Secondary

Secondary School

Secondary School at EBSR starts in 6S (as in France) (=8H) and therefore lasts four years instead of the three years of the Vaud system: this extra year allows us to go into subjects in greater depth and to broaden the curriculum.
Curious and open-minded teenagers will find everything they need in our bilingual programmes, which combine essential commitment with an openness to the world unknown elsewhere, an in-depth discovery of the sciences, a varied literature programme… In short, everything you ever wanted to know about yourself, society and the universe, you can learn here. Classes are in both languages and we adapt to the levels of our students.
Add to that time for crafts, personal projects, sport, art and camps! These are exciting and busy years at Secondary School.
We prepare all our students for the Gymnase entrance exams (OS Latin/Maths-Physics) and they can then continue on to Matu Suisse/IB/Bac. The EBSR is therefore in no way affected by the stress of the VG/VP selection in 8H at the state school. Our students are automatically assigned to the pre-gymnasium stream from 5P (7H), and it is at the gymnasium entrance exam (at the end of 9S = 11H) that students are offered a choice of different streams.

Gymnasium Entrance Exam and Diploma

All our students, also those intending to take the IB, Bac Français or another course, sit the Gymnase entrance exam. Whatever the outcome, we find it very formative to have the experience of preparing for and sitting exams.
The Gymnasium entrance exam currently consists of four written exams: French, English, Mathematics and German. The German exam can be avoided if the students arrived too late and have not had enough lessons; but they will then have to choose Italian ‘de novo’ at the Gymnasium, i.e. from scratch, and reach a B2 level in three years, which implies an extra hour of lessons per week and a lot of work. This should be avoided by anyone who has had enough German lessons.
Our success rate on entry to the Gymnase is 100%.
The EBSR awards its students an End of Studies Diploma which records their skills not only in the official subjects, but also in the specific subjects taught at the EBSR.

English

Native English is studied to the same standard as French, in a traditional way and at a high level. Grammar and vocabulary exercises adapted to each student help to consolidate and enrich their expression.
The English and French literary syllabuses complement and often echo each other, whether in drama with Molière and Shakespeare, in romantic poetry or the modern novel. In English, too, the pupils read one work a month, with a very varied programme.
They also learn to write essays, following the Anglo-Saxon syllabus and methods, which differ substantially from French-style writing. In this way, they become not only bilingual, but also bi-cultural, and capable of pursuing an academic career in both languages.

Maths

At EBSR, there is no group teaching of maths, either at primary or secondary level. The reason for this is that it is highly ineffective for both the strongest and weakest pupils, and contributes to failures (or to holding back talent). Each pupil is therefore monitored and coached individually; their workbook is prepared for them according to their needs. Our aim is to ensure that each student completes the year’s programme successfully and goes on to the Gymnase.
Our maths programme is based on the Singapore Programme, completed with other material; it covers not only the concepts taught in Switzerland, but also in France, the UK and the USA: so pupils do trigonometry – as they do in Switzerland – and statistics – as they do in the UK.
When our students are brilliant, we prepare them for the Cours Euler exam; we regularly have students in this course organised by the EPFL and aimed at students with special talent in maths.

Biology

In biology, students start with the cell and study its organelles; they then move on to organ systems and study cell division, respiration and photosynthesis. Plant biology is the next topic, with classification, anatomy and reproduction; many experiments are carried out. Human biology follows, with the study of all the major systems (nervous, immune, circulatory, etc.); finally, the study of genetics, bacteria and viruses concludes the programme.

Humanities

We have added humanities courses covering the four years of Secondary School.
In 6S, we delve into the history of Switzerland and its political formation. This is an opportunity to revisit our myths and understand how our political institutions work. The different ways in which decision-making processes are organised are studied in particular, with a special emphasis on direct democracy and the principle of subsidiarity.
In Year 7, an art history course prepares our pupils to understand the major works of art from Antiquity to now, both stylistically and iconographically. Visits to museums in Rome and Vienna provide an opportunity to put this knowledge into practice.
In 8S, an introduction to religions makes pupils aware of the importance of this phenomenon; the Old Testament and the New Testament are studied in depth, then a tour of the world’s religions enables the different belief systems to be compared.
In 9S politics returns to the menu, but this time by reading the great classics, from Toquevielle to Constant via Rousseau. What is a nation? How is a society formed? What is the relationship between the individual and the state? These questions will be crucial in the future of our students.

OS Latin (and Greek)

Some people still believe that Latin is a dead language or that it is boring to learn. Don’t give our students such ideas! Latin is a living language, the source of almost all French vocabulary and more than half of English vocabulary. We speak Latin every day without knowing it – but we understand it much better if we know it! And what an opportunity for Latinists to understand Italian and other Romance languages intuitively!
Our Latin method, developed by Hanz Ørberg, works largely intuitively and teaches Latin in Latin. Students and teachers alike appreciate its ease of use. Latin grammar, structured like German grammar, trains the mind in logic and reasoning at least as well as algebra, and is certainly more useful in everyday life for most people when it comes to understanding other languages.
Pupils who wish to continue with the Latin OS in 8S and 9S can do so; they will then have 2 hours of Latin and one hour of Maths-Physics. It is also possible to organise a year of Greek in 9S for those who wish to study it at Gymnasium – a wise choice for very good students who will then be able to take Greek instead of English as their 3rd language at Gymnasium.

History, Geography and Current Affairs

The history course in 6S starts in the classical way with prehistory and ends in 9S with contemporary times. The lesson is read at home with a questionnaire (flipped classroom); in class, the discussion focuses on more specific points, the pupils do presentations, etc. The course covers Swiss, European and world history, using authentic documents and a variety of sources.
Current Affairs includes Geography (the economic part being covered in the economics lesson and the physical geography being covered in geology). 6S begins with a major review of political geography, then students are invited to read or watch a variety of media and come to class with news items on a variety of themes. The course is organised around fundamental issues – such as energy – or current situations – the situation in China, the American elections or the war in Ukraine.

Art & Music

The art course introduces students to a wide range of techniques, which they work on until they achieve a satisfactory result. Pastel, gouache, decoupage, photography and animation are just some of the possibilities.
Each year, several art competitions allow those who wish to do so to develop more personal works; and painting and modelling classes are part of the after-school activities for all those who wish to do so.
The music course combines choir time with musical analysis, from baroque to pop and jazz. Pupils are thus able to weave links between the music they listen to and the many ancient and modern influences from which it comes.

Sports Games

We organise sports games twice a year, based on athletics or uni-hockey. Our teams are made up of students of all ages, and each has a captain who is chosen from among the final-year students (9S).

The captain is responsible not only for his or her morning team (students from Secondary School and older primary classes), but also for the afternoon team (young primary pupils). As a result, the team’s results are not known until the very end of the day, and a great sense of cohesion is established between the older students, who look after and coach their younger companions.

It’s also an opportunity for the students to assess their own skills and take part in a group competition. For the captains, it’s also a chance to take on new responsibilities, to learn to motivate their team and their mates, but also to support them and give them advice.

Sailing camp

Living by the beautiful lake Léman is the perfect opportunity to learn to sail.
At the end of the year, a week is devoted to sailing and the lake, on all kinds of boats, at the Pully Sailing Club, which has been organising our camps with great skill for many years. Our pupils, who started out in Opti in primary school, continue to learn on larger boats, catamarans or dinghies; as crew or helmsmen, they take it in turns to learn how to gauge the breeze and position the sails.
Every year, several students decide to extend their experience with the Club de Pully.

After-school activities – it’s over here!

Secondary school pupils often take part in supervised homework; for those with more specific needs, assisted homework is more appropriate.
For other possible activities (private music lessons, sewing, painting, modelling, chess, etc.), click here!