About Us
On the Brightside of Education
At the Brightside Academy, we explore an excitingly different approach to academic excellence. We are an international school offering a bilingual programme for children aged 2-11 years.
We’ve taken the traditional French curriculum (Cycles 1 to 4), added a touch of English flair and come up with a broader, more interesting learning experience for all.
Confidence is well-known to build personality and open doors. As such, we promote and celebrate individuality and diversity at our school every day. We strive to create well-rounded, confident children, fully equipped to deal with whatever life throws at them now and in the future.
Our Philosophy
At Brightside, we believe in the transformative powers of a bilingual education. And, we know that exposing children to more than one language at an early age is crucial.
Pre-School
Knowing this, all of our early-years classes are delivered primarily in English. We take full advantage of the pre-school children's natural curiosity and innate ability to learn new things without question or complaint.
Therefore classes TPS, PS, and MS receive their education in English, all day, every day. The GS class will receive 80% of their education in English and 20% of their education in French.
Primary and Secondary School
As our students progress into the primary school and beyond, we continue their development as “language aware” bilingual learners. The two languages of instruction at Brightside are English and French.
In the primary section, students receive 50% of the curriculum in English. And this year, our secondary students will for the first time, be coached towards the French International Baccalaureate (OIB).
We see our teachers as key players in creating an internationally-minded environment. The celebration of all languages and world cultures are warmly welcomed by us. We take great pride in being a diverse and inclusive international school, where students and staff respect all cultural backgrounds.
Currently, all of our English language team are highly motivated, internationally experienced and well qualified teachers hailing from every corner of Great Britain. Our French language staff are all equally skilled in their respective fields.
Working together, our commitment is to provide a world-class education and experience to children from our region and to the youngsters of Lake Léman’s growing international community.
We provide challenging curricula. Every lesson is carefully developed to encourage, inspire and nurture our students. It is our mission to help create active, compassionate, life-long learners who are also well-placed to thrive at whatever they want to become, anywhere in the world.
A Fresh Approach
The Brightside Academy was built on two core principles. Firstly, we encourage positive thinking (the bright side of life) and a love of learning from an early age. Secondly, we provide children with a French-English bilingual and multicultural education from just 2 years of age.
In the pre-school and primary, all youngsters in our care receive differentiated learning tailored to suit their individual needs. And, with small class sizes, every single child is afforded the time and space to discover and develop their unique personalities and abilities.
Choosing a bilingual education for your little ones now will help to shape their minds for the brightest possible future.
Some of the proven benefits of a bilingual education include:
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Improved creativity and self-belief
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A greater ability to adapt to a diverse range of situations
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Stronger empathy
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Greater independence and ability to take ownership of their learning
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Increased cognitive development and better examination results
All our teachers are highly qualified and motivated. All are also native speakers of either English or French (respective to their role here at the Brightside Academy).
Our Curriculum
In pre-school, children receive 100% immersion in the English language from the age of 2.
Oral expression in English is encouraged immediately through rhyme, song, poetry, stories and up-to-date audio-visual media in English.
Multiculturalism and internationalism are promoted throughout the academic year on themed days. We also observe numerous different international celebrations with the children including St. Patrick's Day, Peace day, Earth day, world book day
In the primary school, students continue to work in English 50% of the time. They are assessed annually in accordance with the French National Education programme in all of the core school subjects. They are also assessed for progress in English using CERCL (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), and we offer all children the opportunity to study for progress certificates from the globally recognised University of Cambridge Young Learners of English (YLE) curriculum.
