Our old fashion classroom with wooden desks and the girls wearing the brown overalls for chemistry. One will notice the mint condition of those desks, the teachers keep a careful eye for the vandals
The Oaks and Pines chateau donated by Lady Hardwood is nestled in a huge arboreal park along side Lake Geneva, between Montreux and Chillon.
The castle itself houses on the ground floor a grand hall opening onto the dining hall, the library, the music room, the lab and the studies of the faculty members, last but not least the garden apartments offered to the teachers.
On the first floor one will find the girls common room with a kitchenette and two television rooms with giant screens. On the left side the dorm rooms of the juniors and their communal showers and facilities. On the right the dorm rooms of the seniors with attached bathrooms. It is to be noticed that all dorm rooms are doorless.
On the second floor the apartments of the head maid, and the Chef’s assistant, and finally comes the mysterious attic…
When entering the castle aka chateau one will have noticed the plaque dedicated to Miss Temple a former Principal.
It reads,Impeccable Jane Temple
Teacher, Mistress in charge of the juniors, friend…
Loved and missed.
Her instruction, ethos and standards live on at this school who owe her so much.
Around the chateau a number of smaller buildings are found, a chapel, the residence of the Principal, the garages, the stables, a hothouse, the boathouse, housing for the Chef and etc…The boathouse offers a Riva and two sailing dinghies…
The stables houses a number of O&P horses as well as a few privately owned horses, and a baby elephant ! Ellie saved by the girls from a mean traveling zoo now enjoys a climate controlled barn !
A multi purpose field, home of our own field hockey team, the famous O&P XI ! Next to a couple of tennis courts and the Simpson-Temple sports complex with an Olympic size swimming pool, a basket ball court, showers and etc…
Not to forget the kennel for the O&P mascots, two huge Newfoundlands named Hercules and Opie.
The garage is housing the old school Bentley which picked you up from the airport, and the school bus with the trailer for our bikes hitched behind. All newbies ask why we have classes at both O&P and the Montreux International Campus, and we sing, “Miss Temple used to say that we have plenty of empty space between our ears!”
NB : we are driven in the morning to the Campus and we ride back to our castle aka chateau with our bikes after our classes…
In the woods one will also find the tree house build by Susan and decorated with all our national flags.
With more and more girls from Asia. the Rabten Choeling Monastery of Montreux graciously donated a protection Buddah so as to make the girls feel more at home, not to mention that the added presence will impart peace and protection to our school.
