Aiglon Trips Programmes

Aiglon students enjoy the opportunity each year to take numerous trips away from campus, sometimes this might be part of our Core Programme, or it may be a special adventure through our Experience Programme.

While our alpine location is beautiful, we know that part of holistic education is learning the lessons that come with travel –whether that be the sense of personal responsibility when you shoulder a rucksack and set off to a new place, the intercultural learning as you meet people very different from yourself, or the sense of wonder as you encounter places that you had only ever known from photos. This is why part of every Aiglonian’s journey through school involves multiple opportunities for travel.

Many Aiglon students are already diverse and well-travelled. As such, we have a responsibility to provide our students with an engaging programme that is not just educationally pertinent, but open to experiences that they couldn’t obtain anywhere else. Aiglon’s trip programme is therefore divided into two main components: our Core Programme and our Experience Programme.

Core Programme

Every Aiglonian has the opportunity to travel at least once per year. These experiences form part of our core programme and are linked to what is happening in the classroom. Two types of trips are part of our core programme, the costs for these trips are part of the regular school fees.

Cultural Learning Experience (CLE)

Central to Aiglon’s approach since the school’s earliest days, Cultural Learning Experiences (CLEs) are an opportunity for every student to travel during the autumn term. The entire school leaves campus to embark per year group to explore Switzerland, or to understand Switzerland’s place in the heart of Europe. These trips have a cultural focus that works to bridge what is happening in the classroom with real-world experiences.

Students in Years 5-9 undertake Swiss experiences to Berne, Neuchatel, Zurich & Lugano. Students in Years 10 – 13 undertake European experiences to Turin, Lyon, Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, Athens and Budapest.

Aiglon Discovery Trip (ADT)

The Aiglon Discovery Trips (ADTs) are a foundational part of the Discovery Programme, our bespoke curriculum developed for students in Years 7 – 9. Each summer term, students in these years embark on a 10-day trip far from campus to experience a new part of the world and to link back to the classroom work that they have been doing throughout the year. These trips focus on offering new experiences in unique locations while also creating opportunities for structured reflection and personal development.

The Year 7 ADT visits NASA in Huntsville, Alabama (USA), where students undertake a two-week course in survival, astronaut training, engineering, space flight and xenobiology.

The Year 8 ADT visits Greece with students having a cultural and historical experience of Athens and the surrounding area before moving to Corfu, where the students undertake RYA training, attempting to become qualified to crew a 15m yacht.

The Year 9 ADT travels to Tiklik village, Beng Maelea in Cambodia. Aiglon has a long-running project working with the village to promote sustainable living through ecological education. Students work with locals to understand issues, both local and international, before trying to work on solutions.

Experience Programme

For more than 70 years, our school has earned a reputation for our adventurous outlook and tradition of leading challenging expeditions for students of all ages. As such, we are also able to offer additional travel experiences that take advantage of our expert guidance paired with an ambitious spirit of expeditionary adventure. They are designed to push students in new directions challenging them to understand the school’s principles of mind, body and spirit while in a new and unexplored part of the world.

Trips forming part of the Experience Programme are in addition to the Core Programme, although at times, students may participate in one of these trips instead of a core trip. They may also take place partly during the term holidays. These trips are not normally part of the regular school fees. Students must apply for these trips and be accepted.

Upcoming Experience Programme Trips

Examples of current or upcoming Experience Programme trips include Cambodia Cultural & Ecology Experience, Red Sea Adventure & Ecology Experience, Thailand Ecology Experience, Honduras Ecology Experience, Peru Cultural & Ecology Experience, Morocco Culture & Adventure Experience, Kenya & Tanzania Cultural Exchange Experience, Iceland Trip Cultural & Adventure Experience, Italy Adventure Experience.

Between the Core Programme and the Experience Programme, every Aiglonian has the opportunity to travel around Switzerland and Europe during their time at school and access a range of adventurous experiences that we believe, as a school, make us a stronger, more diverse community.