LESSONS WITHOUT BORDERS

Institut Le Rosey's general director Christopher Gudin takes Tatler inside the exclusive Swiss boarding school known as the 'school of kings' and shares how the institution is future-proofing the next generation of global leaders

- Rachel Duffell

How do you develop the adaptability to one day dine in the bush with Kenya's Maasai, and the next to sit down with a nation's president? Christophe Gudin, general director of Institut Le Rosey, believes the renowned Swiss boarding school's unique model plays a central role in nurturing such qualities.

Founded in 1880, the storied Le Rosey has long attracted students from wealthy and influential backgrounds worldwide—European royalty and nobility; the offspring of politicians and discerning stars. The school's ethos has always been about bringing young people from different cultures and linguistic backgrounds together. Last year's intake, for example, saw representation from 72 countries, though the school's quota system ensures no more than 10 per cent of the student body comes from any one nation.

"We want to make sure the students are always in a minority within their own culture," says Gudin. "It's a natural instinct when you reach a new place to go to people who speak the same language and have the same background as you, but if [there aren't enough of you], you're going to have to go to others. And it's working very well. [The students] do go together and they disagree often. And our point is, we will disagree; that's fine. Let's not hide; let's discuss." A striking example came the day after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, when Russian and Ukrainian students gathered with peers to discuss what they were hearing back home. "It was a fascinating discussion and, of course, some weren't aligned, but they listened to each other, and it didn't stop some of them rooming together the next term," says Gudin. "That's the root of what we teach Roséens: you can have multiple views and disagree on things, but it doesn't mean you can't be close and understand each other, which I think is what the world frankly is missing a lot right now."