SURVAL - Key Persons
Amalia Lopez came to Surval in 1995 from her home in Mexico. During her time at the school, she studied Liberal Arts and French Language and has happy memories of friendship and fun travels. She is still friends with her former course mates. She recalls how Surval taught her much about the world, giving her the ability to open up to different cultures, explore creativity in a unique way and introduced her to friends from across the globe. Amalia is the founder of Malia Joyeria, a jewellery design brand that sells worldwide. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation and connecting with others.
Job Titles:
- Teacher of English and Etiquette
Christina Vipond joined Surval Montreux as an English and Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition teacher across all grade levels.
Originally from New York City, Christina obtained her Bachelor's of Science from The American College of Switzerland where she lived for four years.
Upon graduating, Christina worked in the financial services sector and as a consultant with PwC in Geneva, London, Frankfurt and New York before finally pursuing her passion for education and becoming a high school English teacher in the US.
Christina lives in Lausanne with her family and she joined Surval Montreux in January 2022.
Job Titles:
- Communications and Alumnae Relationship Manager
Job Titles:
- Head of Enrichment and Leadership
Job Titles:
- Teacher of English and Boarding Assistant
Natalie Bosmans is originally from the UK where she trained as a nurse and midwife. Having a particular interest in health promotion and prevention, she also has a Masters degree in Public Health. She is passionate about adolescent health and well-being and after working as a specialist nurse for children and young people in the UK, she moved into school nursing and has been working as a school nurse in international schools in Switzerland for over 18 years.
Natalie provides medical care for all ongoing health needs, as well as day to day care for illnesses, accidents and emergencies. She manages medical referrals and liaises with local doctors and other medical practitioners as needed. She also works with other members of the boarding and teaching staff to promote the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of the girls.
Pernille Mogensen was born and raised in Denmark, and moved to Switzerland in 1995. She studied English and French at the University of Lausanne, and joined Surval as a secretary in 2001. She is a familiar and welcoming face to many past students. When Bellevue took over Surval in May 2012, Pernille was appointed as Admissions and Office Manager, a key post in the smooth running of the school and above all in helping to recruit new students and to ensure that they settle in easily. Pernille has a son and in her (limited!) spare time enjoys reading and walking.
Job Titles:
- Teacher of Spanish and French
Sara González joined Surval in September 2022 to teach French and Spanish. Having studied modern languages and their literature, and having obtained her master's degree in Français Langue Etrangère at the Sorbonne University in Paris, Ms González considers herself a lover of teaching foreign languages, their culture and their history.
She has worked in international schools in France, Spain and now in Switzerland.
She considers herself energetic, enthusiastic, a lover of nature, literature and theater. Her teaching model is to learn in a dynamic way, through reflection and freedom of opinion. She avoids translation into other languages in order to make a real linguistic immersion in the classroom.
Her aim is that the pupils are able to learn while enjoying themselves and that they learn new ways of thinking.
Ms Mitchell joined Surval as Vice Principal in 2023 having enjoyed teaching and leadership posts in schools throughout Europe. Having obtained her Bachelor's degree in Childhood and Youth Studies, she became interested in adolescent mental health, leading her to gain a post graduate diploma in Educational Psychology as well as a Masters degree from UCL in Applied Linguistics.
In her spare time, Ms Mitchell is a voracious reader, a keen hiker and owner of Windsor, the boarding dog, who also has a wealth of experience providing emotional support to boarding students around the world!
Job Titles:
- Head of Teaching, Learning and Assesment
Thomas Byrne has taught in UK Independent schools and internationally for 10 years. He comes to Surval from Dulwich College Suzhou, in China, where he has worked as Head of English since 2017. Prior to teaching in China he was a Head of Year and Teacher of English at Stockport Grammar School and St Bede's College in the UK. He arrives at Surval to take up the position of Head of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, drawing on his experience as a teacher and examiner at A Level, IGCSE and IB. Thomas is particularly enthusiastic to promote education as a tool to enhance the self-esteem,