Description
Global Horizons
The advantages of boarding schools
Our boarding schools offer excellent academic programs, lots of sports, incredible recreational opportunities, and a unique way of living together on campus. All this in an exclusive environment with excellent conditions and top facilities.
Choosing the right boarding school
On extended road trips we regularly visit all our boarding schools and maintain intensive contact with the school officials. We get to know our students intensively and then know exactly where they can be happy and successful.
OUR SCHOOLS IN THE USA
We have a large network of schools and partners in the USA. This network we have built over decades. The Global Horizons USA team is regularly on road trips in the USA. We visit our current schools and students. We also assess potential new schools for our program. As a result we always know what sets each school apart. We know all the headmasters and directors of admission in person and maintain good and frequent contact with them.
We have been doing the road trips for years and the process has proved to be very successful. We also meet many of our exchange students at their schools. Often times we can even have dinner together with host parents and exchange students. This is a very nice occasion for both sides. In addition, the information from these talks helps us to further optimize our program for our students.
We offer our students a tailor-made, individual exchange program
We achieve this by selecting schools and host families according to students’ abilities, talents, and hobbies. At our private high schools, we can guarantee that each student is placed in the optimal school. We also work with many top boarding schools. Furthermore we have public high schools in our program. These are available for a smaller budget. Here, too, we place most students directly. This means that we find the best school and host family ourselves.
We always work with the budget that the parents give us. Within this framework we negotiate special prices for our students. Many of our private schools have a large budget of funding for international students. This allows us to place students in schools that would normally exceed their parents’ budgets by far.
The organization of extracurricular activities
High school classes in the US usually end around three in the afternoon. But at that point most of the students don’t go home yet. They stay at school and pursue their hobbies. They do this together with their classmates, who consequently become their friends quite quickly.
The school facilities in the USA, especially private and boarding schools, are unique. One can only dream of such conditions in these parts. Especially in the fields of music and art, the facilities are often excellent. This offers undreamt-of possibilities for development.
Many schools have specialized in certain areas. In this area they then have top facilities and teachers. There are fabulous theatre and music programs with specially trained teachers. Some schools have great school orchestras. Visual arts are also an important aspect. Pottery, painting and design for example are frequently offered at a very high level.
SPORTS AT HIGH SCHOOL
Sports hold a special place in extracurricular activities.
The US High School year is usually divided into three seasons with different sports. In autumn, winter and spring different sports are offered. In the summer students get to enjoy their holidays for two months.
Usually other kinds of sport are offered in the different seasons. It varies from state to state which sport is offered when. Hence it is possible to practice different sports in one academic year. For this purpose, trial trainings, so-called “tryouts”, are often held. At these tryouts an exchange student can test whether he or she likes a sport and is talented at it.
American football, for example, is always played in autumn. The athletes are supported by cheerleading teams, which often operate at a very high level. In addition, football (soccer, as the American calls it) is often a “fall sport”.
In wintertime, the indoor sports start. These are traditionally basketball and volleyball. In spring tennis or field hockey is often offered. Baseball and track and field are also classic “spring sports”. Golf is a very popular sport, too. Many of our schools in New England also offer sailing. Other popular sports at our high schools are lacrosse, skiing, swimming and diving and even surfing.
Most high school students in the USA are part of at least one team. The other students support their classmates and create the world-famous American School Spirit.
