If you believe it, you can achieve it: how we build confidence in our students

This is why, at Collège Champittet, we’re committed to building confidence in our students.

How do we do this? By fostering an environment that empowers every child to pursue their passions, believe in their own abilities, and act with purpose and passion. This ensures they have everything they need to flourish personally and achieve outstanding academic results.

What is confidence?

Confidence is a belief in one’s own abilities, skills, and judgements. Having self-confidence means trusting your capacity to tackle challenges, achieve goals, and handle tricky situations.

Confident people typically:

• Have a strong sense of inner belief.
• Think ‘I can’ instead of ‘I can't’.
• Feel secure in themselves.
• Can handle anything that comes their way.
• Are happy to take on a challenge, whether that’s an exam, performance, or competition.

Self-confidence isn’t about being perfect or never making mistakes; it’s about having a positive attitude towards difficulties. It’s also the belief that you can learn from experiences, adapt, and succeed. Being confident doesn’t necessarily mean being ‘outgoing’, either – people who are quiet or shy can be confident, too.

What factors can affect a child’s confidence?

Negative experiences – like struggling with piece of coursework – can lower confidence and self-esteem. Positive experiences, however, can give a student a real boost, whether it’s acing a test or doing something nice for someone else.

The factors that affect confidence differ from person to person.

They might include:

• Exam results or coursework marks.
• Social media or adverts.
• The level of support received from others.
• How a young person feels about their appearance.
• Friendships and relationships.
• Achievements or skills.

A child’s confidence levels may change from day-to-day, too.

Why is building confidence in students important for academic success?

So, why is building confidence in students important for academic success?

Studies show that confident students are more willing to learn and challenge themselves. They’re also more resilient in the face of difficult transitions, like changing schools. In fact, confidence has been quoted as the number one predictor of academic achievement. This is particularly true for core subjects such as English, maths and science, where confidence has long-term, positive effects on success. 

Confidence is also a big factor in how engaged learners are in their education, as well as the world around them. At Collège Champittet, we see that – as a student’s self-belief increases – they start to realise their potential and are less afraid of failing. They’re more focused during classes, and complete coursework and exams to the best of their ability.

An environment that nurtures confident students

We know how important it is to provide environments that are both nurturing and supportive – places where everyone feels comfortable and at home. We also believe in creating a strong community around each student. This provides the foundations for them to grow in confidence – and excel.

A Swiss school open to the world

Home to students and families from more than 50 countries, our thriving community embraces diversity, shares common values, and fosters meaningful connections. This broadens our students’ view of the world, giving them the confidence to interact with different people and environments.

A genuine sense of community

Everyone is involved and included here. For example, all our students take part in class outings and residential trips at the start of each school year. This creates a sense of unity and togetherness, enabling them to form firm friendships, create positive connections, and feel confident ahead of the academic year. 

A vibrant multilingual setting

Our students learn in a truly multilingual environment. Our younger children, for instance, study in both English and French, quickly becoming gifted dual-language communicators. This boosts their self-belief and esteem, and prepares them for the challenges, opportunities, and experiences of secondary education.

Experiences that build confidence in our students

Embraced by our closeknit international family – and with all the support they need – our students can fully immerse themselves in learning.

Building confidence through international curricula

From the age of 14, our young people study for either the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) in English, the French Baccalaureate, or the bilingual Swiss Maturité. As well as being academically rigorous and respected worldwide, each diploma is packed with global experiences that build confidence, independence, and open-mindedness.

Throughout their education, each student follows a personalised journey that aligns with their interests and ambitions. This includes the chance to study a higher-level maths programme, a requirement for selective Swiss and international universities, and follow specialist French and English language courses.

Learning is hands-on and project-based, encouraging creativity and problem-solving, unlocking new talents, and giving your child confidence in their abilities.

An array of confidence-boosting opportunities

Alongside academics, we offer lots of experiences that develop vital social and emotional skills, attributes, and values. This creates well-rounded, confident students with a passion for learning.

We want our learners to seize new opportunities, too, and see that anything is possible. And if something doesn’t work out, we always encourage them to try again.

• Global, regional, and local expeditions, which expose our students to different cultures, people, and ideas. These enriching opportunities build confidence and independence, as our young people spend time away from home, form strong bonds, and enjoy new experiences.
• Competitions and festivals, which give our students the chance to showcase their skills on an international stage. These include Model United Nations conferences, which nurture public speaking and communication skills, and boost self-confidence.
• Community service opportunities, which demonstrate the impact a person or people can have on others. From the Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) element of the IBDP to Collège Champittet Foundation trips to Madagascar, and Thailand, hands-on opportunities to effect change show our students they can achieve anything.
• A rich variety of extra-curricular activities, which enable our students to cultivate their interests and discover new passions. Our location between Lake Geneva and the Alps means we can offer an array of one-of-a-kind activities, including weekly ski lessons, paddleboarding, and kayaking.

Celebrating our students’ success

With the self-belief they need to realise their potential, our confident students earn consistently fantastic results. For example, our class of 2023 achieved a 100% pass rate in the Swiss Maturité, well above the national average of 67%. Our IBDP points score was significantly higher than the global average, too.

As a community, we proudly celebrate these incredible achievements. This contributes to positive self-image, instils belief, and increases self-esteem. We know that positive recognition inspires others, too, helping us cultivate a dynamic atmosphere where the sky really is the limit.