Villa Monte

Villa Monte is at Schleipfenmühle in Galgenen, in canton Schwyz, and works with children and young people from four to seventeen. It began in January 1983 as a Montessori kindergarten in Nuolen with a single child and very little material; a primary school followed in 1991 and a secondary school in 1996, and the move to Galgenen in 1993 gave the school its present name. Around 120 children and young people now attend, across a Kinderhaus, a primary school and a secondary school. Its model is built on learning by doing: pupils spend their time on activities they choose themselves rather than following a timetable set for them, and the few rules exist to protect free play rather than to restrain it. The canton of Schwyz has twice evaluated the school and rated it highly.