Malvern College Switzerland Celebrates the Platinum Jubilee

Malvern College Switzerland (MCS) was honoured to welcome Her Excellency Mrs Jane Owen, the UK Ambassador to Switzerland Mr Jean-Marc Udriot, Mayor of Leysin and Mr Guillaume Grisel, Chair of the Swiss British Chamber of Commerce (Lausanne Chapter) to join the staff, pupils and friends of MCS to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The visit featured the ceremonial planting of a traditional British oak tree in the grounds of the school which was accompanied by a commemorative plaque from Her Majesty. Trees have been presented to all 26 Swiss cantons as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) initiative, a project which encourages people and organizations to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’ with the aim of creating a legacy in honour of the Queen’s leadership that will benefit future generations. The location of each tree planted will be permanently featured on a map at Buckingham Palace.

Also in attendance were Malvern College alumni currently residing in Switzerland who were able to meet with current pupils and offer them insight from their experiences of studying at Malvern College in the UK.

Dr Tim Jefferis, the founding Headmaster of Malvern College Switzerland commented, “We were delighted to welcome our distinguished guests and alumni to our school in what is a defining moment in the young history of our school. We very much hope that our pupils and parents were inspired by their words and in particular by Ambassador Owen, herself an Old Malvernian, and that they will increasingly feel part of the global Malvern College family.

Mrs Jane Owen commented, “It was a pleasure to spend a day at Malvern College Leysin, the first British-Branded Boarding School in Switzerland, and to talk to the students about diplomacy, leadership and my time as an Old Malvernian! In this Platinum Jubilee Year, it seemed only appropriate to join the Mayor of Leysin in planting a commemorative tree as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative as a lasting legacy of the strong ties between Switzerland and the UK.  As world class science and research nations, it is clear that education is an important focus for us both and we look forward to supporting the College in its endeavours”.

Allan Walker, Malvern College’s Director of International Schools, who attended the event on behalf of the College, added:  “We are very grateful to Ambassador Owen and Mayor Udriot for their support of today’s event. We believe that the planting of an oak tree perfectly symbolizes the growing strength of the Malvern College Family of Schools as its newest member takes root in Switzerland, providing pupils with transformational opportunities for growth and personal development”.

Read more about Malvern College from Spring Summer 2022: My Swiss Miss