Institut Le Rosey is generally considered to be the most expensive school in the world, with the annual tuition per student surpassing $130,000.
Switzerland is home to some of the world’s most expensive and exclusive schools. The European country is home to at least 10 schools with yearly tuition fees of over $75,000, but the most expensive of them all is Institut Le Rosey, an old and reputed boarding school with an ultra-impressive list of alumni. There’s a reason why Le Rosey is known as the “school of kings”. King Juan Carlos of Spain, King Fuad II of Egypt and King Albert II of Belgium were all students here, as were the Shah of Iran, the Aga Khan and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, among others. Having educated some of the best-known families in Europe for over a century, it’s no wonder Institut Le Rosey has an annual tuition fee of over $130,000 per student.
Photo: Institut Le Rosey/Facebook
Founded in 1880 by Paul Carnal, Institut Le Rosey is the only boarding school with two campuses, a sprawling complex in Le Rolle, on the edge of Lake Geneva, complete with Olympic-size swimming pools, tennis courts, shooting range, an equestrian center, and a £40 million concert hall, as well as a winter campus in Gstaadt, where students spend most of their afternoon skiing.
While the facilities at Le Rosey are definitely impressive, the ratio of teachers to students is even more so – 150 teachers per 420 students. The average class has fewer than 10 students, which ensures that every one of them gets the attention they deserve.
Although Institut Le Rosey bills itself as an internationally inclusive institution that will only take 10% of its student body from any one country, at the end of the day, the prohibitive price of the yearly tuition ensures that only the brightest offspring of the wealthiest families in the world have the chance to be accepted in.
Out of the 420 spots available for students ages 7 to 18, 30 students get to attend classes at Institut Le Rosey because their parents teach there, and only 3 receive scholarships every year. The rest have to pay the full tuition fee of over $130,000 per year.
According to Christoph Goodin, the 5th headmaster of Institut Le Rosey, the high tuition doesn’t necessarily translate to higher profits for the institution, but rather to independence and freedom to act in any circumstance.
“I could have removed 10% of my expenses and added 30% to the fee, but our goal is not to make money,” Goodin told SMAPSE Education. “We’re against donations, we want to remain completely independent. We feel like we can do what we want without limits. I spoke with many leaders who could not exclude the child because the parents were donors, and others who spend 20-60% of their time on fundraising.”
Interestingly, the $130,000 annual tuition fee at Le Rosey not only provides access to the two campuses and all the incredible facilities they come with, exceptional education, but also pocket money administered by the staff.
To put into perspective just how expensive Institut Le Rosey is compared to other boarding schools, Eton, the largest and most prestigious boarding school in England, charges less than half in annual tuition fees.
