International School of Geneva (Ecolint)

Ecolint is the world's first international school, founded in 1924 in service of the League of Nations, and still the dominant choice for diplomatic and UN-circuit families across three campuses.

Around 4,500 students sit across three campuses with different rhythms. La Grande Boissière in central Geneva is the largest and oldest, anchored by an 18th-century château and a modern arts centre. La Châtaigneraie sits on farmland in Founex, Vaud, with views to the Alps and Jura. Campus des Nations is in the international quarter, walking distance to the UN. Curricula include the IB PYP, MYP, DP and CP, plus French Baccalauréat and bilingual streams. Conrad Hughes is Director General. CIS and MSA-CESS accredited.

Families value the genuine internationalism, the academic structure and the network of connections graduates carry into universities worldwide. The honest local critique centres on teaching consistency at LGB, where parents describe a wide spread between excellent and weaker teachers and pushing for the right placement matters. Fees of CHF 19,800 to 35,470 reflect the foundation's not-for-profit model.

• Three-campus federation widely known as Ecolint, founded in 1924 to serve League of Nations and ILO families and the school where the IB Diploma was first developed.
• Geneva community discussions treat Ecolint as the default international option, with most international-organisation families on its rolls; parents who stay long term often endorse it strongly, with one alumna calling even one year there a foundation for life.
• Each campus has a distinct profile: Nations is heavily anglophone and dominated by international-organisation families; La Grande Boissière is bilingual and seen as the most posh; La Châtaigneraie sits on the Vaud side and is perceived as offering a more Swiss flavour.
• Critical voices push back hard. Alumni and parents describe an elitist culture, a recent systemic-racism scandal that they say the school has done too little to address, and grade inflation that helps US university applications but suggests the academic floor is lower than Swiss public schools.
• Multiple parents who tried Ecolint moved children to local Swiss public schools or smaller private alternatives such as Florimont after concerns about integration, French acquisition or social atmosphere.
• Hiring is competitive; commenters describe Ecolint interviews as among the toughest international-school panels and the package as commensurate with Geneva's cost of living.