Switzerland is full of contrasts where traditions meet modernity. This week, the students of the prestigious La Cote International School created a surprising act in one of Switzerland shopping malls. By partnering with a traditional Swiss men’s choir they performed a flash mob allying Swiss traditions and French Pop. The video is quite interesting as we can see the 2 worlds collision and a very interesting synergy. In the spirit of a flashmob, The students from La Cote International school and the Swiss Choir of Candy interpreted the French pop song “L’avenir” by Louane. The act took place at the Centre Commercial Manor Chavannes. This is our Swiss blog of the month.

Swiss traditions are stronger than never

In this video we see one of the strong traditions in the Swiss region of Gruyere: the Traditional Choirs also called “Choeur des Armaillis de la Gruyère”. This tradition of male choirs started in Switzerland in 1955 in the green and lovely region of La Gruyère. For this video, the students of La Cote International School partnered with a male traditional choir called “Choeur de Candy”. This Choir was initially founded by André Pittet from a farm called Candy. At the beginning, they were just a couple of friends meeting from time to time to sing for the pleasure of singing. Then, an idea came: why not build a quatuor then a triple quatuor and propose traditional songs that could even represent Switzerland in several International competitions? And the Candy Choir was born. The structure of the group is split in Tenors, Barytons and basses.

The religious and secular repertoire of the Candy choir crosses all over the world, but especially the rich cultural heritage of the region that feeds the soul of its singers. Regional composers like Abbot Bovet, Gesseney-Rappo, Moret or Kolly offers a huge choice of works for male voices. You will understand easily that living at the foot of the mountains, Candy’s choir could only sing this beautiful region of Gruyère. You can discover more about them by visiting their official website: http://www.choeur-de-candy.ch (in French).

La Cote International School, a Swiss reference.

La Cote International School was founded in 2008 in Switzerland and since then, a lot was accomplished. From 2 pupils back in 2008, after one year students have already doubled. Since 2011, La Cote is part of Nord Anglia Education, a family premium schools operating around the world with a network of 34’000 students from pre-school to the end of secondary education. It is a global family of 2 international schools providing outstanding education. Since 2014, the school moved to its new campus in Aubonne Switzerland. This is what La Cote explains about their learning methods and ambition:

“Our students are nurtured to become enthusiastic learners with principles and empathy. They are taught to become adaptable, responsible, tolerant and sensitive citizens, comfortable both as leaders and as part of a team. We work with school staff and local enterprises to establish an extensive range of after-school clubs, both on campus and in the community itself.

Our curriculum is driven by our unique High Quality Learning approach, which ensures that every student becomes a high achiever. As an international school, we also strive to nurture students who understand and respect different cultures. By introducing them to fellow students in our network of schools worldwide, we also inspire them to collaborate with others around the world. They also develop a keen understanding of Switzerland through trips and activities within the community.”

The new campus is nestled between vineyards and fruit orchards in Aubonne. It is an easy commuting distance from Geneva and Lausanne. The peaceful location near farmland gives students the opportunity to be involved in healthy, safe and nurturing outdoor play and educational activities. In this spectacular environment, students learn at a campus designed as a modern and first-class facility. In terms of structure, the campus has 44 classrooms and 12 special rooms designed for science, technology, computing, art and music. Students eat their meals in a professionally catered dining room. They take part in sports in one of the two gyms, get lost in a book in the library, and perform in the dazzling theatre and concert hall. Parents can also enjoy time in the on-site coffee and juice bar and partake in various onsite activities such as exercise and language classes. Classrooms have the latest interactive screens and technologies, allowing students to learn, communicate, collaborate and access information in the most efficient and effective ways. You can read more about La Cote international School by connecting to the official website:
http://www.nordangliaeducation.com/en/our-schools/aubonne

As we can see, it does not require a lot of work and complex implementation to be creative and to create exceptional moments.

José Amorim

Info sourced at La Cote International School official communication. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only.