Mutuelle d'Etudes Secondaires (M.E.S.)

The Mutuelle d’Études Secondaires (M.E.S.) was founded in 1976 in Geneva, as part of the alternative school movement. The M.E.S. prepares students for the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma and is a member of the AGEP.

Now recognized as a public utility by the city of Geneva, the school continues to promote a different vision of learning. As Jean-Jacques Le Testu, Director of Education, points out , "our mission is to reintegrate young people who have problems with traditional education systems into the school system." The Mutuelle d'Études Secondaires has obtained School Impulse certification.

Teaching methods at the Mutuelle d'Études Secondaires

The Mutuelle d'Études Secondaires is characterized by its teaching methods, which encourage student autonomy by making them active participants in a thoughtful and responsible learning process. The M.E.S. has welcomed many young athletes, some of whom are Olympic level. The school supports each student in their academic endeavors by adapting their study time to their commitments, whether athletic, activist, or artistic.

The M.E.S. upholds five ethical values: humanism, social diversity, secularism, gender plurality, and solidarity.

Manifesto of the Mutuelle d'Études Secondaires

"Humanism, civic-mindedness, and creative personal development are the foundations of an education that, in order to be sustainable, engages our individual and collective cultures, giving meaning to our relationship with the world, our search for coherence... and our need for solidarity."

Options with a focus on creativity

The Mutuelle d'Études Secondaires offers unique options, such as Creative Writing, where students compose prose poems and try their hand at haikus. For Michel Dubret, French teacher and writer, "Literary Creation is a place of expression and freedom that prepares students for a Bachelor's degree in writing."

For students wishing to pursue artistic studies, the option of Preparing for Art School Entrance Exams takes place in the vast studio of the N.A.B.A.B. (Notre Atelier Beaux Arts des Bains). The studio has a clay room, a room dedicated to drawing, a wood room, and finally a press. These tools allow students to explore sculpture and observational drawing, as well as linocut and monotype printing.

Activities and school trips

The Mutuelle d'Études Secondaires offers a wide range of activities: a weekly chess class, visits to museums and exhibitions, participation in interactive tutoring in mathematics, and practical biology work in the field (sampling and analysis of river pollution).

As part of the art class, students participate in various workshops, such as an introduction to Land Art in the forest, or handmade paper production based on the principle of recycling.

Every year, the Mutuelle d'Études Secondaires goes on a school trip. Cycling through Copenhagen, climbing up to Edinburgh Castle, exploring the narrow streets of Lisbon... For more than ten years, the school has been visiting the Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art with its first-year class, a great opportunity to forge bonds while opening up to the world.