Aiglon College is a private co-educational boarding school in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Founded in 1949 by former Gordonstoun teacher John C. Corlette, it occupies a scenic location in the alpine village of Chesieres, close to the ski resort of Villars. The school prepares its students for IGCSE exams and the IB Diploma, and is also known for its extensive programme of outdoor education and prowess in winter sports. History Aiglon College was founded by John C. Corlette in 1949 and opened with just six pupils. A former teacher at Gordonstoun, Corlette had sympathised with the theories of its founder, Kurt Hahn, and began to think about opening a school of his own. Corlette suffered from ill-health as a child and was never physically robust. This spurred a personal philosophy emphasising stamina and toughness, and upon which the principles of Aiglon would be founded. Corlette's decision to open a school in Switzerland was likely inspired by his own experience: he left Stowe at 16 to finish his education at Alpine College, having been sent there for the benefit of his health. Following a financially precarious beginning, during which it rented various chalets, the school acquired its first permanent building with the purchase of the Hotel Beau-Site in 1955, now known as Clairmont. Though founded as a school on the British model, by 1957 half the student body were American nationals. British parents at this time were put off by a combination of high fees and a weak pound. That decade, another idea borrowed from Gordonstoun, the 'rank system', was implemented. This ranked boys according to merit, academic or otherwise, with extra privileges awarded to the higher ranked. In 1968 the school became co-educational and 22 girls arrived that September. By the 1970s Aiglon had drawn some criticism due to the fullness of its programme, with the working day running from 7am to 8:45pm for the youngest children, and up to 11pm for the oldest; though the school maintained this was necessary to "develop the whole child" and set this against long vacation times, which lasted up to 11 weeks in the summer. American author Allen Kurzweil recalled the eccentricities he encountered when he was sent to Aiglon in 1971. In line with the aims of its founder, school culture "placed a premium on stoic self-reliance" and injuries were a fact of life. During the academic year Kurzweil attended, one