Faith, Community and Belonging at Saint-Charles
For more than a century, Saint-Charles has been shaped by its Catholic heritage. While today we are a diverse international school welcoming students of different nationalities, cultures and beliefs, our historic connection to the Catholic faith remains an important part of who we are. It provides continuity with our past, strengthens our values and connects our students to the community of Porrentruy and the wider Jura.
Our Chapel
At the heart of the Saint-Charles campus is our beautiful chapel. It is more than an architectural reminder of the school's history. It provides a place for reflection and still plays an active role in school life. At least twice each year, the whole school comes together for Mass, creating moments when the normal rhythm of lessons, activities and examinations gives way to something quieter and more reflective.
In a busy modern school, these moments matter.
Values with deeper roots
Saint-Charles is guided by three core values: Kindness, Respect and Responsibility. These values have meaning for students of every faith and none, but they also have deep roots in the Catholic tradition of the school.
A connection with faith encourages young people to think beyond themselves. Education is not simply about examination results or gaining admission to university. It is also about considering the person we are becoming, our responsibilities towards others and the contribution we can make to our communities.
Ideas of service, compassion, dignity, forgiveness and responsibility are therefore not separate from education at Saint-Charles. They contribute to our understanding of what a good education should achieve.
For an international school, this is particularly valuable. Our students arrive from many different backgrounds and traditions. A school confident in its own heritage can provide a strong sense of identity while remaining genuinely welcoming to others. Respect for our Catholic tradition goes hand in hand with respect for the beliefs and cultures represented within our international community.
Connecting Saint-Charles with Porrentruy
Our Catholic heritage also connects Saint-Charles to the place we call home.
We are proud to be an international school in Switzerland, but we do not want to be an international community that exists separately from its surroundings. Saint-Charles is part of Porrentruy and the Jura, and our relationship with the local Catholic Church provides another important connection between school and community.
Through school Masses, relationships with the local Church and the traditions that have shaped Saint-Charles over generations, students encounter something of the history and culture of the region in which they are living and studying.
For our international students in particular, this matters. Studying abroad should involve more than living on a campus. It should mean discovering the language, traditions, history and community of another country.
Tradition in a modern international school
Saint-Charles has changed enormously since its foundation, and it will continue to evolve. Yet progress does not require us to leave our history behind.
Our Catholic heritage gives Saint-Charles something distinctive: a connection between past and present, between education and values, and between our international school and our local community.
In our chapel, during Mass and through the values lived in everyday school life, that heritage continues to have meaning.
Saint-Charles is proudly international, proudly rooted in Porrentruy, and equally proud of the traditions that have helped shape the school we are today.
OUITSTANDING EDUCATION