The most recent school to join the Malvern College family, Malvern College Switzerland (MCS) held its official opening ceremony on Friday 15th October 2021. Whilst the ongoing pandemic meant that the scale and scope of the celebration had to be scaled back, this did not prevent a small contingent of staff and pupils from Malvern College in the UK making the trip to Leysin to help mark this auspicious moment.
Dr Tim Jefferies, founding Headmaster at MCS, was Master of Ceremonies and welcomed the visitors from Malvern College UK.
“After many months of planning and hard work, it was wonderful to open Malvern College Switzerland successfully this term with a full and exciting programme getting started straight away", he said.
“To be able to welcome pupils from Malvern College in the UK to experience that programme in person at our official opening was a real privilege. We are committed to creating a positive and nurturing environment at Malvern College Switzerland where we blend the best traditions of a premium British boarding school education with a cosmopolitan energy that develops resilience, confidence and collaboration. We are proud to be working so closely with our sister school in the UK in developing independent learners with all of the Malvern qualities we see embedded in the school in the UK.”
Following an exceptional programme of musical performances from the pupils and welcome messages from other schools, the ceremony was drawn to a close with the planting of a red oak tree in the grounds of the school.
The school’s proprietor, Mr George Makhviladze, said,
“The tree will grow with the school and be a physical symbol of its development in the coming years.”
The visiting pupils were also able to share in a range of wrap-around activities whilst in Leysin, joining pupils from MCS in collaborative classes and taking part in hiking, mountain biking and arts-based workshops in the surrounding areas, as well as very generous Swiss hospitality and traditional foods as part of their visit.
Allan Walker, Director of International Schools, and Eamonn Mullally, Director of Education at Malvern College International, both noted the success of the collaborative visit and expressed how much they are looking forward to developing more collaborative educational activities for both staff and pupils from across the Malvern College family of schools, now we are moving beyond the pandemic.
Eamonn said, “We are very proud to have been able to share in the celebrations at Malvern College Switzerland. All of the communities within the family of schools are keen to harness the benefits of being part of a global group; sharing ideas, promoting best practice, and collaborating on a range of activities for the benefit of our pupils in all locations and this event has set the standard for future projects.”
We look forward to watching Malvern College Switzerland continue to thrive and to the success of future collaborations across our growing family of schools.