example) and join a mentoring programme. And as a source of professional networking, it also allows you to search for job opportunities. To sign up, visit www.aiglonlife.ch

Service projects

Correction – Apologies to Erik Friedl and Michael Linde for the misspelling of their names.

MIND

Join the conversation! www.aiglonlife.ch email: advancement@aiglon.ch write to: Aiglon Magazine, Aiglon College, Avenue Centrale 61, 1885 Chesières, Switzerland Facebook: www.facebook.com/aiglon Twitter: @aigloncollege

Community platform launched

BODY

Ocean clean-ups, teaching, safaris, providing services to deaf people and a visit to a flower farm: this year’s service projects certainly don’t lack variety. Our students have been in: Thailand, to complete two environmental clean-up projects and learn how to survey the health of the coral reef; Poland, to visit Auschwitz and the Wieliczka Salt Mine; Warsaw, to provide service in the Institute for Deaf; and Kenya, to spend three days taking part in student exchange at Oserian High School in the Naivasha lake area.

SPIRIT

ISSUE 12 AIGLON 3

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View from the mountain

AIGLONOLOGY

When view becomes vision

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BRIGHT FUTURES MUST BE ILLUMINATED

BY BRIGHT IDEAS

Richard McDonald HE A D MASTER

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N A YEAR WHEN AIGLON WILL BE celebrating its 70th birthday, marked by the biggest gathering in the school’s history, I find myself pondering two questions: why do we get so excited about celebrating birthdays? And what will Aiglon look like when the next big birthday comes round?

Birthdays are rather like milestones on a road. Depending on the location, the terrain that lies behind and ahead, and of course our age and aptitude, we may be more or less excited about hurrying on to the next

one. As a child, an eternity seems to stretch between each birthday; as an adult, that gap seems to contract alarmingly.

Aiglon has now reached the “three score years and 10”, signified in the Book of Psalms as the duration of a human lifespan, beyond which only labour and sorrow lie.

Institutions, however, age rather differently, with a capacity to renew themselves constantly. That renewal is driven by two things: chance and intention. The chance part is composed of those myriad factors in life that lie beyond our immediate control; the intention is driven by our wilful vision.

Vision is a word that has to work hard in English. Metaphors of sight abound; even this standing feature in the magazine is referred to as “View from the mountain”, a gentle play on literal and metaphorical meaning. Yet vision is a word that resonates

very differently from view. While the latter might refer either to a panorama, an aspect or an opinion, the former can refer not simply to our power of sight or a striking supernatural revelation, or even a Marvel superhero, but also to the imagined possibilities of the future.

We live in a world that can seem contradictory: on the one hand, materialistic appraisal of our world by humans has never been stronger; on the other, we peddle metaphors and truisms with abandon.

We are experiencing the supremacy of the ocular, “seen” world, the moving image, the instant sight-byte; and simultaneously one where every corporation or institution, it seems, is told that without a vision it will wither and die.

Vision, in this last context, is conflated with future survival. I sometimes wonder about that. Do bacteria, sea snails or crocodiles have vision? They have been around for a long time. It seems to me that adaptability is a stronger marker of survival and longevity than vision.

It is perhaps a feature of human-type intelligence that we must know where we are going, how and why, and there must be a plan. Do we settle for that, or is there a place for some kind of supra-human intelligence that is tuned differently into the essence of our co-existence with each other and our natural environment?

There is much talk currently about the potential future plight of our planet and the teeming diversity of life that occupies it.

I believe it is right that we are preoccupied.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, an old man appears at one point and comments on the emergent dark happenings: Threescore and ten I can remember well, / Within the volume of which time I have seen / Hours dreadful and things strange, but this sore night / Hath trifled former knowings.

(Macbeth II:iv).

This is a man who is marking his 70th birthday not by celebration but by a dark vision of calamity. I hope that at Aiglon we can celebrate 70 years with a very different mindset. It is so easy to let our vision be coloured by fear and retrospection, forgetting that bright futures must be illuminated by bright ideas, brightly imagined and boldly envisioned. Labour may still lie before us after three score years and 10, but let it be labour and joy.

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Around the mountain

Below ground Under the mountain lies a secret network of underground forts – with a surprising story to tell.

Words: SANDRA HAURANT Photography: JOE McGORTY

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OOK CAREFULLY, AND YOU MIGHT spot it: a secret door chiselled into the rock. Passed daily by unsuspecting ramblers and climbers, it is invisible to the uninitiated. But if you know what you are looking for – and exactly where to look – you will find a fascinating world.

These doors – some of the hundreds to be found across the Swiss Alps – are entrances to deep underground forts, impenetrable military bases carved into the rock during the Second World War. And, as history teacher Mr Nick Teal, explains, while Switzerland may have been a neutral country during the war, it nonetheless faced a very real threat from invading forces.

“The Swiss found themselves surrounded on all sides, and they knew they could not defeat the Germans,” he says. “So, instead, the Commander in Chief, General Henri Guisan, came up with a strategy that would effectively see the country hit the auto-destruct button should they be invaded. Railway tunnels, factories, bridges – anything that might be of use to the Germans – would have been destroyed by our own people.”

They came up with a master plan to dig underground fortresses, so that, if

AIGLONOLOGY

SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2019

Opposite — .Epelique volupic idento officta turempo reperem endanim facimpe riberio nsecusciae molecum earupta doloressim que non rest dolest maion pa sam, opta di commoloribus veri vercient.nam repudam net idi The first ski team Standing: John Lupton and Rudi Colloredo; Kneeling: Denny Lane and Alex Sykes (thanks to Denny Lane)

Diary the Germans were to invade and travel through the Rhone Valley below Villars, for example, they would encounter a formidable counterattack from below.

“There were explosives placed under bridges ready to be detonated, so that the Germans would be trapped, and the plan was that the Swiss would be able to attack from the tunnels. Finding the forts would be difficult for the Germans, and getting into them would be too,” says Mr Teal.

“The forts had up to six months’ worth of food and supplies stored within them, as well as generators and fuel. So, the theory was that the Germans might win, but the price would be too high for them to try.”

One such underground fort can be found about 16 kilometres from Aiglon at Saint-Maurice, where, today, visitors can access the secret warren of tunnels to see the conditions in which Swiss recruits spent weeks at a time, during gruelling military exercises. It’s a familiar place to current students and alumni of Aiglon; for around two decades, students have made the unusual journey deep into the mountain to gain a greater understanding of this fascinating, and chilling, part of Switzerland’s rich history.

Clockwise from top left Underground storage for 20,000 artillery shells; home sweet home in the officers’ bedroom; an underground bathroom; lift cables leading to a fort; a cache of arms.

21 September Oktoberfest

13 December Prize-giving

12 December Curtain up

September onwards Meet the team

Celebrate Aiglon Oktoberfest in the tent at Kuffler’s Weinzelt in Munich. Places are strictly limited, so please book early! Contact egrampel@web.de

It’s show time! Get ready for this year’s school production, combining top-class entertainment and, no doubt, a few surprises.

12 December Parent Dinner

18:30-19:30 – Parents are invited to their child’s boarding house for a pre-dinner aperitif.

20:00-22:30 – Enjoy the parents’ dinner.

End-of-term prize-giving will be followed by a presentation from College and Careers in the Sports Centre classroom and Parent/Teacher meetings from 13:30.

Do you have family or friends who are interested in Aiglon? Consider making an introduction to one of our admissions representatives, who will be travelling in the autumn. To see where we will be, please visit: www.aiglon.ch/meetus For more information, feedback or to share your ideas, please contact advancement@aiglon.ch

ISSUE 12 AIGLON 7

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AIGLONOLOGY

“

EVEN AFTER TRAVELLING THE WORLD, I STILL MISS THE MOUNTAINS AND THE SNOW

Chris C Richwhite (Delaware, 2004)

Words: SARAH WOODWARD Photography: CHRIS RICHWHITE

On the road — Chris is travelling across seven continents and more than 70 countries to highlight concerns about overpopulation.

HRIS RICHWHITE (DELAWARE, 2004) says he was “not a very academic student” – but he loved expedition. Which is just as well because, alongside girlfriend and fellow New Zealander Bridget Thackwray, Chris set off in April 2018 to drive around the world.

Expedition Earth, as they have named their adventure, aims to use social media to highlight their concerns for overpopulation around the planet. “My friends and I didn’t initially think expeditions were very valuable when I was at Aiglon; we were more focused on the social side of life.

How wrong I was,” says Chris. “One term, I went on five exes and got the Bouquetin.

My first high ex was to the Dents du Midi and I remember it to this day.”

He also recalls alumni coming back to the school to give talks, telling the students “to appreciate the view and where you are in the world – and make the most of the opportunities you have here”. It is advice that still comes to mind on his round-theworld expedition in Gunther, his jeep, named after Gunther Holtorf, the German adventurer who inspired Chris’s journey.

Chris admits he and Bridget did little planning before setting out on their epic adventure. “But one thing I have noticed in campsites is that many people don’t know the basics – how to erect a tent, light a fire.

They have trouble packing and organising themselves for a three-day trip, let alone a three-year one like ours. I definitely practised those skills at Aiglon.

“My time on the mountain taught me to appreciate my surroundings.” And to make the most of serendipity. “Once, we were walking through a beautiful hay field after a long hike. A local farmer appeared, towing a tractor, so we hopped on the back for a ride.

The tractor driver never even noticed.”

Now more than 100,000 kilometres into their trip, Bridget and Chris have encountered plenty of police (in Mexico) and armed guerrilla fighters (in Nicaragua).

And the Aiglon connection has proved useful, meeting Mexican school friends in Panama and catching up in Cape Town with friends from Bolivia. “And I reached out through the Aiglon network to get help on Saudi Arabia, which we are looking forward to travelling through.”

When it’s all over, Chris hopes to come back to the school to give a talk. “I’ll tell the students it’s all true – you really don’t realise the opportunities at Aiglon until after you have left. Even after travelling the length of the world, I still dream of Switzerland and miss the mountains and the snow.”

To follow Chris’s progress, visit his website at www.expeditionearth.live ISSUE 12 AIGLON 9

Private passions

In focus Ms Pia Jeskanen with twins Anita and Kamilla Shaikh.

Words: HELENA POZNIAK Photography: JOE McGORTY

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AIGLONOLOGY

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WHEN THE TEENAGE WORLD GETS HIGH-STRESS, YOGA IS THE PERFECT ANTIDOTE

PEOPLE THINK THAT IN order to meditate, you must empty your mind,” says yoga teacher Ms Pia Jeskanen (Aide de Maison, Exeter), “but that’s not it. It’s about accepting what thoughts arise and getting distance from them. You’re not aiming to become brainless, but to find that ‘zero point’ where you quieten the activity in your head.”

And it’s Ms Jeskanen’s serene approach to their weekly yoga classes that makes Anita Shaikh and her twin sister Kamilla (Clairmont, Year 13) among her most loyal students. “It’s her positivity that I like, that’s where her calm comes from,” says Anita. “Ms Jeskanen has taught us the spiritual side of yoga – chanting and mantras – which I’d never done before.

I find that really exciting.”

Amid the general chatter and laughter at yoga, Anita and Kamilla are, says Ms Jeskanen, focused. “I’ll be explaining things and see their eyes widen,” she says.

“They’ll be full of questions – about which part of your brain you’re using or how your memories are stored. They’re very responsive and open-minded.”

A qualified teacher and lifelong practitioner of yoga, Ms Jeskanen is currently studying for a psychology degree.

“I felt I needed support from science to understand what goes on in people’s minds,” she says.

Yoga, she believes, should be mandatory in schools, especially for teenagers.

“Teenage worlds are pretty full-on, with lots of high stress and expectations.”

If she starts her class by asking how many students have felt anxious or emotional in the past week, hands shoot up. “And that shows them they’re not alone. At their age, feelings are all over

the place, or they might experience high anxiety. I can give them the tools to deal with the panic when it comes and teach them how to keep it at bay.” Understanding emotions is a life skill Ms Jeskanen wants to teach more broadly. “You can be the best in class at maths, but what use is that if you can’t get on with people?”

If Anita arrives at yoga with a busy brain, she has learned to refocus swiftly. “School life is intense, but towards the end of the lesson, I’m in a different frame of mind.

I’m focused on myself, and physically and emotionally relaxed.”

When Ms Jeskanen couldn’t teach a class due to illness, Anita volunteered to lead the practice herself. “It was complete improvisation – I hadn’t prepared, so I tried to come up with postures that we’ve done before. It was a great experience,” she says.

Ms Jeskanen wants her classes to remain light-hearted. “I tell them, ‘Close your eyes and imagine a beautiful space’. I like to joke and make things feel light. I’ll tell them, ‘You don’t have to feel holy at yoga, you should also just have a bit of fun.’”

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 11

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AIGLONOLOGY

Introducing... the Memory Clock

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WHEN IT COMES TO REVISION, THE MESSAGE IS: DON’T JUST READ – DO

Words: DIANE SHIPLEY Photography: JOE McGORTY

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ISTAKES: NO ONE ENJOYS making them. But Assistant Deputy Head (Curriculum) Mr Tom Duckling says that to err isn’t only human – it’s essential. “I take a philosophical approach to errors and defeat, because they’re how we learn.”

He should know. Not because he’s particularly error-prone, but because he stays on top of the latest evidence-informed pedagogy in order to continually improve

learning at the school. That’s why introducing the concept of the Memory Clock was so appealing.

A method of revising that maximises how we retain information, the Memory Clock originated at Sandringham School in the UK, and was adapted for Aiglon last September by Michael Hobbis, a Cognitive Neuroscience PhD candidate at UCL, with input from Mr Duckling and Deputy Head (Curriculum) Ms Nicola Sparrow.

Like much of school life, the emphasis is on taking an active role. “Students who take control of their own studies quicker often do better, so the more we can help them understand that they are the ones in charge of their education, the sooner we can create independent learners.”

A circular diagram, the Memory Clock is divided into three segments. The first is Plan. “The very act of thinking about thinking changes how you process information,” says Mr Duckling. “The explicit reminder to stop and think about what you’re doing is really beneficial.”

The second segment (which takes up half the circle, to reflect its importance) is Do. Mr Duckling first realised a different approach to revision was needed after a school-wide survey revealed that rereading textbooks and highlighting class notes were the most popular study techniques, despite research showing they’re the least effective.

“When we’re engaged, we’re more likely to remember things. Let’s say a student wants to learn the causes of the Cultural Revolution in China – I might encourage them to draw a spider diagram, so they can see causes and make connections between them. That way they can do 45 minutes of awesome revision rather than three hours of unhelpful revision.”

The last segment of the Memory Clock is Review, which is where making mistakes pays off. “You assess yourself to find out if you’re learning, and then adapt what you do to fill in the gaps next time.”

Whenever we take in information, our ability to remember it reduces dramatically over time, a phenomenon known as the ‘forgetting curve’. Mr Duckling encourages staff to help students combat this using a technique called interleaving. “Rather than teaching topics one at a time and never returning to them, you need to ‘revisit, revisit, revisit’, as that consolidates memories in our minds.”

He says that adoption and understanding of the Memory Clock at Aiglon is still in the early stages – but he and his team are working on it. “Students are beginning to grasp the big picture: when it comes to revision, the message is don’t just read – do,” says Mr Duckling. “We want to inspire them to think about how they learn for the rest of their lives. My raison d’être is supporting students to make strong choices, so they can take as much as possible from the many opportunities Aiglon provides.”

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 13

Laid bare

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Photography:

JOE McGORTY

As time goes by Aiglon’s archive is a treasure trove of documents, photographs and mementoes of 70 years of an adventurous approach to education.

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1 The ninth edition of Aiglon Association News: May 1966 – July 1967 2 The original Aiglon Prospectus: circa 1950 3 1973/7w4 staff football spectators 4 The school shield 5 1986 Geography lesson by Ross Hunter (1983-96) 6 Ski medal 7 Slides of the long expedition to Basel (October 1958) 8 Expedition groups photo, 1968-69 9 First student register, dated 7 August 1949 10 Printing plate – Aiglon founder John Corlette 11 Aiglon College promotional slide show 12 Celebratory T-shirt made by the Etro family 13 School Council minutes, first entry 24 November 1949 14 1964 CAS guide to the Swiss Prealps 15 Aiglon promotional brochure 16 Documentation on the formation of the Aiglon Charitable Trust 14 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

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I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 15

EXPEDIT ION, 1970S Unlabelled expedition photo taken from an “Aiglon Scrapbook 1970-1975”. Do you know more about this photo? Email us!

THEN, AND NOW.

Our story began 70 years ago with one building, six students and a set of inspirational ideas about education that are still part of daily life at Aiglon today.

Words: RADHIKA HOLMSTRÖM Photography: JOE McGORTY &

TAMARA BERGER (2019 IMAGES) 16 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

EXPEDIT I O N , 2019 Approaching the Lac de Salanfe (1,925m) on the Dents du Midi high ex.

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 17

FEATURE / 70 YEARS OF AIGLON

O U N T A I N S .

MEDITATION. SERVICE. SKIING. FAMILY. Today, Aiglon is known for its distinctive balanced development of mind, body and spirit, but in 1949, when Mr John Corlette (or JC as he was fondly called by his students) came up the mountain to found a school, he had a rented property, Chalet Chantecler, and a vision.

So, what was school really like for those first six students – five boys and a Siamese princess?

“It was very caring, and because of the small numbers we were all quite close,” says Michael Hippisley (194952), one of the first students. “Practically every boy was there for some medical reason and, from time to time, some of us would be isolated for our health at a little farmhouse about 500 yards from the main school. I spent time there myself and it certainly helped me.

“Every morning two of us had to go across to the farm nearby to collect the milk. We also had lovely fresh bread from the baker, but JC always insisted that we weren’t to have it until it was two days old because we’d eat it too quickly!”

Mr Corlette was certainly a man of vision. A former Gordonstoun teacher, he was committed to delivering a school that focused on educating ‘the whole man’.

His ideals for his students were ambitious: “Integrity and honesty; purity of thought and action; forbearance and goodwill; and the service of one another.” Having

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spent some time in alpine Switzerland, he was quickly convinced that the fresh air and mountain environment around Villars was the perfect spot for his new venture.

As numbers increased – and by August 1949 there were 16 students and five staff – the main rented building, Chalet Chantecler, was becoming crammed, so the school relocated to a new home: Chalet Les Evêques, above Villars. It was a world away from today’s busy campus, but some of the unique characteristics of the school were already in place.

“Each day began with meditation before breakfast,” remembers Michael, “and then anyone who was interested in the piano could play before lessons.” The piano, and a love of classical music, were to become an enduring part of life in the chalet for many pupils. “It was the early days of hi-fi, and JC would play us music in his bedroom-cum-sitting room.”

Aiglon’s continued popularity in the early 1950s meant a need for yet more space, and a second house was added: Chalet de la Fontaine – or ‘The Farm’, as it became affectionately known (it was a converted cow-shed). This was quickly followed by a third, Les Fleurettes.

At the same time, a separate junior school was established at Chalet Riant Coteau. Andrew Niemeyer (1953-58) was one of the younger boys who started there, aged 11. “There were only about four or five of us,” he recalls. “We were looked after by ‘Granny Harding’, as we called her, and some of our lessons were in that chalet and some up at Les Evêques too – they certainly kept us busy!

“The part of the day I looked forward to was after lunch, where we were free to go skiing or walking. You weren’t allowed to ski on your own, but we did our own thing.” Indeed, ‘doing your own thing’ – or learning independence, as it is known today – was very much part of Aiglon life. “During summer weekends, we’d whizz off on our bike, or go camping for the night. As I wasn’t really into sports I spent time just getting to know people, including the ‘Blue Lady’ – so-called because she only ever wore blue smocks – who ran the souvenir shop along the main street.”

Two more chalets, Chalet Sylvia and Les Rocailles, brought the total to five, but it soon became obvious that a school spread across five bases was an expensive, and far from ideal, way to operate. So, before the start of the 1955 academic year, and after a successful fundraising effort, the school bought its first permanent building, the Hotel Beau-Site, which became the original Aiglon building (and would subsequently come to be renamed Clairmont).

B OA R D I NG L IF E , 1 9 6 0 S Right: Alpina house dinner, 1960s.

Below, left: Michael Hippisley doing prep on his bed at Les EvĂŞques around 1949.

BOAR D I N G LIFE , 20 1 9 Alpina students having a quick snack in their dining room during morning break.

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 19

FEATURE / 70 YEARS OF AIGLON

S K IIN G, 1 95 0/6 0 S Right: Denny Lane in the latest in ski style, including the nine foot-long vice safety bindings.

Facing page: Rip Rose in a 1962 slalom competition.

SK I I NG, 2 019 With time allocated each week to hit the slopes, all Aiglon students ski – and Aiglon offers something for every level. Whether you have never touched snow before, ski competitively for your home country or are somewhere in-between, there is a programme adapted for your level.

20 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

Each day began with meditation before breakfast, and then anyone who was interested in the piano could play before lessons MICHAEL HIPPISLEY (1949 - 52)

Charles ‘Denny’ Lane (1952-57) remembers that, originally, he shared Les Evêques with the British junior ski champion of the time, and Colin Griffiths, “my closest colleague, who was also a future ski champion and with whom I’m still in touch”. But he then moved on to Clairmont (via the Hotel Bristol, which the school temporarily used as its base).

“As head boy I had access to JC fairly regularly,” says Denny. “We were always impressed at just how extraordinarily well informed he was about what was going on. There were no secrets from him, and no escape – my mother and I once even ran into him in a lift in Saks on Fifth Avenue during the holidays. I don’t think anyone’s been able to replicate the influence he had on my life. I still play piano pieces he played.”

While students may not have identified with their house quite as much as today’s cohorts – moving from chalet to chalet was very much a part of school life – teams in the earliest school competitions took the names of the first houses: Chantecler, Les Evêques, La Fontaine and Les Rocailles. However, these teams were an amalgamation of the houses, and not constructed strictly by who lived where, since, as Mr Corlette said: “Too much loyalty to a part could lead to unfitness to be a member of the whole.”

Denny remembers that teams were divided into red shirts and white shirts. “The reds were Les Evêques, of whom

I was captain. And the white shirts were Chantecler, although they all lived in Clairmont.”

In April 1960 the school bought Hotel Belvédère, and in June the following year, Alpina. The student population was rising steadily – but still, however, it preserved its founding ethos. William ‘Rip’ Rose (1959-64) remembers that the houses encouraged a tightly organised ranking system, featuring green, red and gold eagle badges, by which every student earned their own privileges as they moved through the school.

There was also an equally tightly organised day.

“You woke about 7am, and put on your gym shorts and T-shirt and, whatever the weather, went outside and did callisthenics for 15 to 30 minutes. Then you went back to your room, got your towel and presented yourself in the showers on that floor. Once dressed, you went downstairs for a very good, hearty breakfast, around 30 minutes of meditation and then classes till lunchtime.

“The meals were a chance for all the students to get together; students had to participate in everything except the cooking. After lunch there were activities, depending on the season, and then you were back for classes at 4pm, dinner, study hall, and lights out by 10pm at the latest. It built character and discipline – that’s what John Corlette was doing, moulding young men.”

On Sundays, church was compulsory – unless, of course, you were on expedition. “We had equipment, minimal food, a small amount of money and a bicycle,” says Rip. “We’d figure out our own routes and distances and come back on the bus from Aigle at 2pm. In March 1962, four of us decided to cycle down the mountain, circumnavigate Lake Geneva, and come back. We plotted where we were going to stay each night and submitted that to the school. It was okayed and off we went. What we didn’t realise was that General de Gaulle would be at Évian, signing the Évian accords, and we’d have to get past that! And that was only one expedition. It was a great time in my life; you knew everyone in the house and we were a tight-knit group of people.”

Expedition, friends, a defining moment. And 70 years after John Corlette first came to the mountain a new generation are learning what it means to be an Aiglonian, guided by the same traditions, standards and principles that have been passed down from class to class with love and affection.

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 21

Words: MEGAN WELFORD Illustration: ABBEY LOSSING

The life of a new Aiglonian is full of excitement and adventure – but what is it really like to be the one who leaves the mountain?

MEET THE PARENTS 22 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

Tip one: Leave The start of school for a new boarder is challenging and can be an emotional time – but one that you can make much harder by letting your child know how tough you find it yourself! Let the Aiglon team take the strain and help new students adjust quickly by doing the hardest thing: saying a loving, but swift, goodbye.

S

AMIR JAIN REMEMBERS THE exact moment he knew his daughter, Samira (Clairmont, Year 10), was going to thrive at Aiglon. “Samira had been struggling to settle for weeks, and calling home almost every day, but one day soon after the October break, I called her. ‘Papa, I can’t talk,’ she said, ‘I’m with my friends.’ I looked up at the sky and said, ‘Thank you, God!’” Samir admits he and his wife, Sheena, were initially a bit over-protective, something many Aiglon parents will relate to. “We live in New Delhi and that’s how things are there. But Samira wanted to be independent, and she asked to go to boarding school. We did our research and took a vacation in June 2018 to visit Aiglon. It was gorgeous, I fell in love with it – all that nature; the fresh, clean environment. I felt at ease, it felt safe. Then it all happened very quickly: she passed the entrance test, I did the paperwork, and suddenly it was September and I was dropping her off.

“I took her on my own while my wife stayed at home with our younger son. The first day was very busy, and it was all hunky-dory as we sorted the uniform, we met her Houseparent Ms López Sancho, and she met some girls. I went back to my hotel and was having dinner with a friend when I got a FaceTime call from Samira, in tears, saying, ‘Papa, I made a mistake, please take me home.’

“I thought, ‘Oh dear’. But here’s where the staff helped – I called Ms López Sancho and she went and hugged Samira. I felt that she was sensitive and I could trust her.

The next day I went back and had to say goodbye, and I felt like I was abandoning my baby girl. For the first six weeks, Samira called me every break,” says Samir. “You get the cool kids who become popular straight away, then you get the shy ones like her, and it just takes longer.

I told her, in the hundreds of people across the school, you will find your three or four close friends, it will just take time. What helped was the support of the teachers, for her and me. I emailed Ms López Sancho and she reassured me – she’s working, she’s eating, she’s fine. Samira told me, ‘Everyone’s really nice, I’m just homesick, Papa’.”

Samira came home for October break and it was clear that she didn’t really want to go back, but knew she had to. But then came that breakthrough phone call. And by Christmas, neither Samira nor her parents were looking back. Back in New Delhi, following her first term, Samir was seeing changes in his daughter. “She was telling me she’d joined Oriental Club and she’d done a presentation on an Indian festival. She’d visited Lausanne and Montreux; she was telling me about her friends of all nationalities. She told me she could cook herself eggs when she was hungry and, when it was time to go back, she packed her own suitcase!”

Layla Goldberg (Clairmont, Year 12), daughter of Michelle (née Kremer, Exeter, 1988), is also in her first year at Aiglon, following in the footsteps of her brother, Zac (Delaware, 2017). “We’re a very close family because we’ve moved around a lot,” says Michelle, whose two other children, Ava, 12, and Shai, 10, are still at home in Aspen, Colorado. “We lived in Zug for six years, in Milan for six, and we were living in Miami when we decided on Aiglon for Zac. “I didn’t think Zac was ‘getting enough’ at school in Miami. It was quite insular. Basically, any good school is strong academically but what’s missing is the philosophy.

I knew and loved Aiglon; my two brothers – Marc (Alpina, 1988) and Dion Kremer (Alpina, 1984) – also went there.

I am half Swiss and my parents live in Verbier. I wanted my children to have that connection, and to benefit from that ‘whole child philosophy’, as I did.

“Still, you don’t take that decision lightly. It involves emotional and financial sacrifices. It’s very bittersweet.

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 23

FEATURE / MEET THE PARENTS

Tip two: Don’t panic Bumps and bruises. Broken hearts.

Stress. These are normal occurrences and no reason for panic. Aiglon’s houseparent system, health centre and Wellbeing Coordinator are wellplaced to support your child.

Tip three: Trust It’s the call every parent dreads: “Mum, Dad, I hate it, there’s too much homework!”

It’s 10 times worse when you can’t swoop in and give them a hug. But experienced Aiglon parents say, first off, let your child talk it out. The whole story may be different once they have a chance to talk.

Most of all, remember that the staff at Aiglon care deeply about their students and will always be able to give you a more complete view of any situation.

24 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

You want your baby home with you. But you also want them to leave the cocoon and become a butterfly.”

Michelle recalls that, on the first day, Zac was fine – but she was in floods of tears. “I took a taxi to the airport and I cried all the way. But he enjoyed it from the start.

It was more difficult with Layla: she’s passionate, she’s dramatic, she was nervous about the change. She was homesick and I missed her. And it is a sickness – it’s not called that for nothing. But I knew, because I’d already done it, that it just would take time and patience. It’s a natural process, and part of that is letting go, on both sides. We want to teach our kids to be risk-takers – we can’t say, ‘Go and be an explorer, but if you cry you can come home’. Just because something’s hard it doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing – Aiglon taught me that!”

“I didn’t contact the houseparents; I restrained myself,” says Michelle, of those first few months. “So, I only ever really heard Layla’s side. She was sad, she was tired. Until the parent-teacher meeting in December when they said she’s a great student, she’s on the honour roll, she’s well liked, she’s made friends, she’s doing Duke of Edinburgh. It was such a relief! I was amazed by how well they knew her.”

And, after they have settled, then the real journey begins: of change, of growth, of the gaining of confidence, and the discovery of new talents and passions. Christine and Hans Meyer’s son, Dominique (Alpina, 2013), started Aiglon aged eight as a day student, the youngest student in the school at the time. “We were worried because he was so young,” says Christine, “but Didier Boutroux, who was head of the junior school then, was so helpful. He talked to Dominique and really listened to him – he knew him, and if there ever was a problem, he solved it straight away.”

Soon, says Christine, Dominique was “only coming home to sleep!” He did piano lessons and learned the bagpipes with George Logie. He made radio-controlled aeroplanes.

He went mountaineering and skiing. “John Turner,

Tip four: Get involved Aiglon offers many opportunities (both at the school and abroad) to connect with the Aiglonian family. This is a vast and impressive network worth knowing. They are also fun. So participate. You will feel a much stronger connection to the school, its people and your child if you take the time to be involved.

See www.aiglonlife.ch for more.

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 25

Tip five: House team first Make the house team your first port of call.

Houseparents, house assistants and tutors truly know your child. And that matters: an issue that at first glance relates to just one subject may require a whole-child approach.

The house team will have the full picture and can give you an immediate response.

Tip six: Solidarity!

his physics teacher, got him interested in science,” says Hans. “He loved Children are fantastic at playing off the astronomy. I used to help him set adults in their lives – so don’t fall for it! up telescopes in the village. He ended Every time you show respect for Aiglon’s up in charge of the Aiglon observatory expectations you reinforce respect and – a teacher went on early retirement discipline in your child. So, however much and the school supported Dominique they plead with you, don’t authorise to lead it.” your child to leave early for the holidays, Vanessa Vanderspuy’s four sons ensure they attend prize-giving and house activities. They’ll complain – but have all been to Aiglon. “It was far they’ll benefit hugely from consistency worse dropping my eldest off at NYU between school and parents. than dropping him at Aiglon,” she says, “because I felt he was on his own. I never felt that at Aiglon.” She has enjoyed watching She’s more respectful. And now we have a shared her boys come into their own. “They get through those experience that unites us. She’s having lunch with Bibi teenage years and you see them mature dramatically, Parsons, like I did! Similarly, I watched Zac become become confident, learn how to behave. You watch them adventurous, curious and disciplined. He’s now doing talking intelligently and sensibly with other people. well at Tufts in Boston.”

“I saw it recently in my son Josh (Delaware, “Dominique won the John Corlette prize at graduation,” Year 13), who was holding his older brother to account on says Christine Meyer. “We were surprised, and so proud. something, really questioning him. I was very impressed. But I think John Corlette’s philosophy really helped him I saw it when he did a mountain marathon last year. to become who he is today. That philosophy puts the They set off to do a half marathon but just kept going child at the centre but makes them independent and able and did the whole thing. He really pushed himself. My to cope with life. Dominique did Physics at university youngest, Sebastian (Delaware, Year 10) was in a play at and now he’s doing a PhD in Robotics and 3D Vision.

Christmas and it was a revelation! He was funny, he really He has presented at international aerospace conferences pulled it off. Teenagers can be unsure of themselves, but alongside NASA space scientists and engineers!” he’d blossomed.”

So, while it’s undoubtedly one of the hardest things Michelle, too, has seen the change. “Layla flew home you’ll ever do as a parent, setting a child off on their on her own for the first time last holiday,” she says. “Three Aiglon life is just the start of a bittersweet adventure. And stops! She’s much more independent and responsible. you’re certainly not alone. “Aiglon is not just a community She surprised us by getting up early and saying, ‘Let’s of students, teachers, administrators, and alumni,” says go skiing!’ She never would have done that before. Michelle “It’s also a community of parents.”

26 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 27

Words: BECKY ALLEN Photography: JOE McGORTY

HOW I WON MY BOUQUETIN One term. Five expeditions.

Earning a Bouquetin might be costly, but for those who succeed, the memories are priceless.

28 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

O N D I N E P E C K- V O L L Inching out on to the rocks that top the Dent de Morcles isn’t for everyone. But the astonishing view it afforded gave Ondine Peck-Voll (Clairmont, Year 12) her most memorable Bouquetin moment.

Arriving in Aiglon in 2018 from Los Angeles, the Dent de Morcles was Ondine’s first high ex. “It was an intense experience,” she recalls. “We couldn’t see our feet because the mist was so thick. But once we reached the top, the mist suddenly swirled away and we had this unbelievable 360-degree panoramic view of the valley below. It was one of the craziest things I’d ever seen. Sitting up there with a friend and taking in how far we’d come has been my peak experience at Aiglon so far.”

Having earned a Bouquetin in every one of the four terms she’s been at Aiglon, Ondine says it’s the challenge as well as the Bouquetin that motivates her to get out early most weekends. “Doing five expeditions isn’t easy – it’s always easier to stay in bed,” she says “The Bouquetin makes you challenge yourself, and that’s what Aiglon’s all about – taking opportunities and pushing yourself to do just a little more.”

As well as scaling peaks, Ondine has taken to crosscountry skis for the first time ever, and fallen in love with a sport that she says has taught her some important truths.

“Winter expeditions in the snow are a completely different experience from high ex. When you’re cross-country skiing and all you have is a small day pack and your friends, you realise that you need very little to be happy,” she says.

Her Bouquetins live in a small glass bowl on her Clairmont desk. When she looks at them, they take her right back to the snow and rock. “They are great mementoes, something tangible to remind you of your expedition times – and, hopefully, there will be many more to come.”

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 29

JAN WIACEK In class, Jan Wiacek (Belvedere, Year 12) loves maths and physics more than biology. But, outside the classroom, nature is his real passion – and nature, as far as Jan is concerned, is what Bouquetins are all about. Which is perhaps why, during his first two terms at Aiglon, he’s done so many expeditions – at least one a weekend and sometimes more – and won two Bouquetins and the coveted Goat.

“I’ve done 21 expeditions in all.

You get a Bouquetin for doing five expeditions in a term, so the 13 expeditions I did in the autumn term should equate to 2.6 Bouquetins, but you only get one badge!” he calculates. “It sounds boastful, but I’m genuinely very proud to have earned them. And getting the Goat was really important to me because I love the expeditions.”

Picking his most memorable expedition from so many is tough, but high ex – especially the Dents du Midi at 3,257m – comes out on top in every sense. “For the final part of that climb there’s no proper path; at that altitude paths change each season as the snow wipes them away,” Jan explains. “The wind was up but the sky was clear, and we could see the whole valley below and spot the small village where the school is.”

Looking back at those peaks never fails to move him. “After a few months at Aiglon, some people come to accept the view, but I can’t.

From campus, you can see all the mountains we climb on high ex.

Every day on campus I look to the mountains – and every day I admire what I see from my window.

“Winning Bouquetins isn’t the motivation, although I appreciate the awards. For me it’s about the challenge, the nature and the magic of the mountains,” he says. “What pushes me is a need to be outside.

Being outside is where I find peace.”

VICTOR LE SERGEANT D’HENDECOURT When he talks about his Bouquetin, Victor Le Sergeant d’Hendecourt (Delaware, Year 9) laughs. In fact, he laughs a lot, something you imagine helps him when he’s facing the challenge of the expedition.

So far, he has one Bouquetin under his belt and is going for his second.

His most challenging expedition to date has been a steep and icy two-day climb of Wildstrubel. The realisation of what he’d let himself in for dawned on him on day two. Up at 5.30am with ropes and crampons, students got their first look at the mountain. “I was in the leading group, and our guide was pretty fast,” says Victor, laughing. “I wasn’t used to the altitude, so I was breathing heavily, and there was one point where I felt my legs were going to collapse.”

When they got to the summit, he reached for his camera. “It was really special because we were above the clouds. I wanted to take pictures, but my phone was so cold it wouldn’t turn on. There was this little metal canister with a journal – it was really cool to leave our names on top of the mountain.”

Today, he keeps his Bouquetin close to his heart, albeit for practical reasons. “I’ve attached it to the inside pocket of my blazer because I lost a button, so the Bouquetin comes in very handy.” But he admits it makes him – and his family – proud. “My father’s very keen that I keep getting Bouquetins until I graduate. My brothers never got a single Bouquetin the whole time they were here,” he laughs again.

“So I have to do everything that my brothers didn’t – like getting good grades, doing well in sport – and, of course, getting Bouquetins!”

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 31

FEATURE / HOW I WON MY BOUQUETIN

RITHY THORN

N I K I TA K U P R I S H O V What does the Bouquetin mean to Nikita Kuprishov (Belvedere, Year 13)? Achievement, yes, but more than anything, friends.

“High expeditions – climbing a particular mountain that you see every day from your window – are really special,” he says. “But it’s not just what you do, it’s who you do it with that matters. Going on ex with friends makes it even more memorable.”

“I have a box with all the badges – it gets heavier every term!” says Nikita. “They remind me of the best memories of Aiglon, and each one symbolises a term’s expeditions.

They’re a way of remembering all the things we’ve done and realising how far we’ve come.”

Nikita’s box now houses 19 Bouquetins – from small badges to bronze, silver and gold medals – and, as well as earning one 32 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

almost every term, he’s won the Goat five times. “Partly I do it for my parents,” Nikita explains.

“They take pride in seeing me achieve something, and they like watching me on stage at prizegiving when we get our awards – that’s quite special.”

Independent expeditions are among his favourite. Being away from school with just friends for company – cooking their own meals and sleeping out overnight – is a recipe for cementing solid friendships, Nikita believes.

“It gives us opportunities to become independent, to commit to something and not to complain too much!”

His Bouquetins also remind him that he has faced – and overcome – some of his own fears. “I used to be afraid of heights,” Nikita admits.

“I started climbing to get over that and I’ve even become quite good.

Now, it’s a passion, not a fear.”

Bouquetins are rewards Rithy Thorn (Le Cerf, Year 13) looks forward to earning, not least because they’ve motivated her to reach 3,500m.

“What’s interesting and unique about Aiglon is how the school integrates the mountains,” she says. “Aiglon’s all about challenge, responsibility and service.

By setting out as a group on expeditions, we’re doing all three.”

They’ve taught her lots about teamwork and leadership too. “No matter how bad things get, you can’t leave anyone behind. You need to stick together – you can’t argue or take sides – so teamwork is essential.”

Rithy’s first year at Aiglon came with a wealth of new experiences. She’s tried her hand at five new sports, had her first taste of mountain life – and earned her first three Bouquetins. Among the 15 expeditions she’s completed, long exes have posed by far the greatest challenges. She’s overcome her fear of heights to scale the Dent de Morcles and the Dents du Midi. She has learned to canoe on the Ardèche River. And, despite never having set foot on crosscountry skis before, she completed 90km over four days in the Alps and the Jura.

“That was the most challenging long ex because I was a complete beginner at cross-country. I was all over the place on skis,” she recalls. “At one point we had to cross-country at night without any teachers. Skiing when all you can see is 50m ahead lit by our head torches was strange, but it was a huge achievement.”

When Rithy graduates this year, she’ll swap snow for sand and a Fulbright scholarship to study Applied Maths at NYU Abu Dhabi. But she’ll take the Bouquetins with her. “They are achievements I’ve worked hard for.

And they’ll always remind me of Switzerland.”

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 33

Words: LUCY JOLIN

Fifty years ago, the first female students arrived at Aiglon, setting a course for the countless successful women who have followed in their footsteps.

B

ack in 1968, 14-year-old Lucy Gold (Clairmont, 1970) was a budding hippy, living in New York, and “getting myself into trouble at home”, she says. Her father, a Jewish war refugee brought up in Vienna and schooled in Switzerland, decided that boarding school was the answer – and that a Swiss one, where he had had the time of his life, would be ideal. But not just any Swiss boarding school. Lucy’s father knew that if this was going to work, the right fit would be crucial.

“My sister had gone to a finishing school, and my parents knew that was not my type of school at all!” says Lucy, now a family court lawyer living in Ithaca, New York. “I had always been a tomboy growing up. They were looking for a school that was different – and they hit upon Aiglon. And, looking back, it was one of the best experiences of my life. It helped give me direction.”

At the time, Lucy didn’t give too much thought to the fact that she and the 15 other girls who started at Aiglon that year

34 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

were the first female students in a school of 150 boys (to be followed the next year by another 45 girls). “I immediately found a wonderful core group of friends,” Lucy says. “To be honest, I think the boys found it more difficult than the girls!

There were many heartbroken boys…”

But these trailblazers set the standard right from the start.

Fifty years later, Aiglon remains proudly co-educational: a place where boys and girls know they will be valued, challenged, and inspired – and a place that has had a profound and positive effect on their lives and careers. Which is why another student, Tanya Ogilvie White (Exeter, 1987) has a message for Aiglon’s first women. “I’d like to say thank you,” she says. “It must have been exciting but also challenging.

You were true pioneers.”

Mita Corsini Bland (Clairmont, 1972), now an artist living in New York, is another trailblazer, having joined in the second cohort of girls, and says her mother was delighted

by Aiglon’s pared-back ethos. “She told me: you’re going

PIA ATKINSON

EMILY PESSOA

MARCIA TOLCHIN

LYN POHL

MITA CORSINI AND THE 1970 FOLK SONG GROUP

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 35

LISA TREHARNE

GIRLS WATCHING BASKETBALL IN 1969

LANI HEGLAND

CECILIA SEYERSTED

CATH WHITTEN

MOIRA DONNELL

STUDENTS ON EXPEDITION

36 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

DINAH JESSEL

Anyone can do well at Aiglon in whatever area they choose – that’s unique in today’s one-dimensional world ANDREJKA BERNATOVA

joined Aiglon as, she says, an insecure 13-year-old who had grown up in Villars and spoke no English, she had no idea what direction her life would take.

“That first year, we were hosting a conference,” Muriel remembers. “I was picked to write and deliver a speech on being in an international community. I remember going to my English teacher, Mr Sven Larsen, a truly wonderful human being, and saying: ‘I’m not sure I can do this. I couldn’t speak this language a few months ago.

And now you’re asking me to deliver a speech in front of 300 people.’ He looked at me and said: ‘Do you know why you are part of this conference? Explain it to me.’ So I did: I talked about the importance of learning together and helping one another. And he said: ‘That’s exactly what you need to say in the speech. You don’t need to say anything more than you just did.’ The confidence that gave me opened so many doors in my head and allowed me to become who I am now.”

For Andrejka Bernatova (Clairmont, 2001), Chief Financial Officer at oilfield company Goodnight Midstream, Aiglon was also about opening doors to a world she never even knew existed – a world of truly unlimited opportunities. She grew up in the Czech countryside during the communist regime and only knew about the school because a student from the local area had attended as a Soros student after the fall of communism.

Aiglon was her dream, and she pursued it relentlessly.

From the age of 14, she wrote regularly to Head Master Richard McDonald, and, at 17, her dream came true as she started at Aiglon on a full scholarship. “I love the fact that anyone can do well at Aiglon in whatever area they choose – academics, expeditions, art or outdoors – which is truly unique in today’s broadly one-dimensional, testdriven world of education.”

While at Aiglon, Andrejka was involved in international sport races, participated in international service project in Kenya, and went on every possible expedition. “All these experiences have introduced me to a variety of different worlds and cultures. It ultimately ingrained in me the curiosity, awareness, compassion, flexibility and determination needed at any point in my career, whether as an investment banker on Wall Street, a serial executive and entrepreneur in the oil and gas business or a volunteer in my community, from Nepal to Texas.

“The incredibly diverse Aiglon community prepared me for life and career better than anything else. The ability to understand others, what drives them and motivates them is key to productive and positive relationships in your career and in a fulfilled personal life.”

The experience of Aiglon, says Mita, has stayed with her in unexpected ways. Years after she left, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. As she sat in the surgeon’s office, she had a vivid flashback to her time at Aiglon: in particular, the expeditions. There had been times when she had felt exhausted and that she had nothing left to give. “But I learned to trust my inner strength,” she says.

“I thought, ‘I will pull that out and use it for this ordeal I am about to go through.’ And I did. Throughout my treatment, I kept thinking, ‘I made it at Aiglon; I know I have that strength of character, and it’s going to get me through this experience as well.’”

YOU WERE TRUE PIONEERS

to have an appreciation of home like you never had before – they don’t have curtains at the windows and they have industrial carpeting on the floors!” Everyone was equal, despite their family background. “The first thing they did when you arrived at Aiglon in those days was take you into a room where you had to give up everything that made you different from each other – money, passport, credit cards, and so on.”

As a sports-mad teen, Lucy says she didn’t mind the outdoor exercise at all. And her best memories, like so many of the Aiglonians who came after her, are of “the absolute beauty of being in the Swiss Alps. Waking up every morning and looking out at that view. And the winter expeditions – crossing glaciers on skis with sealskins on the bottom. It made me appreciate the beauty of life.”

Of course, the career opportunities available to women were already opening up for Aiglon’s first female students – and have skyrocketed since. Lucy contrasts her own experience to that of her mother, who went from poor beginnings in Minnesota to a PhD in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. “But she married my father in 1946 and then became a housewife. She never worked after she married and started having children. There was literally no career path for her. But I never felt held back by my family for being female. I wasn’t supposed to do anything other than find something that made me happy.”

Today, Aiglon’s women continue to make the most of their opportunities. Tanya now lives in Australia,

advising government and international organisations on disarmament and arms control. She was “very shy” when she came to Aiglon, and cites the school’s emphasis on public speaking as a key factor in her eventual choice of career – alongside the influence of her inspiring History teacher, Mr Timothy Stunt.

“International diplomacy is all about putting across an informed point of view in a way that will resonate with your audience, but without being too emotional about the subject,” she says. “When I first started working in the field, just after I’d finished my PhD, I was still quite nervous whenever I spoke at large venues – especially when they were packed with experts and ambassadors from around the world. But I’ve found that embracing that fear and just doing it anyway is incredibly rewarding – and it opens doors.”

Public speaking also played a big part in helping to boost the confidence of Muriel Cunningham (née Cantryn, Clairmont, 2000). She is now Information Systems Project Manager at Bloomberg LP, but when she

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 37

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39 Class notes 44 Personal best 46 Behind the scenes 48 Why I love…

Class notes

Share your news and get in touch with the Aiglon community at alumni@aiglon.ch WEDDING BELLS Warmest congratulations to Fion de Vletter (Delaware, 1969) and Pippy Gardner, who were married on 9 April at the Maputo Registry Office in Mozambique.

A L I F E AT S EA I have spent the last six years sailing round the world with my husband on a 42ft yacht. First, we found our sea legs sailing around the UK, then we spent two years in the Mediterranean before heading across the Atlantic to the Caribbean.

The Panama Canal was next, then a month in Galapagos before making our way through the Pacific Islands to Tonga and finally New Zealand. Earlier this year we sailed from New Zealand to Fiji, returning to New Zealand to avoid the cyclone season.

After a few months off the boat we are now continuing our travels – our plan is to continue heading west and complete the circumnavigation. Although my time at Aiglon didn’t exactly prepare me for a life at sea, it probably helped with the sense of adventure – I still love the mountains and continue to ski regularly.

Stephanie Sprigings (Exeter, 1977)

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 39

A worldwide community

Next Gen!

Name: Dominique Meyer House: Alpina Graduated: Class of 2013 What’s on: Since Aiglon, it’s been academia. I am a computer science PhD student at the University of San Diego, in the field of 3D vision for robotics.

What’s hot: I’m into enjoying the outdoors as much as I can: I go mountaineering, camping and climbing.

What’s next: I’m definitely going to enjoy a bit of the Silicon Valley tech startup environment here. It’s great to be in this field in California.

What’s Aiglon: It takes a very specific kind of education to train someone to be able to handle any sort of problem.

At Aiglon, they excelled in that.

40 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

RETIRED AND HAPPY I am in the middle of my fifth year of retirement and love it. I don’t know how I ever had time for a full-time job. Travel takes up quite a bit of time which, I assure you, is not a complaint. My plane trip with my girlfriend, Beri, from Texas to the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Barringer Crater, Lake Powell was fabulous, and I hope to get a floatplane rating during our two-month road trip across Canada this autumn.

Hopefully, in a year or two’s time, I’d like to rent such a plane and do a trip somewhere in North America. Although, from the feedback I have had, few if any places will rent you a floatplane even after rating you on one. Fingers crossed!

Duncan Maxwell (Belvedere and Alpina, 1968, Staff 1998-2014)

‘OLD BOYS’ R EUNIT ED Alumni from the 1964-65 vintage held a reunion lunch at the Falcon Inn near Banbury, UK. From left: Peter Lightfoot, Ted Coulson, Martin Freston, Nigel Thorp, Richard Bloor, John Gardner and Bill Lockwood. They hope to hold another get-together towards the end of next year, and welcome others to join them.

Tributes

N YC B R U NC H Alumni catching up over brunch in New York: (from left) Zoë Bullock (Le Cerf, 2006), Andrey Makiyevskiy (Delaware, 2017), Lea Bonnier (Exeter, 1996), Noel Thompson (Alpina, 1970), Charlotte de Brabandt (Exeter, 2005) and Lei Ren (Belvedere, 2011).

Taku Yamane (Belvedere, 2008)

John Goodhew (Clairmont, 1965)

We were very sorry to learn of the sudden passing of Taku Yamane in London last November. Taku had attended La Garenne in Villars for two years before joining the Aiglon family in 2005. He left the school three years later to finish high school in the States at Mercersburg Academy, Pennsylvania. He was enrolled at Babson College for two years and then received a BA in Global Business at Coventry University London earlier this year. In September, he went to work for Meltwater, an AI-driven technology company. Taku was only 26 and we extend our deepest condolences.

Tribute by Erik Friedl (Alpina, 1969)

It is with much sadness that I have to report the untimely death of a good friend of mine, John Goodhew. Ever since John and I left Aiglon, in 1964, we have stayed in touch, and when I was working in London, I would spend weekends at his home in Sussex. As a result, I made many new friends.

The funeral took place in December at a little church in Apuldram, near Chichester in the UK. Tribute by Bill Lockwood (Belvedere, 1965)

P E R F E CT H OSTS George Hartogensis (Alpina, 1976) and wife Nancy, née Dzikowski (Exeter, 1977) with their son Jake (on the left), hosted Anna Gray and Aiglon guardian Gregor Grassie (Delaware, 2019) during a visit to UVA. Gregor even managed to sell Jake on the idea of possibly attending Aiglon one day!

Cameron “Chas” Maclean Cochand (Alpina, 1969) We are sorry to announce that Chas M Cochand, who attended the school from 1965 to 1969, sadly died at his home in Hampshire, UK in February.

Chas, from Canada, had been suffering for some months from the impact of metastatic melanoma, but died peacefully in his sleep with his wife Judy and his sons around him.

Tribute by Noel Thompson (Alpina, 1970), above, right, with Chas in 2016

I write to let my Aiglon family know that my sister, Nonaine Levy, passed away in December. Nonaine was at her best during her time at Aiglon. Those of you who knew her will remember her wit, loving spirit, brilliant mind and angelic voice. A celebration of her life took place in Maryland in December, and we also celebrated with friends and family in Switzerland in March. She will always be missed but she is now free to be the angel she has always been.

Tribute by Megan Moulton-Levy (Clairmont, 2003)

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 41

Illustrations by Ruby Taylor

Nonaine Moulton-Levy (Exeter, 1994)

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A worldwide community

Aiglon around the world Thanks to all our hosts of events across the globe, showing the unique nature of the Aiglon community. Here are a few recent highlights.

WEST

CANNES Our thanks to current parents Iskandar Safa and Clara Martinez Thedy de Safa for hosting a mix of alumni and parents at the fifth annual weekend at the Domaine de Barbossi. As well as golf at the beautiful Riviera Golf de Barbossi, guests were treated to a visit to Antibes and Grasse, as well as wine-tasting and trap shooting.

COAST SAN FRANCISCO More than 25 people attended a reception at the law firm of Keesal, Young & Logan in San Francisco, hosted by Ben Suter (Alpina, 1973).

Thanks go to Robert Liu (Alpina, 1968) for introducing a new family to the school and inviting them to the event.

CALI FO R NI A Fourteen alumni were treated to a special tour and blending experience at Meadowcroft Wines in the famed Sonoma Valley, wonderfully hosted

by Tom (Alpina, 1978) and Kathy Meadowcroft.

S I N GAPORE Current and prospective parents gathered for a lovely evening at Atout restaurant in Singapore, run by the Geneva-born chef Patrick Heuberger.

VANCOUV ER A behind-the-scenes visit of Vancouver Aquarium was organised by David Rebak (Clairmont, 1965), followed by dinner at Lift Bar and Grill with its beautiful view over Coal Harbour.

SANTA MONICA Cecilia Peck-Voll (Clairmont, 1975), pictured below with Luigi Irauzqui (Delaware, 1982), and Daniel Voll (current parent) once again hosted a reunion at their home in Santa Monica, including two new families with daughters starting in the autumn.

KE N YA Katie and Alasdair (Belvedere, 1999) Keith were the perfect hosts to staff and students during Aiglon’s service project in Kenya. All enjoyed traditional sundowners following a safari on the game reserve.

NEW YORK Nowhere was the positive and supportive nature of the Aiglon community emphasised more than at a FOAC US event in New York. We are extremely grateful to organiser Noel Thompson (Alpina, 1970), President of the FOAC US, and Gerald and Mita Corsini Bland (Clairmont, 1972) for hosting the event at their gallery.

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 43

Personal best

Words: LUCY JOLIN Photography: JOE McGORTY

The gloves are on

It began as self-defence but, for Aiden Liu, boxing has become a great way to challenge himself physically and mentally.

44 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

W

hen Aiden Liu (Alpina, the ring are all about his personal goals.

Year 12) was bullied at his He recalls a bout with a professional boxer. junior high school, he made “He destroyed me! And I respected him a decision. He learned for that. It’s good to remember that maybe the Israeli martial art krav maga, before you’re the best in your comfort zone, a professional fighter at his gym then but there are always people out there introduced him to boxing. Four years on, who are better than you. So, you had better he says that what began keep working.” as simply learning selfGaining his krav maga defence has become so yellow belt was his much more. biggest test to date: a “I was socially awkward session in the It’s not just about six-hour when I was younger, gym, being constantly and boxing boosted my fighting having the hardest combat-ready, confidence,” he says. up to four opponents “It helped me to develop punch – often, the at a time – all with just self-discipline: if you’re couple of 10-second coolest head wins awater in the ring for three breaks. “That was minutes, that’s where a huge mental challenge,” you stay, right up until he remembers. “I thought the last seconds. You I couldn’t do it. But it have to keep fighting. You have to respect taught me that I have no limits. I just have your opponent and obey your trainer. And to keep pushing myself.” you have to give 100 per cent. You have Aiden is taught by former Swiss to keep going. You can’t give up. And I can champion Enver Bajrami and says that apply that to other areas of my life, such as although they don’t have a language in my studies. It’s also a great way to deal with common, they still communicate pretty the stresses of everyday life. If I don’t box well. He also trains several times a week for a day, it feels like something is missing.” by himself, skipping, running and doing Aiden doesn’t compete professionally – body-weight training to develop endurance, “I’ll be using my brain to make a living, not and working with a punchbag to boost his my fists!” he says – so his achievements in technique and muscle memory.

Putting in the work — Aiden is trained by former Swiss champion Enver Bajrami, and puts in several sessions a week to develop strength, endurance and technique.

It’s not just about having the hardest punch, he says – in fact, the coolest head often wins. “I watch my opponent. Will he jab? Do I need to dodge now? Will he counter-punch? It’s less about the power of your punch and more about how well you study your opponent. Am I scared?

Of course – not least because I’m smaller than most of the people I fight. But it’s up to me to find a weakness in my opponent.

If I don’t, then I get punched! And that’s a learning experience, too. You can’t give a punch if you don’t know how to take one.”

People think that learning to fight makes you a violent person, he says. “But that’s not true. It makes you a less violent person.

I’ve been fighting for a while now, and one thing I know is that when you get into a fight, you might get hurt. People who act macho and talk about throwing punches around have generally never been in a fight, so they don’t know what it’s like. But, because I know, I’ll do everything I can to avoid a fight and solve things with words.”

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 45

Behind the scenes

Glorious food The new kitchen team have been getting rave reviews – and it’s not hard to see why.

Words: MEGAN WELFORD Photography: JOE McGORTY

A

iglon’s restaurant manager, M. François Lauwick, thinks long and hard before picking his current favourite meal from the school canteen. “Miso dashi ramen with salmon, soba noodles and enoki mushroom,” he decides. It’s reassuringly creative, but with more than 55 nationalities to cater for, it is no surprise that the Aiglon menu is so international.

“The little ones starting at school want reassuring, homely food,” says M. Lauwick.

“But, depending on where home is, that can mean curry and rice, noodles and soup or burger and chips.”

Three different options are available each lunchtime: traditional or classic (typically French or English dishes); ‘world’, which might be curry or ramen noodles; and a vegetarian/vegan meal.

The evening offer is a hot dish of meat or fish and a vegetarian option, and a salad bar is available every day. “There is always protein available on the salad bar, maybe eggs or tuna, and we do watch what the students are eating,” adds M. Lauwick.

“The newer students often have to be persuaded to take vegetables, but the older ones encourage them and soon it becomes a habit.”

M. Lauwick enjoys the asparagus season (“They grow less than 50km from the school”) and is especially proud of the citrus fruits he sources from a nearby

46 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

farm. “It’s run by the grandson of Rodin, the sculptor. He may be the only person in Europe growing yuzu [an aromatic fruit used in Japanese and Korean cooking], which the students love.”

Chef Mr Callum Tod, who has been at the school for three years and previously worked in a nearby Michelin-starred restaurant, relishes the challenge of producing more than 1,000 covers a day, as opposed to around 40 in a restaurant.

“I love being able to offer a diverse repertoire, changing the dishes daily.

Most of the students, particularly the older ones, are savvy about eating well and keen to try new tastes. And I enjoy preparing something different as well.”

A popular recent introduction was tom yum, the hot and sour Thai soup. “I even saw one student adding extra sriracha chilli

sauce!” Mondays are vegetarian only, with a pasta dish that might be stuffed with pumpkin, or with a gorgonzola and walnut sauce. And one day a week, students go without creamy desserts – “The fruit salads we serve instead are very popular,” says Mr Tod. It falls to M. Lauwick to make sure strict budgets are adhered to and that the students’ dietary needs are met, while continuing to cut waste where possible and maintain the highest standards.

“Meat is sourced from Switzerland wherever possible and fish is caught from sustainable sources. But it is the culture of the school to give students the opportunity to widen their horizons, and that goes for the food as well. They may start off looking for familiar dishes, but they soon learn to try new things.”

Our asparagus is grown less than 50km from Aiglon FRANÇOIS L AUWICK Sweet spot — The menu is fresh and diverse – a popular recent introduction was tom yum, the hot and sour Thai soup. “I even saw one pupil adding extra sriracha chilli sauce!” says Mr Tod.

I S S U E 1 2 A I G L O N 47

Why I love

A change for good Luiza Aguilar Guimaraes

(Clairmont, Year 12)

Words: LUIZA AGUILAR GUIMARAES Photography: JOE McGORTY

T

his is Aiglon’s first year as part of the international EcoSchools organisation. This year, we’ve focused on reducing waste and establishing more effective recycling systems. Since attending an Eco-Schools training conference in Lausanne, my greatest motivation has been spreading this knowledge, so I have volunteered with Aiglon’s Junior Green Council. I’ve loved helping them engage with issues relating to sustainability and environmentalism.

The juniors spent the autumn term identifying the unique plant and animal life on the mountain, which gave us the opportunity to compare the species we found with those we see in our own countries and discuss the importance of preserving the environment and biodiversity. One of the most rewarding challenges we took on was running Aiglon’s Green Day, where we asked students and staff members to sponsor the planting of hundreds of daffodils on campus. It was hard work, but we raised the funds we needed to join the Eco-Schools community – and got the chance to spread the word.

As the weather cooled, we moved inside and started creating recycled crafts and posters to display in boarding houses to encourage recycling. We also established better collection systems in houses and departments, such as coffee-capsule recycling and compost bins.

48 A I G L O N I S S U E 1 2

The Green Council reminds people that even the small actions we take locally will make a difference

I’m passionate about working with the Green Council to address the environmental problems that influence us.

My generation is inheriting a world faced with numerous environmental issues, and even the small actions we take locally will make a difference.

Increasing awareness of the importance of recycling at school level has wider impacts. My hope is that everyone who learns about environmental citizenship at school will take that knowledge to their home countries and try to bring about further change.

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