Life at the Boarding School – From the Breakfast Table to the Playing Fields and the Music Room
The fresh mountain air brings sleep and makes it restful. From the 3rd secondary school and from the 1st upper secondary school, students sleep in single rooms, previously in double rooms. This is followed by a well-packed, structured day.
A variety of breads, butter, margarine and jams, muesli, fruit and cheese ensure a good start to the day. Students also come together in the dining room for the other meals.
The monastery’s kitchen prepares nutritious and well-balanced meals, offering both a meat and a vegetarian option for lunch and supper, with occasional all-vegetarian menus. A selection of fresh salads from the buffet and a variety of fruits are always available. The vegetables are predominantly sourced from the monastery’s own organic production. In the afternoon, a light snack is served.
Sport, creativity, and social activities – the spacious common room offers a billiard table, card and board games. It is an inviting space where students can indulge in music, culinary pursuits, reading, stimulating discussions, and celebratory occasions, in an alcohol-free environment.
For those in need of tranquility, a leisurely walk is a splendid option. Alternatively, one may retreat to the chapel. It is interdenominational and offers an atmosphere of meditative calm.
The school campus is equipped with multiple gyms, a tennis court, two football pitches, volleyball and basketball areas, and a fully equipped fitness suite.
In Engelberg, students can indulge in a wide range of activities, including ice skating, curling, skiing, and snowboarding, as well as golf and both indoor and outdoor tennis. There are ample opportunities for hiking, jogging, indoor and outdoor swimming, biking, skating, and climbing on the climbing wall, or tackling via ferrata routes.
The mountain railroads offer our students a special price on the season pass.
Almost any instrument can be learned at the Engelberg music school. And in the Stiftsschule there are ensembles to play in and the Abbey Choir to sing along with.
You can also learn to play the organ: The monastery church is home to the largest organ in Switzerland, with 9097 pipes and 137 stops, freshly renovated in 2018.
Devices such as mobile phones, computers, tablets, and smartwatches are permitted in the boarding school. Students in Years 7-8 are required to hand in their devices during study periods and overnight, while those in Years 9-10 must do so during evening study sessions. Wi-Fi is provided, along with fiber-optic connections for enhanced access.
Students who fall ill are professionally cared for by our nursing specialist; she works closely with the doctors at Engelberg.
Our Daily Routine – Perennially Consistent, yet Subtly Distinct
While the ideal daily routine may not have been devised by Saint Benedict himself, he undoubtedly recognized its significance over fifteen centuries ago: true achievement flourishes within the framework of a well-ordered day – one marked by regular intervals of rest, and a thoughtful alternation of pursuits.
Structure and Rhythm
Each day is thoughtfully composed, leading students into a harmonious rhythm of concentration and relaxation, effort and ease, activity and rest.
Success and Disposition
Such thoughtful balance does more than shape our days; it shapes our inner lives. Time and again, it uplifts the spirit, fosters quiet confidence, and steadily opens the way to meaningful and enduring success.
Our Daily Routine
Weekends
Students who do not travel home at the weekends can also simply stay here at the boarding school. During this time, they are looked after and even have the opportunity to attend certain classes on Saturday mornings, e.g. German course, support classes.
Basic structure of the weekend offer:
- A supervisor is always in the house
- Joint meals
- Free to go out (with individual registration to the supervisors)
- Possibility for lessons on Saturday morning: 3 lessons
- Saturday afternoon: free or program
- A religious offer is attended within a weekend
Every weekend there is an outside activity on Saturdays and / or Sundays: hiking, skiing day, visiting Swiss cities, visiting major sporting events, etc.
This is always mandatory for the lower grades, for the middle and upper grades in consultation.