One of the primary advantages of being in Switzerland during the winter is undoubtedly the access we have to fantastic winter sport resorts. Many boys have taken this opportunity and sacrificed their much beloved Sunday sleep-in over the last two weeks and gone to La Tzoumaz.

The boys have come back reporting with only fond stories and new skills. In some cases some of them have declared that they are the GOAT of skiing/snowboarding. Many of the boys will get another chance to ski at the coming mountain weekend and enjoy mor alpine air.

A trio of the Olympus boys headed off to the local climbing centre to take part in bouldering. This is one of the most consistently attended and favourite activities of Maxim, Marco and Bohdan (Pictured below). As you can see they are highly skilled and able to hold themselves in extremely difficult positions.

Maxim states that he enjoys the ‘combination of the physicality and intelligence that is required to solve the problems of the boulders’. Adding further that it keeps building his climbing skills, allowing him to take on more challenging problems. With it affording him the possibility of climbing undiscovered routes and a chance to be part of a community.

Our boarding house was filled with warmth, colour, and irresistible aromas during our Moroccan International Dinner Night. The highlight of the evening was a traditional chicken tagine, slow-cooked with fragrant spices that brought an authentic taste of Morocco to our dining hall.

As the dish was served, students gathered to share not just a meal, but a cultural experience—learning about Moroccan cuisine, customs, and the importance of food in bringing people together. The rich flavours of the tagine sparked plenty of conversation and second helpings all around.

It was a memorable night that celebrated diversity, community, and the joy of discovering new cultures through food.

This weekend brought the much anticipated mountain weekend, an integral part of CDL boarding life. The Boys were awoken early on Saturday morning, with great energy and excitement for the bus trip to Crans-Montana for the first ski day.

Upon arrival in Crans-Montana the students swiftly changed into their boots, grabbed their skis and headed off to meet their instructors for full day of skiing. At lunch the staff were able to catch-up with some of the students who told stories of their day so far with ear-to-ear grins and excitement for more skiing.

We then quickly packed our gear back onto the bus and headed back to Versoix. The long and tiring day was visible as many slept all the way back.

Special thanks must go to the Camps team for all their efforts in putting on incredible day that ran very smoothly, leaving many boys with big smiles and fond memories. Furthermore, the boys of Olympus should also be commended for their flexibility and organisation, which contributed to a fantastic day.

It was a rather quiet weekend in Olympus, by our usually busy standards. Boys utilised the time to recharge for the last two weeks before the holidays; However our boys were well represented in Art club, Climbing club and Horse Riding, affording them to show off their creativity and get out in nature. It is fantastic to see boys participating in their hobbies and watching them interact with other students who share hobbies, as well as enabling them to share their passions with staff.

Sunday brought the Escalade race, a staple of the Geneva calendar and well supported by the people of Geneva. It is a race around the Old Town of Geneva, in which Olympus had two representatives, William and Oscar. Both braved the rain to post impressive times and more importantly they had fun.

Finally, Sunday night brought about another great CDL competition – The Gingerbread House Competition. William took the initiative to design it and was ably assisted by Federico and Pierre.

To celebrate CDL’s ‘Excellence week’ we wanted to share with you some of the excellent sporting achievements of our students. Over the weekend Daniyal represented Collège du Léman in the Nord Anglia U19 European Volleyball Tournament, where the school took home first place in both the girls and boys competition. In his short time at CDL Daniyal has proven himself quite the athlete and we hope his excellence inspires other boys to strive for their best in sports or even try a new sport!

Additionally, the CDL Climbing Cup took place over the weekend, with Olympus being represented by Marco and Maxim. Maxim displayed his climbing talents by finishing runner-up in the competition, Well done Maxim! Marco also performed excellently placing in tenth. Two fine performances by Olympus boys.

We hope this excellence is infectious through the House and encourages others to do their best.

As part of a homework task for AP Geography, boys in the class were asked to cook a dish from their home country. William showed himself to be quite the chef in the kitchen, aided by his sous-chef and roommate Santiago. They cooked the famous Nigerian and West African, staple dish of Jollof rice. A dish known for its powerful punch of flavour and colour, with chillies, onions, tomatoes and other spices really giving it a kick of flavour that leaves you wanting more! Once cooked, William was kind enough to give the boys and staff a try, with it receiving glowing praise for its tastiness! In Olympus we hope to see this sort of tradition continue as it builds a nice sense of community and camaraderie in the House.

The days grow shorter and the mornings become more crisp, it is a sure-fire sign of one thing and one thing only, that winter is here! Students will have begun to notice the changes over the last few weeks, needing to add more and more layers to battle the cold. Now we are starting to have the visual and meteorological confirmation of this with the overnight temperature hitting zero degrees Celsius. The freezing temperatures left their mark over the football fields of the College with students waking up to seeing them covered in thick frost. Moreover, the temperatures are promising to plunge into the negatives later in the week, potentially bring the first bit of snow for the winter – anyone up for building a snowman? It is important that students wrap up and keep warm to ensure they don’t get sick and can enjoy the winter.

It is has been a busy two weeks returning to school, with birthdays, trips, activities and parent-teacher meetings. Over the weekend the house celebrated the birthdays of Sava and Henry, it is really nice to see the way the boys embrace these special occasions with one another.

Additionally, the boys are really enjoying the activities offered on the weekend such as horse riding, cooking classes and Mr László’s dance class. As well, as doing their bit to help pick up rubbish around the lake to ensure it continues to look pristine, even as the lake is used frequented during the late autumn and winter months.

Finally, over the weekend there was a school trip to Barcelona, which was attended by Marco and Maxim. The boys visited famous Gaudi’s architectural marvels such as La Sagrada Familia and La Padrera, as well as being given time to explore the city and all its wonderful sites. They took in a night of Spanish culture with a Flamenco and Spanish guitar show, followed by a dinner by the beach to soak in the Barcelona coast line. On Sunday they visited the famous Camp Nou – the home of FC Barcelona and had a stadium tour, before returning on Sunday night. All in all, a successful trip with Marco and Maxim reporting on how much fun they had.

It has been great to see the boys returning from their adventure-filled October breaks! I hope it has afforded them the opportunity to get some well needed rest and recovery and allowed them to catch up with family and friends with a tale or two from their first term at CDL. The boys who went on the Tanzania and Southern Spain trips came back on Saturday with glowing reviews of their travels and the new memories they created with friends new and old. Others have arrived back and settled in beautifully, trading stories with their friends whilst unpacking their suitcases. On the academic and school side of things we have the first term’s academic review being sent out as well as Parent-Teacher interviews being held on Friday 7th of November. We are looking forward to a great second term.