Summer in Leysin 2026

The origins of Summer in Leysin (SIL) can be traced back to 1997, when we welcomed our first Canadian students as part of a new exchange programme with a high school in Winnipeg. Over the next twenty years or so, various schools from various countries participated, but one school in particular, Steinbach Regional Secondary School, from the town of Steinbach about one hour southeast of Winnipeg, has remained committed to the programme and the opportunities it brings to their students and ours. After a break caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Summer in Leysin started again in 2023. Since then, little by little, we have welcomed more and more students of differing nationalities, creating an international academic and cultural environment in Term 1, not only for 12th graders but also for the school as a whole.

This year, we welcomed eleven boys and seventeen girls to join our nineteen 12th graders in their bespoke Summer in Leysin programme. Specifically, there were six from Canada, two each from the Philippines and Vietnam, four from Thailand, one from America, nine from Japan and four from our new sister school in Hamilton, New Zealand, Rototuna Junior and Senior High School, which joined us for the first time last year.

After two or three days of settling in and orientations, classes for the SIL students, both KLAS and visiting, started on July 14, the beginning of five weeks of a wide variety of cultural and linguistic studies. All students took a European Studies class and a class in one of the official languages of Switzerland: French, German or Italian. In addition, KLAS students and visitors from Japan took some ESL classes, whilst those from other countries studied Japanese. In terms of elective classes, students chose two courses from: business & investing, 3D modelling and printing, textiles, board game design, robotics, and filmmaking. And finally, all students also had week-long mini courses in cheese appreciation, chocolate appreciation, two things clearly associated with Switzerland, the science of dropping eggs without breaking them, and needle felting.

As well as all the above, there were numerous social events throughout the term, with a welcome party after the buffet banquet at the end of the first week of classes, faculty family outings, sunrise and sunset hikes, star-watching, observing the solar eclipse, karaoke, a sports event at the lower sporting centre, a final event in the cafeteria on the eve of the visitors’ departure, with a Japanese menu of curry and rice for dinner and the opportunity for the visitors to try their hand at calligraphy and origami, as well as to experience some traditional Japanese toys and the art of the tea ceremony.

There were, as usual, many tears when the visiting students and the KLAS exchange partners left Leysin on the morning of August 15. Without a doubt, it was five weeks packed with learning, experiencing, seeing and tasting new things, creating memories and friendships that will surely last for a long time. At the time of writing this article for KLAS News, eight of our students are with their partners in Canada and New Zealand, and we look forward to their return later in August, along with the return of the four students who have been away on Summer Abroad Programs, and to hearing all about their experiences away from Leysin.