OUR HISTORY

Start of the Ecole Mosaic project, with a school that aimed to respond to a time of profound change: migration of people, new technology, and financial, social and educational challenges. Supported by Fondetec (public foundation of the City of Geneva) and encouraged by Jean-Claude Brès (Director of the Institut de Formation Pédagogique), Sylvie Johannot conceptualises and launches Ecole Mosaic.

Ecole Mosaic opens on 30th August 2004 with 44 students aged three to six years old, in three classes from Nursery to 3P, with a team of six teachers, two assistants, one pedagogical director and one school head.

School increases to 67 students across four classes. The hunt for more space starts we add 40 square metres. We launch our first summer camps.

School grows to 82 students across five classes and we open the 4P class. We rent an activity room in the Peschier public school and start moving into Avenue Dumas 21. We are the first private school in Geneva to be allowed to welcome children aged 2.5 years.

School increases to 98 students across six classes and we open the 5P class. We take over the whole ground floor of Avenue Dumas 23.

The school exceeds 100 students across seven classes and we open the 6P class. We expand to Avenue Dumas 21 and open two more classes and a tutoring room. After 18 months of preparation, we officially become a “Candidate School to the Primary Year Programme of the International Baccalaureate”. For two years, many teachers undertake training in Turkey, Denmark, Amman and Seville. We achieve our first quality certification: the Quality School Certificate (QSC).

The school triples its premises to over 1,000 square metres, with 149 students across eight classes; we open the 6P class. In December 2009, we take over the whole third floor of Avenue Dumas 21 (more than 650sqm), where we set up four classes for our oldest students from 3P to 7P.

The school increases to 174 students across nine classes. We open the 8P class, our first class of graduates! These students go on to EHL (École Hôtelière de Lausanne), EFPL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), the University of Montreal, among many others. We open a second 1P class.

In 2011, we withdraw from the IB curriculum and start developing our own curriculum, based on the requirements of the Swiss Harmos curriculum and the English National Curriculum. The goal is to become the only school in Geneva offering a truly bilingual and binational programme; and to be recognised by both governments.

We grow to 186 students and introduce our own curriculum, a new bilingual programme written entirely in-house and fulfilling the requirements of both the Swiss and English curricula. We introduce swimming lessons to prepare the children in 5P and 6P for sailing lessons.

We reach 195 students. We celebrate our first decade with a special theatre show: The 10 Years of Mosaic. We are proud to become an Associate Member of COBIS, the Council of British International Schools, which encompasses 270 schools and 167,000 students worldwide. We introduce the weekly alternation of French and English in 1P and 2P to facilitate the learning of the two languages and to promote acceptance of the second language (or second languages). Students’ oral comprehension skills come on in leaps and bounds!

We introduce the weekly alternation of languages in the Nursery classes, as in 1P and 2P.

We pass the milestone of 200 students. We introduce Arabic within the context of our “Foreign Languages and Civilisations” project. For the 200th anniversary of Geneva’s Entry into the Swiss Confederation, our 7P and 8P classes become young ambassadors for Geneva by participating in the “Geneva Meets Swiss Citizens” project, organised by the Foundation of Geneva. Students travel to Aarau in the Canton of Aargau to present the city of Geneva in its international context.

School increases to 226 students. We introduce Mandarin and Russian alongside Arabic in our “Foreign Languages and Civilisations” project.

School increases to 234 students; we open a second 3P class.

The school grows to 258 students; we open a second 4P class. We add an additional 400 square metres on the second floor of Avenue Dumas 21 and construct a large activity room with a professional kitchen, three new classrooms and three new administration offices. We select and obtain a new quality certification: Swiss School Impulse. We participate in the COBIS competitions. Our students compete in the Mangahigh Maths Challenge with 18,000 students worldwide.

The school grows to 274 students. We open a second 5P class and expand our premises to Avenue Dumas 20, gaining three new activity rooms for sports and arts activities.

The school continues to grow and exceeds 300 students. We open two classes per grade and extend our premises to accommodate new students. We obtain the highest level of COBIS accreditation: Patron’s Accreditation and Compliance. We join leading international schools group, International Schools Partnership, and Jean-François Lopez becomes the new Director General.

In September 2023, we opened a brand new fourth floor with four new classrooms, an art room, STEAM laboratory (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), a Makerspace and open library area, plus new ground floor classrooms, a multi-activity area and new reception.

We will celebrate our first two decades and look forward to the next 20 years…