The Essence of Aiglon
An Aiglon education is an opportunity to challenge and shape the values and outlook that young people carry with them for their entire lives.
Aiglon’s distinctive Guiding Principles, the balanced development of Mind, Body and Spirit, embody the holistic educational ethos of our founder John Corlette. They are as important to us today as they were at our very inception.
Our outstanding academic record is matched by our extensive expedition, arts and cultural programmes that teach children to respect and value their fellow citizens and protect the natural world around them.
Our holistic approach to education, grounded in our long heritage, sets us apart from other schools. It takes Aiglonians on a journey of self-discovery and nurtures respectful global citizens with a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to make change.
2022 Average score
37
(IB world average is 33 out of 45 points)
44% of students exceeded 40 points
In 2022, our students achieved their highest IB scores for in-person examinations in the school’s history.
A GLOBAL TOP 50 IB SCHOOL
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My son was like a small seed who became a flowering plant. My daughter blossomed in self-confidence.
It’s important to me that the school can provide this for other children.
Aiglon is a school like no other.
It’s revolutionary.
Ala Loika, Aiglon Parent
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Mind, Body and Spirit
The greatest impact we can have is to enable a welldeveloped, well-rounded young person to discover their path in the world.
AIGLON STUDENTS ARE:
• People who have the strength and resilience to surpass their own expectations, who take pride in physical challenge and lay the foundation for a life-long journey of good habits.
• Inquisitive thinkers who are motivated learners with the intellect and capacity to challenge the world around them. They respect diversity, are accountable for their impact on the world, and value the service they can give to others.
• Individuals comfortable with who they are, open to exploring faith and ready to engage and lead the world with integrity, purpose and kindness.
A DIVERSE COMMUNITY TO CALL HOME
With over 65 nationalities, and teachers, staff and students eating, learning, and gathering in morning meditation, Aiglon prides itself on its accepting environment and diversity of perspective and experience.
Aiglonians do not just discover themselves, they discover the world.
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Aiglon's Impact
Every Aiglonian has a story of how Aiglon helped carve their path in the world.
Most importantly, we are part of a community that continues to spread Aiglon’s values and practices beyond Villars to the world.
Aiglonians like Angela McCarthy, whose blizzard-challenged expedition to the summit of Dent de Morcles aged 14 sowed the seeds for her bright future. Today, as CEO of The Earth Foundation, Angela draws on that tenacity and resilience to empower young people from around the world to use their voices to protect the environment.
Reaching that summit is like a little anchor, a root that you need in life to remind you that you can do things. It’s amazing when you realise you were given a gift at school. And then you have your “aha moment” in your forties when you think, “Oh, this has already been a framework for me in my life”.
I was blessed to go to Aiglon. There’s no question that it saved me, and it changed the course of my life.
Angela McCarthy (Clairmont, 1992)
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Absolutely
essential is a positive and loving relationship with all other people regardless of origin, background or beliefs, and a positive and loving relationship with everything in the world and in the universe around us.
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JOHN CORLETTE, AIGLON'S FOUNDER
Aiglon 2028: Going Beyond
As we approach our 75th anniversary in 2024, we are drawing on our founder’s values and asking what it means to be an Aiglonian in today’s world.
While our comprehensive vision for 2028 covers all aspects of Aiglon’s education, facilities and care, we ask for your support to make our vision beyond exceptional for this generation of young people and those fortunate to experience an Aiglon education in the future.
We are asking you to help us go further in our ambitions to weave sustainability, innovation, entrepreneurship, and multilingualism through every part of an Aiglonian education.
Together, we will open our young people’s minds to the diverse perspectives and experiences that prepare them to be change-makers in today’s turbulent world.
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Through our 2028 Vision, we are challenging ourselves to protect Aiglon’s unique ethos for generations to come.
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What we can achieve together
number of Aiglonians benefitting from life-changing scholarships.
CULTURE
For over 70 years Aiglon scholarships have opened the door to the brightest young people from across the world. Not only do scholarships leave a lasting impact on an individual and their family, they nurture in all our students the values of kindness and respect, regardless of origin, background and beliefs.
So far 104 scholars from countries including Kenya, Bhutan, Israel and Somaliland have passed through the school, with every one continuing to higher education. While the school has historically funded scholarships, we are proud and grateful that half of our current recipients are funded through the generosity of parents and alumni.
Through your continued generosity, we aim to increase the number of scholarships at Aiglon by 2028, enabling 20 scholars at any one time to be broadening their horizons at the school.
If anyone goes back far enough in their history, they’ll find a story of someone who believed enough to give a helping hand to another. Aiglon did this for me and I am eternally grateful. Aiglon changed my life. Now, I have a responsibility and an obligation to improve the lives of others.
Koome Gikunda (Delaware, 1999) one of Aiglon’s first scholars, graduated as Guardian. Koome secured further scholarships to Stanford and gained an MBA with distinction from Oxford. Today, he lives in Nairobi and is director at private equity fund Actis. He is helping to shape the future for the next generation of scholars by serving on Aiglon’s governing board.
With your help, we will expand the diversity of young people in our community by continuing to grow the
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What we can achieve together
You can guide young Aiglonians to find their passion by helping us ‘go beyond’ in three programme areas across Mind, Body and Spirit:
CHARACTER
• To develop an Innovation Lab in Parsons Hall to provide a centre for innovation and entrepreneurship. This hive of ideas will promote inquiry-driven learning, with flexible spaces for students to explore emerging areas such as social enterprise, coding, robotics, filmmaking, and app design. You can help to stimulate young people’s minds to develop real-world solutions to global challenges, with input from our accomplished alumni.
• To create an Entrepreneurship Hub to work alongside the Innovation Lab, to enable students to actively develop their emerging business ideas. Through student-run enterprises, Aiglonians will learn to take risks, experience enterprise and become skilled in the business of doing business. You can help develop a young person’s entrepreneurial spirit, equipping them to be tomorrow’s business leaders.
• To enable all students to access year-round physical training opportunities through a cutting-edge indoor ski and bike trainer. This will allow Aiglon’s elite skiers to hone their skills during the summer months and allow our learners to pick up the skills they need to excel on the slopes in winter.
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All new builds will meet Swiss minergie standards, creating learning spaces that give back to the landscape, harness natural energy and light, and inspire creativity and wellbeing.
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What we can achieve together
You can inspire our young people to realise a greener future by helping transform our Campus Masterplan into a sustainable vision for Aiglon, a step closer to our ambition of a near-zero footprint campus.
CAMPUS
Aiglon’s Campus Masterplan is an ambitious investment to ensure world-class facilities and regenerate every learning environment for the years ahead. At the heart is a new assembly, performance and dining space on the Orchard site. The largest construction project in Aiglon’s history, the space will bring together students, staff and teachers once again to reaffirm the sense of community that’s so central to our educational approach. A gift to this project will see you create a lasting legacy for the school, with an opportunity to be recognised for your role in its creation.
Our transformation of Parsons building and Old Belvedere into classrooms filled with light showcases our vision of a campus truly connected with, and giving back to, the landscape. From campus-connected heating sources to the solar power roof of the Sports Centre and Orchard Site buildings, we want to blaze a trail in our efforts to reduce Aiglon’s energy consumption by over 10% by 2029.
Your donations will help us nurture the innovative ideas of our students and alumni for a sustainable future. With your support, we will reinvent the fourth floor of the John Corlette Building to create a dynamic learning space dedicated to exploring sustainable solutions to today’s environmental challenges. This focus area will encourage students to embrace sustainability, threading it through every aspect of our science curriculum, and beyond.
With your help, we will go beyond to equip our young people to be informed leaders of a more sustainable world.
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Will you go beyond?
Aiglon’s identity is built upon generosity, and we want to nurture that culture of giving in our community again.
In 1955, Aiglon’s first permanent home – now Clairmont – was purchased with gifts raised from parents and friends of our founder John Corlette. Our rich history has been marked by the philanthropic support of our community.
As a not-for-profit boarding school, we are set apart in our commitment to use the funds we raise solely to further our transformative educational programmes. Being not-for-profit means that the whole school benefits from the generosity of others, and that every decision made by the volunteer and Alumni-led Aiglon College Association and Board is in the best interests of the school and its students.
We are a highly professional organisation with a turnover of over CHF 45 million and work closely with our bank and auditors to ensure financial efficiency that maximises every cent we raise for the school.
As someone at the very heart of the Aiglon community, we would like to challenge you to help us go beyond in delivering Aiglon’s vision. With your support we will grow the change-makers of the future and watch the world flourish under their care.
FORMER SCHOLAR
FATIMA AFROZE (EXETER, 2018)
Aiglon helped me grow as a person. It taught me how to be more kind, a more well-rounded citizen. I carry those traits now, I love giving back. I think it’s really important that others have that same opportunity.
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Our promise to you
We are committed to ensuring that your donation is impactful and your generosity is recognised.
THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS YOU CAN PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO AIGLON COLLEGE:
• Regular or one-off cash gifts to help us go beyond in realising our 2028 Vision priorities for students across Culture, Character and Campus.
• An endowed gift enabling you to support Aiglon in a way that provides protected funding to the school for generations of students to come.
• A legacy gift by naming Aiglon College as a beneficiary in your Will, once friends and family are taken care of. Through a bequest, your loyalty and kindness will have a transformational impact on the lives of Aiglonian’s in the decades ahead, supporting the school’s success into the future. By leaving a legacy gift to Aiglon, you will become a member of the John Corlette Society in recognition of your pledge.
However you choose to support, you will receive regular, personalised communications showing the impact of your gift and the Aiglonian lives you’ve changed. You will become part of our donor community and a valued partner in shaping the path that lies ahead for Aiglon.
We look forward to hearing from you: philanthropy@aiglon.ch
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Avenue Centrale 61, 1885 Chesières, Switzerland +41 24 496 61 61 www.aiglon.ch
