The Geneva Rudolf Steiner School is one of 35 Steiner/Waldorf schools in Switzerland and one of more than 1,000 such schools across five continents. In addition, there are some 78 Steiner/Waldorf kindergartens in Switzerland and 1,700 around the world. At present, some 300 students are enrolled at our school. Kindergarten is followed by eight years of school during which main subjects are taught by the class teachers.

They are assisted by specialist subject teachers (for handwork, languages, sport, music, eurythmy, and so on). Students then progress to upper school in which arts and handcrafts continue to be taught in addition to academic subjects. A great deal of time is devoted to work-experience placements, including in artistic fields. The last year of schooling is marked by a substantial project (in French: "chefs-d'oeuvre"), chosen and prepared by each final-year student.

Our school reflects the "multicultural" nature of the city of Geneva and is attended by students from a wide range of nationalities and cultural backgrounds.

Frequently asked questions

• Who was Rudolf Steiner?
  
  
• What is anthroposophy?
  
  
• What is different about Steiner/Waldorf education?
  
  
• Do you to teach all the traditional subjects?
  
  
• What is your curriculum?
  
  
• What is eurythmy?
  
  
• Does every student have to learn a musical instrument?
  
  
• How are students assessed?
  
  
• Why do students not repeat years?
  
  
• Do teachers teach the same class from class 1 to class 6?
  
  
• Aren't your students overprotected? How do they cope after leaving the Steiner school?
  
  
• Do you offer after-school activities?
  
  
• Is your school a church school?
  
  
• How many students are there at the school?
  

• What is the age range for children at the school?

• What about integration into public life in the canton of Geneva?

• Are there other Steiner/Waldorf schools in Switzerland?

• Does the school have a cafeteria?

• What after-school and day-care programmes are offered?

• When does the school close for holidays?

• How much are the school fees?

• Who runs the school?

• What training have your teachers received?

• What role do parents play at the school?

• Do you have a quality assurance system?

• Who was Rudolf Steiner?

  Rudolf Steiner was born in 1861 in modern-day Croatia. After technical studies in Vienna he was called to the Goethe archives in Weimar. His contact with Goethe's scientific works helped him deepen his understanding of several disciplines, including economics, medicine, art, philosophy, architecture, agriculture, education, etc.

  He was the founder of anthroposophy, which has been described as a knowledge which leads man to wisdom or, put more simply, to greater humaneness.

  During the period of economic and social upheaval that followed the First World War Rudolf Steiner's main concern was to find solutions to the most urgent problems of his time and of the future. His approach to education aims to foster the development of the whole child and bases itself on a profound knowledge of human nature.

  Rudolf Steiner died in 1925, in Switzerland. He left an extensive body of writings (some 30 books, eight volumes of articles and essays, and 5000 conference papers).

• What is anthroposophy?

  Anthroposophy is a science which considers man in his three dimensions, that is to say, body, soul and spirit, and in terms of his place in the universe.

  At a period when science increasingly considered man a physical being alone, Rudolf Steiner founded anthroposophy to return to a more holistic image of man.

  By deepening his knowledge of human nature and everything that surrounds him, man becomes more humane. This forms the basis of education in Steiner/Waldorf schools.

•  What is different about Steiner/Waldorf education?

  It is based on a deep knowledge of the nature of children and strives to develop children s' intellectual, artistic and manual capacities in a balanced way. The following are important aspects:

  Respect for every child's own rhythm

  Teaching in 'main lesson' blocks

  Social integration

  Openness to the world

  Assessment is individual and not based on grades in the lower classes

  Close collaboration among parents, students and teachers.

• Do you to teach all the traditional subjects?

  Yes, our school curriculum contains all the subjects normally taught as part of a standard school education. For more details please refer to the information on each class.

•  What is your curriculum?

  All Steiner/Waldorf schools worldwide have a common curriculum, adjustments being made to account for local specificities. The curriculum was developed taking into consideration the imperatives of human nature and does not consist of a strictly followed programme. More information can be found on the pages devoted to each of the classes.

• What is eurythmy?

  Eurythmy is an expressive movement art also used in education and movement therapy. It is related to dance and uses the body's movements to express music and speech. It is sometimes called "visible speech", "visible singing" or "soul gymnastics".

• Does every student have to learn a musical instrument?

  Yes, starting in class 4 at the latest.

• How are students assessed?

  Our approach to assessing students is to determine whether the goals set were reached and how the student reached them. Artistic, manual and intellectual accomplishments are all considered of equal importance.

  The exclusive use of grades or marks is considered a limited assessment which generally favours intellectual areas of study.

  To facilitate integration into the public school system, starting in Upper School (class 9) students receive both a report card (with extensive commentary) at the end of the school year and three report cards during year, showing grades. These grades are a reflection of the knowledge acquired, the effort made in doing so, and the student's approach to school work.

• Why do students not repeat years?

  Experience has shown that repeating a year is rarely a solution. Steiner/Waldorf schools prefer identifying the specific needs of every student and to address them on a case-by-case basis for periods extending well beyond a single school year.

  Moreover, it is generally traumatizing and humiliating for students to be to torn from the social fabric of their peer group and to find themselves in a classroom in which the teaching is inappropriate to their inner development.

• Do teachers teach the same class from class 1 to class 6?

  As far as possible teachers accompany their class from year 1 to year 6 (sometimes until year 8). This is intended to foster:

  - the teacher / student relationship

  - unity within the class

  - continuity in teaching.

• Aren't your students overprotected? How do they cope after leaving the Steiner school?

  The evidence of the past twenty years has shown that, after an initial period of adjustment, our students generally have no difficulty finding and completing apprenticeships or integrating into other school systems and passing the Swiss maturité, the international baccalaureate or the French baccalaureate.

  In 1999 an independent institute specializing in educational research, directed by W. Goetze and B. Fink, conducted a survey of 1586 former students of Steiner/Waldorf students in Switzerland. The average age of the students was 23 years. The findings of the study showed that most of the former Steiner/Waldorf students felt they had been well prepared for choosing a profession and for succeeding at the workplace and in future projects.

  To the question as to which capacities had been best developed at school students replied, in the order of importance: independence, creativity, ability to work in teams and systemic thinking.

  Former students chose professions in all walks of life, pursuing university studies or careers in the social, arts-related or manual fields.

• Do you offer after-school activities?

  Yes. The following are available after school hours:

  - day care programme (afternoons).

  - supervised study periods

  - tutoring

  - private music lessons for students wishing to learn an instrument

  - circus classes (contact Ms Sabine Schuster through the school reception).

  In addition, a parent-child playgroup is held two mornings a week for children aged 0-3 years (contact the school reception).

• Is your school a church school?

  No, our school is non-denominational. We welcome children from all religious backgrounds.

• How many students are there at the school?

  At present some 300 children of all ages are enrolled at the school.

  
  

• What is the age range for children at the school?

  Children can start as young as 2 and a half years at the matinées enfantines. This is followed by kindergarten. Children start class 1 at age six or seven, and complete class 12 at age 18.

  
  

• What about integration into public life in the canton of Geneva?

  The Geneva Steiner/Waldorf school is a member of the AGEP (the Geneva association of private schools). At the end of class 9 students can (on request) enter the public school system without having to sit exams, provided students have the level required for post-compulsory schooling in Geneva.

  Since 1997 our school has been taking part in the Fête de la Musique music festival. Initially the school was represented only by a circus group, accompanied by the school orchestra. Later, a stand selling food and drink was added. Since 2003 the stand has been organized by the Association of friends of the Geneva Waldorf school.

  On several occasions our school was invited to take part in events to promote world peace, including at the United Nations.

  We are also one of 70 schools in Switzerland which are part of the network "UNESCO associated schools".

• Are there other Steiner/Waldorf schools in Switzerland?

  Yes, at present there are 36 such schools, all of them part of the Working group of Rudolf Steiner schools of Switzerland (Communauté de Travail des écoles Rudolf Steiner de Suisse).

  
  

• Does the school have a cafeteria?

  The school cafeteria is run by a professional cook who is assisted by parents. The food served is organic and there is a vegetarian option.

  
  

• What after-school and day-care programmes are offered?

  
  After-school and day-care programmes are available

  - on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays until 15h30

  
  

• When does the school close for holidays?

  Holiday dates are roughly the same as those of public schools in the canton of Geneva.

  
  

• How much are the school fees?

  In Geneva private schools receive no subsidies from the state. The school is thus financed through school fees and donations. It seeks to be accessible to all families who have chosen a Steiner/Waldorf education for their children. As a result, to the extent possible school fees will be reduced if parents are unable to pay the tuition for their child(ren) in full. To this end, the school regularly holds fund-raising events to raise money for its "solidarity fund".

• Who runs the school?

  The management of the school and its finances lies with the Association of friends of the Rudolf Steiner school of Geneva , whose members include parents, teachers and friends of the school.

  Every year the responsibility for management is delegated to the Council of Management, the members of which are elected during the Annual General Meeting.

  Educational aspects are the responsibility of the College of Teachers, which is made up of members of staff.

  Some decisions, for instance student admissions, require the approval of both bodies.

  The office of the directors, consisting of one member of the Management Council and two teachers, ensures that school decisions are transparent and is in charge of public relations.

• What training have your teachers received?

  Teachers at our school must have completed a basic teacher training course on Waldorf/Steiner education that enables them to work as kindergarten teachers (with children up to the age of 6) or as class teachers in lower school.

  Specialist subjects are taught by teachers with a standard teaching background who in addition have undergone special training in Waldorf/Steiner education.

  ALT: A special teacher- training course based in the anthroprosophical approach to education is desirable. Completion takes four years on a part-time basis, for example by teachers already working in their profession, or two years full-time. Candidates wishing to enrol in the Steiner/Waldorf teacher-training course should have completed some form of higher education (the subject field is of lesser importance).

  
  

• What role do parents play at the school?

  Parents are involved in the life of the school in numerous ways:

  - Parent-teacher evenings

  - Association of friends of the Rudolf Steiner school of Geneva (see also under "Who runs the school?")

  - Christmas bazaar

  - Bookshop, cultural and artistic activities

  - Parent representatives (two per class), who meet once a month and take an active part in school life

  - School cafeteria

  - Cleaning classrooms and helping with maintenance

  
  

• Do you have a quality assurance system?

  Yes. Since 1999 the Geneva Steiner/Waldorf school has a quality management system called "Ways to Quality" (Chemins vers la Qualité), which is recognized throughout Switzerland and used in more than 100 institutions in the country.

  This quality system is especially appropriate to social institutions in the broadest sense of the term, in which individuals occupy a central position (contrary to the ISO system, which was initially designed for use in industry). In February 2006 our school was awarded its certificate of quality from the auditing company Confidentia, which is recognized Europe-wide.