The opinion of a student about the school Institut auf dem Rosenberg, Switzerland

Sasha came to Geneva from Kyiv and has been studying at the Institut auf dem Rosenberg for the third year. This year he is finishing school on the British A-level program. Alexander has applied to several universities in the UK and is awaiting the results of preliminary enrollment. Sasha agreed to answer interview questions for readers of my blog and this is what he said.

S: I came to this school because my parents chose schools only in Switzerland and Institut auf dem Rosenberg is the most famous school. To be honest, before entering, my family knew little about studying in foreign schools and chose the school for its image and prestige - the school that is on everyone's lips.

L: Tell us about your first year at this school, what you studied until you started the A-level program.

C: I finished 9 grades in Kyiv and studied well. I was accepted into the 10th grade, right in the second year of the IGCSE. Here I studied and prepared for the IGCSE exams in four subjects: mathematics, physics, English and history. After finishing 9 years of home education, IGCSE seemed pretty straightforward, especially physics and mathematics. In general, in order to successfully pass the IGCSE, you need to learn how to quickly answer questions, this is what decides the final grade. But one year of practice was enough to prepare well and pass the exams.

My English upon arrival at school was already at a fairly high level since from the age of 10 I spent every summer in language camps: England, Malta, Ireland, Switzerland. So I started to study German intensively and brought it up to the advanced level during the 10th grade. The practical use of the language in Switzerland has greatly improved the fluency of speech and thinking.

L: What do you study on the A-level program and what do you do additionally.

S: At the moment, I am preparing for the A2 exams in only two subjects: mathematics and physics. Last year I also studied English and economics, which I passed well on the exams at the AS level. These subjects will be enough for me to enter the universities that I have chosen. In general, the choice of A-level subjects is quite large, from languages ​​to music and art. It was also possible to choose an American school program and prepare for exams at the advanced level of Advanced Placement.

The school has many sports sections and extracurricular activities. I go to computer science where we learn programming languages.

L: What would you advise to pay attention to families who choose a school in Switzerland.

S: First of all, you need to look in which part of Switzerland the school is located. Someone will be interested in French, someone German or even Italian. It is also probably worth listening to the opinions of your circle of acquaintances. For example, the Institut auf dem Rosenberg school was known to almost all friends of my parents and we received the best reviews from them. Perhaps this played a decisive role in choosing a school for me.