"So what are your results like at Aiglon ?"

This loosely paraphrases a question that is often directed at a Head of school, particularly by prospective parents, alumni or other observers of the school who are keen to form an opinion. The first instinct may be to reach for the tables of exam results achieved at different levels; and indeed this is likely to be the first intention behind many that ask the question. But is that the most helpful or revealing response?

What does service to others mean to students?

Many schools speak of service by organising fundraising drives and charity balls. In our school magazines we give a flavour of the diversity, challenge and commitment to service that we so explicitly value at Aiglon - indeed the words diversity, challenge and service are three of the five "pathways" in our guiding principles towards the fulfilment of our central educational goal: the balanced development of Mind, Body and Spirit.

Significance is in the Eye of the Beholder

If we are honest, we are often guilty of seeing ourselves, either individually or as part of a group, at the center of a world that turns around us. In renaissance times there was considerable discomfort in the corridors of power and authority when the "official" view of the celestial importance of the Earth was challenged by the heliocentric heresy.  Great lives were sacrificed on the altar of unsubstantiated dogma. It was somehow too much to think that our own significance in the universe might be utterly trivial.

Secured places at the university of your first or second choice...

Upon re-joining Aiglon College, I have been immediately  impressed with the way that the Aiglon staff and students have launched themselves into the academic year with great enthusiasm, professionalism and a positive spirit.  Teachers have been quick to set expectations in the classroom and in the houses, and the overwhelming majority of the students are rising to the challenge. 

We have been fortunate to recruit a particularly strong and dynamic team of new teachers who are already making their mark.  The outstanding late summer weather has been great for morale and enabled us to organise an exciting programme of challenging outdoor expeditions to local Alpine summits.  The number of smiling faces around the campus has been a clear indication that the Aiglon year is off to a promising start.

Looking back to the early summer, we can state that the public examination results were once again creditable; as always there have been some outstanding achievements by some, and a few disappointments for others.

How do you measure what sets a great school apart from a good school ?

I am often asked this question.  It is of course a trap, because greatness cannot be readily measured; and it is often attributed with a vagueness that is more shaped by our heart than our head.  There are countless present and past students who would consider their school “great”; greatness comes with affection and familiarity.

But it also comes with ambition.  From its earliest days Aiglon has been an ambitious school, eager to provide rare and unusual educational experiences.  That remains true today. In a world where, pleasingly, more and more schools occupy the ideological terrain of “holistic” education in which Aiglon was a distinctive pioneer in 1949, we continue to set an example to many schools in the diversity and level of challenge that we offer, both in the classroom and in our exceptional natural location in the Alps.