“It’s very, very important for us that we provide quality care and the best experience possible”

Hi Romain! First things first, please tell us a bit about yourself:

Name: Romain de Meyer

Current Role: Head of Summer Camp

In 50 words or less, please describe your area of expertise:

I come from a luxury hospitality background, I graduated from EHL and I fell in love with education when I first worked here as a monitor at 19. My goal is to combine hospitality with education to create a very welcoming environment, where you never need to ask for anything as it’s already provided.

What are you most passionate about?

I get to have fun through my job every day! I’ve loved working in luxury hotels and serving in the army, but summer camp is different. We have children here from the ages of 7 to 16, and it’s an age where you start to build your personality, decide who you want to be and share your dreams. As adults we lose that sometimes. They keep pushing us, driving us,and inventing new ways to connect with each other.

Why is Switzerland a popular destination for summer camps?

First of all, the easy answer is the country itself. It’s very safe and the medical system is very good. Switzerland is a well governed, democratic country. And we have amazing landscapes, mountains, and lakes! I’m Swiss and spent some time here growing up. I know what I loved the most with Switzerland is that nature is always very near you, no matter where you live. Even in the biggest cities, in one hour you’re in the middle of nature. It’s a giant playground for us during summer camps, because it’s very easy for us to find activities.

Switzerland is also very well known for international schools. We have healthy competition between all of the schools here, so we’re also being inventive, looking for new activities and continually improving what we can offer to students.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Covid-19. Can you give us an update on the guidelines from the Swiss authorities regarding summer camps?

It’s a very good question, as it is hard to predict. But lately the news is good. In general, you can now enter Switzerland if you’re fully vaccinated, or if you’re under 16 years old. We have a list of five countries who cannot enter and a few more who have to quarantine first, but that list is being updated every week.

It’s a bit hard for us at the moment to advise our parents or guarantee they’ll be able to enter Switzerland, but things are gradually becoming a bit clearer. At Beau Soleil, we will contact parents in the middle of June, and we’ll advise from there. But with how things are going, I think most of the schools that are hosting summer camps should be able to run, which is very, very good news.

(Editor’s note: regular updates on authorized entry into Switzerland are available here, in English)

Unfortunately, some programs had already decided to cancel their camps this summer. Would you still say it is safe to join your summer program (and what measures are in place)?

We are lucky that we are part of a boarding school. We’ve had lots of experience in implementing a protection plan over the past 18 months. Our partners are remaining flexible about the number of campers needed for activities. We are very fortunate as we have an amazing campus with a swimming pool, climbing wall and other facilities so we can still have plenty of fun on campus.

As well as asking all students to arrive with a negative PCR test, we’ll be testing the students every couple of days during their first week with us. If anyone tests positive, we already have a quarantine house with a big kitchen they can have full access to, and any quarantined students can play distanced games with monitors. We want to ensure that their time here isn’t wasted. We don’t want them to feel isolated. We have prepared programs for them because we want them to still have fun.

Camps are dealing with young children and teenagers. How do you ensure that they are safe at all times? (What qualifications/training do your camp counsellors have)?

When I was in the army, we were trained to run a hazard assessment. We make sure we run this for every situation, so we’re fully aware of the risks and make sure we have a plan in place. The school’s 110 years old, so we also have a lot of experience to lean on.

Swiss law doesn’t require a particular qualification to work at a summer camp, which is a shame as counsellors are taking care of something extremely precious – other people’s children. For us, it’s very important that all of our counsellors have their first aid certification, a minimum of two years work experience at another camp and a legally required, clean background check for those working with a “sensitive population” (children/people with disabilities).

We also request our counsellors attend a mandatory one-week training before camp starts where we ensure that they are fully briefed – we train them in everything they need to know from the school and a safety/health point of view. It’s very, very important for us that we provide quality care and the best experience possible for the children, to reassure the parents that they can trust us and to know that their children are in good hands.

Tell us about the summer camps at Beau Soleil – what’s an example of a typical day?

During the week, campers are woken up at 8am, breakfast at 8.30, and then we have a big meeting with all of the camp. We announce the afternoon activities and we divide campers up into classrooms. From 9am to 12pm they have language classes.

After lunch, the afternoon is spent on a supervised activity, anything from banana boats on the lake to go-karting. We also have a few activities on campus (swimming, rock climbing etc). We put the priority on building relationships between the campers. Unlike some other camps, we choose the activities for them, to keep them with the group they started with. It creates links between people from different countries and builds a sense of family. Of course, if a student is worried about an activity, we work with them to understand their concerns and if needed they can be allocated to another group for that afternoon.

In the evenings we have “big games” – monitors will organise games and decorate the room around a theme. We’ve transformed the sports hall into a huge casino. We’ve done horror nights for the seniors, turning our on-site nightclub into a ghost train.

The weekends are focused around themed big games, with brunch and day trips around Switzerland filling the rest of the time. This year we’re organizing each theme around a mini 2020 to make up for last year, so there’ll be Easter Egg hunts, Halloween, Christmas and New Year celebrations.

What’s the number one question parents ask you?

The number one question that I’ve been asked this year, except, of course COVID, is “are girls and boys separated, and are they sleeping far away from each other”. To reassure parents, we have strict rules with boys on one side of the building and girls on the other side and we make sure they can’t go roaming the halls.

Is it still possible to join the program?

Yes! Normally we’re fully booked but as this year is so different, we are more flexible.

Thank you very much!

Discover our full range of Summer Camps in Switzerland or book your place today.