Institut Montana

Our school was founded in 1926 in the belief that education can help make the world a better place. Today, this mission remains at the heart of life at Institut Montana.

An education in Switzerland means a high standard of living and a secure environment. It offers an abundance of learning and career-related opportunities. At Institut Montana, you will find all these and more.

We are a small family-like community of around 364 students who enjoy a multicultural environment of more than 54 nationalities. We offer Swiss and international academic programmes and a student to staff ratio of 4:1.

The academic programmes in our private elementary school, secondary school, Swiss high school and international high school are intellectually fulfilling but we also help dreams come true. Our campus on the Zugerberg provides a nurturing environment in an area of outstanding natural beauty. With opportunities beyond the curriculum to inspire ambitions as well as teach important skills for this changing world, you can prepare for an exciting future. You will graduate as a responsible young adult and a truly global citizen with a network of friends from all over the world.

There are around 364 students aged 6 to 19 across our boarding school and day school. It is a supportive environment where we treat each other with fairness and mutual respect.

We have outstanding staff from all over the world and an average class size of around ten students. Teachers who are passionate about their subjects, caring house-parents, counsellors and mentors who support you through life’s challenges, people who keep our school clean, maintain it and prepare our nutritious food - everyone is part of the Montana Family. You are surrounded by companions who are sharing your journey. Some will be friends for life.

We have built on our past. Modern advances in knowledge about learning have shown that educationalists like Pestalozzi were right. Intellectual development is best achieved by attending to each student holistically and as an individual; it all comes together to nourish your mental, emotional and physical health.

We look to the future. The world for which we are educating today’s young people will be very different by the time you graduate. We cannot predict what career opportunities await you, but we can prepare you for a changing world.

Our students will be clear thinkers, problem solvers and able to apply their thinking skills across a wide range of applications. They will be creative lovers of art, music, theatre and film, from the most classical to the most experimental. They will have a sound grounding in scientific method and use of technology. They will understand and appreciate cultural complexity and be able to make a good case for their beliefs. They will be equipped with a moral compass to act as a guide through the ethical questions of tomorrow. They will be generous of spirit. And you can be one of them.

At our international school in Switzerland you work towards the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma in a healthy, nurturing and supportive environment.

The early grades follow the Cambridge Lower Secondary (Pre-IGCSE) and the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum, which lay a strong foundation for a truly international education. The Cambridge Lower Secondary is a natural progression from primary education, no matter from where in the world you come, helping develop an informed curiosity and a lasting passion for learning. The Cambridge IGCSE teaches you to think analytically and creatively, as well as acquire the intellectual curiosity and problem-solving ability you will need in your future studies. It is therefore the ideal springboard for a successful transition to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma or High School Diploma Programme.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) followed in grades 11 and 12 teaches you to become an enquiring, knowledgeable and caring lifelong learner in an internationally minded world. With six subject areas, it provides an education that is broad at the same time as allowing for specialisation. The Extended Essay teaches skills for independent research and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) encourages you to reflect on the nature of knowledge and learning. Through involvement in community service projects that might even take you to faraway places of the globe, the Creativity Activity Service (CAS) programme guides you towards compassion as a citizen of the world. This rigorous two-year curriculum leads to the award of the International Baccalaureate Diploma, an internationally recognised passport to the world’s top universities. Our IB programme pass rate and overall scores are consistently above the world average.

High School Diploma (Grades 11-12) - Our non IB track keeps options open for students with diverse paths and academic goals, maybe working towards entrance to US universities or towards vocational training. The High School Diploma is awarded to students who have successfully completed four years of upper secondary school studies (Grades 9-12) and have met our graduation requirements in English, a second language, mathematics, social science, natural science, sports and another subject of their choice where they have particular interest or strength. Classes are available at a variety of levels of difficulty, and we work with you to decide which courses best suit your ambitions. You can join some International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme courses to earn International Baccalaureate course recognition where relevant. At our Swiss international school, our skilled and enthusiastic educators have enormous respect for every one of their students. They will make your studies and life at Institut Montana inspiring, help you develop your talents and reach your full potential.

Institut Montana Cambridge English Foundation Year is aimed at students in grades 5-7, who need to acquire firm English language skills to enter our Cambridge international programme.

Building sound linguistic and academic skills during our Cambridge English Foundation Year will help you reach the needed language level to seamlessly transfer to our mainstream Cambridge Lower Secondary Programme (Grades 6-8) ideally without having to repeat an academic year.