Switzerland · Montreux · Founded 1961
Surval Montreux
A girls' boarding school of eighty with a finishing-school heritage, British qualifications and a strong gap-year and leadership programme.
The character
Surval is tiny and deliberately so. Girls take IGCSE and A-levels or a leadership year, learn French, cook, ski and are taken seriously as future leaders rather than future wives, which is a change from the school's past. The atmosphere is that of a large family house on the Riviera of Switzerland.
Good for
Girls who want a small school, a post-16 year abroad, languages
Less suited to
Families who want co-education, elite sport
Getting in
Interview with the family, reports, English assessment. Entry at 13, 14 and 16.
What it costs in total
At about CHF 120,000 a year for boarding, the 6 years from 13 to 19 add up to roughly €847,000 in today’s money including typical extras, before fee increases, tutoring and flights. The Education Cost Calculator adds inflation, extras and a second child.
Fees are rounded 2025/26 figures from the school’s own schedule and change every year. The school’s current fee sheet prevails. The picture is an impression of the setting, not a photograph of the campus.
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