Neuchâtel Junior College

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Neuchâtel Junior College (or NJC) is a Canadian international school located in the French-speaking town of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

1 Location
2 History
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Location

A 13th Century town Neuchâtel with a population of 60,000 is situated at the foot of the Jura Mountains in northwest Switzerland. Major cities such as Berne, Geneva, and Zurich are a short train ride away.

[edit] History

NJC was founded in 1956 5,000 Swiss Francs by Leonard Wilde to bring North American students to Europe where they could experience a new culture, a new language and create a new perspective on their present and future lives.^[1]

For several years he Leonard Wilde taught at Shawnigan Lake School, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia Canada, to become accustomed to the Canadian school system and Canadian students. With this experience in hand, he was able to recruit the College’s first 42 students from across Canada in 1956.

The school is taught in English, but each student is required to take at least one French course. In addition to this, all students live with a local family in what is called a pension. This allows the students to interact in French and truly appreciate Swiss culture.

The school also offers a number of school trips to such locations as Greece and Italy, Florence and Sienna, Paris, and Munich, as well as encouraging students to travel on their own. The central location of Switzerland allows for a wide range of destinations and through travel students learn to be independent while at the same time learning about other cultures.

Another school along the same lines as Neuchâtel Junior College is Canadian College Italy.