Aiglon College
Location
Chesières-Villars, Vaud, Switzerland
Coordinates	46°18′N 7°03′E / 46.3°N 7.05°E / 46.3; 7.05Coordinates: 46°18′N 7°03′E / 46.3°N 7.05°E / 46.3; 7.05
Information
Type	Independent School, Day & Boarding
Motto	"God is my strength"
Religious affiliation	Anglican
Established	1949
Founder	John C. Corlette
Chairman of Governors	Eric Gibson
Chaplain	Richard McDonald
Gender	Co-educational
Age	9 to 18
Enrollment	380
Houses	8 Boarding houses
Colour(s)	Mauve & White, Blue & White
Publication	Aiglon Association News
Former pupils	Aiglonians/Aiglonites
Website	http://www.aiglon.ch/

Aiglon College is a private English-style boarding school in Switzerland, registered as a not-for-profit charitable institution, with an international student intake (the proportion of nationalities attending the school may vary from year to year). The school gathers funds from full fee-paying students, from donations and via registered charitable trusts in different countries. Parents wishing to send a child to Aiglon, but who have insufficient funds to do so, may apply for their child to be granted a scholarship at Aiglon, funded through these trusts.

Contents 1 Background 2 Foundation and Founding Principles 3 Philosophy 4 Facilities and Services 5 Changes to Aiglon over the years 6 Notable alumni 7 References 8 Index of Corlette and Aiglon-related links

[edit] Background

Since its foundation in 1949 by John C. Corlette, Aiglon College has grown from relatively humble beginnings to become one of the most expensive (e.g., annual border's fees for an upper sixth form student for the 2009/10 year are SF77,000) - and hence one of the most exclusive - boarding schools in Switzerland, if not the world. As a charitable trust, the school does not cater to any particular elite group, but offers scholarships and financial support to children who are deemed to be deserving in some way (academically or otherwise), and also regularly enrolls a certain number of "legacies" - that is, children of alumni. There is a large international Aiglon alumni network, with regular reunions held in cities around the world including, for example, London, Boston, New York, Sydney and Chicago.

Aiglon College is located at an elevation of approx. 1,300 metres (approx. 4,300 feet) above sea level, in the alpine village of Chesières-Villars, near the ski resorts Villars and Villars-sur-Ollon, in the canton of Vaud. The closest larger town is Aigle, and the nearest major cities are Montreux and Lausanne.

Over the years, the economic effect of the school on the locality has been significant and beneficial - e.g., providing employment, and helping to smooth out the otherwise often largely seasonal commercial fluctuations experienced by a ski resort.

[edit] Foundation and Founding Principles

The school was founded in 1949 by John C. Corlette, who was a former pupil and teacher at Gordonstoun, a private school in Scotland. It has had links with the Round Square schools organisation for most of its history.^[1]

Education at Aiglon is based on the seven key principles which were laid down by its founder at a time when most schools saw education as nothing more than classroom lessons:

• 1. That education requires the balanced development of the whole person; that is, its task is to encourage an integrated development of human potential across a range of different dimensions, including the spiritual, academic, moral, aesthetic, emotional, social and physical.
• 2. That this education must care for the individual so that their potential is progressively developed within the context of the school community. This is encouraged by valuing and rewarding progress towards the fulfilment of this potential.
• 3. That this education has a responsibility to encourage a process of dialogue whereby all are inspired to set personal developmental goals and to pursue them with self discipline.
• 4. That the life of the College and its values are based on the teachings of Christ and other great teachers. This commitment should be seen in the quality of daily life, our relationships with others and in our recognition of a common humanity which transcends divisions of wealth, culture, religion and ethnic identity.
• 5. That the qualities of humility and selflessness must characterise leadership at all levels in the College. Leadership should be expressed through encouragement, example and service to others.
• 6. That, within a framework of expectations relevant to all members of the community, opportunities for personal initiative and self-discipline must exist. Greater personal freedoms are permitted as individuals display responsibility and maturity.
• 7. That a healthy lifestyle is integral to the balanced development of the whole person. Unhealthy lifestyles can limit potential and hinder progress in all dimensions.

[edit] Philosophy

As above, the school's philosophy is based around encouraging an integrated development of human potential across a range of different dimensions, including the spiritual, academic, moral, aesthetic, emotional, social and physical. This manifests - for example - as meditation (along the lines of Indian/Eastern philosophy), multi-denominational religious attendance, a good range of sports activities, and "outward bound" type expeditions of a challenging nature. The health of the children is important - for example, adequate exercise, an adequate and nourishing diet, and there are potential benefits from the relatively high altitude and clean air - especially for asthmatics.

Originally a boy's-only school run along Gordonstoun lines, the school went co-educational in 1968.

Though the language of instruction is English, French is taught and encouraged with "French days", because the school is in a French-speaking part of Switzerland.

For "outward bound" type activities, students are required to:

• go on at least two overnight hiking expeditions in the Autumn term (in small parties);
• ski at least twice a week during the Winter term;
• go on ski touring expeditions.
• take part in different activities including mountain biking, canoeing, rock climbing and Via Ferrata (or "iron road"), during the Autumn and Summer terms.

Note that The Good Schools Guide International called the school "strong educationally, strong emotionally, tough physically."^[2]

[edit] Facilities and Services

Aiglon has grown over the years from a relatively very small size, to the current stage where it has the following facilities/services:

Academic:

• Departments:

    - Art    - Drama    - English    - Mathematics    - Languages (including French, German, Spanish and other languages offered on an individual basis)    - Information Technology    - Music    - Physical Education (PE)    - Science (including Biology, Physics, Chemistry)    - Geography    - History    - Economics and Business Studies    - Philosophy    - Media Studies    - Religious Studies    - English as a Second Language    - Learning Support 

• Library x1

Accommodation and classrooms:

• Assembly hall;
• Boarding houses - 8, 2 of which accommodate juniors - and where children have their own rooms which they share with 1, 2 or 3 other students;
• Classroom buildings (5);
• Staff accommodation - various locations;

Sports and Physical Education facilities:

• Football/Rugby pitch x1;
• Gymnasium x1 (includes weight-training facilities);
• Tennis court;
• Volleyball pitch x1;

General:

• Administration office;
• Cafeteria - kitchen facilities operated by about 10 chefs;
• Laundry;
• Recording studio;
• Religious - Anglican chapel (off-campus);
• Technology workshop;
• Theatre;
• Tuck shop and general store;
• Helicopter pad x1;

[edit] Changes to Aiglon over the years

Aiglon College has weathered several economic recessions since the founder's death, and various changes and developments have occurred, including:

• The previous custom of Saturday morning meditation has been replaced by a tutoring session.

• The ranking system has been abandoned. Previously there was a ranking system - which was similar to Gordonstoun and which encouraged the development of personal responsibility of the children as members of the closed community within which they lived.

• Central dining has led to the separation of staff and students during mealtimes. This replaces the previous custom where lunch and dinner were laid out in each house on tables of eight to ten students with a staff member at the head to lead and encourage conversation at table.

• Physical punishment (e.g., "beating" or caning) of the children - previously common practice in many English boarding schools - has always been forbidden at Aiglon. The previous customary punishment method meant that punishment was "earned" by a system of accumulation of "black marks" and meted out variously as loss of privileges, arduous physical exercise or arduous community service, according to the quantity of black marks earned. This system required quite a lot of administration and is no longer used.

Otherwise, though general modernisation has taken place in the school buildings and facilities, and newer generations of teachers have come and taught at the school, the core founding principles remain. Weekdays still start with a morning meditation, and appreciation of nature is engendered with weekend expeditions on foot, ski or bicycle (the latter in the summer term only).

[edit] Notable alumni

Whilst several alumni are the sons/daughters of notable people, some of the alumni have made a name for themselves in public life, including:

• Sheherazade Goldsmith - British author, environmentalist and socialite.
• Leka, Crown Prince of Albania - (born 1939) exiled from Albania and then invited back.
• Laura Harring - American actress and former Miss USA.
• Roger C. Field - inventor and musician.
• Abhishek Bachchan - an Indian actor and the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. He is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.
• Rohan Sippy- Indian film producer and director

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.roundsquare.org/
2. ^ http://gsgi.co.uk/countries/switzerland/chesieres-villars/aiglon-college?form.submitted=1&country=switzerland&countryCity=&submit=Go&city=

[edit] Index of Corlette and Aiglon-related links

Please note that, due to this Wikipedia entry having been subjected to vandalism and haphazard changes over a prolonged period, the most reliable independent, current and comprehensive version of this Wikipedia entry and of this Index (and which are not subject to vandalism), are being maintained at the Google knol for Aiglon College (see link below). If you know of any changes or new links, then please leave your comments at that knol or request that you become an author for the knol. (Thankyou.)

1. Web sites:

     * Aiglon College (this is the school's official website)       http://www.aiglon.ch/     * John Corlette (maintained by alumni)       http://sites.google.com/site/johncorlette/     * MyAiglon (maintained by alumni)       http://sites.google.com/site/myaiglon/     * Aiglon alumni network at freeenglishlessons.com (maintained by alumni)       http://www.freeenglishlessons.com/articlelive/categories/AIGLON-ALUMNI-NETWORK/     * Round Square       http://www.roundsquare.org/     * Review from the Good Schools Guide International       http://gsgi.co.uk/countries/switzerland/chesieres-villars/aiglon-college 

2. knols:

     * Aiglon College (maintained by alumni)       http://knol.google.com/k/slartibartfarst-anon/aiglon-college/     * John Corlette (maintained by alumni)       http://knol.google.com/k/slartibartfarst-anon/john-c-corlette/ 

3. Wikipedia entries:

     * Aiglon College       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiglon_College     * John C. Corlette       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Corlette 

4. Blogs:

     * Aiglon 50s + 60s alumni (maintained by alumni)       http://aiglon5060.blogspot.com/ 

5. Groups/social networks:

     * Facebook - Aiglon College alumni (group) (maintained by alumni)       http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2319398268     * LinkedIn - Aiglon College alumni (group) (maintained by alumni)       http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=119543 

6. Discussion forums:

     * Google Groups - Aiglon College alumni group       http://groups.google.com/group/aiglon-college-alumni-group?hl=en     * There are also proprietary discussion forums in the Facebook and LinkedIn sites.       Please note that all such material is currently regarded as being copyright of Facebook and LinkedIn. 

7. Online photo and video albums:

     * Picasa web album - Aiglon (shared collaborative photo album maintained by alumni)      http://picasaweb.google.com/iain.barraclough/Aiglon#     * YouTube video:        Aiglon Years- Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPvVyxLj04Q&feature=related        Aiglon Years- Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-TkGODeUMU&feature=related     * There are also photo albums in the Facebook site.       Please note that all such material is currently regarded as being copyright of Facebook.