To provide students a rigorous university preparatory programme in a culturally rich and multi-lingual European setting where learning through educational travel, engagement with world affairs and service to others fosters personal growth and leadership.

Neuchâtel Junior College is a member of Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) and the Swiss Group of International Schools (SGIS).

In a post-war world, a Welshman named Leonard Wilde saw an opportunity. While teaching at a local school in Neuchâtel in the early 1950’s, he formed an opinion that the best way to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past is to teach future leaders to respect and understand our common bonds of humanity. He dared to imagine the possibilities of bringing young students from Canada and abroad together in an international context that would help inform their world view, and equip them to become intelligent, responsible citizens of the world.

And so it was that Wilde accepted a gift of 5,000 Swiss Francs from the admiring Directeur of his previous school, and came to Canada. Through a post at Shawnigan Lake School in BC he set about forming an understanding of Canadian youth and their academic curriculum. When he had determined which teaching methods best fit his vision, he returned to Neuchâtel to establish a non-profit foundation in the name of Neuchâtel Junior College. In 1956 - just one year later - a boat load of Neuchâtel’s first students embarked on their journey, with an orientation tour conducted on a steamship crossing to Liverpool, several days stay in London, a boat crossing from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, and a train ride to Neuchâtel with stops in Cologne and Heidelberg. By the time they set foot in Neuchâtel their lives had already been shaped by the experiences and insights they had only just begun to explore.

Wilde’s passion to help his students explore their potential was unceasing. He engineered ways for his students to mix and mingle with students from across Europe who had come from across Europe to the university town of Neuchâtel to study. Wilde passed away in 1965, the same year the school acquired its first building, a century-old manor called the Foyer in 1965. A second classroom building called the Pavillon rounded out the campus in the early 70s.

Wilde’s vision has changed the way more than 4,400 Neuchâtel students see the world. Having the chance to live, study and explore in such inspiring places, and make friends with other extraordinary students can help students understand what the world has to offer. Having a student body that sees possibilities to make positive change is what keeps Leonard Wilde’s vision, and memory, alive today.