NJC was founded in 1956 by a visionary British educator named Leonard Wilde. He imagined the possibility of bringing students from Canada and abroad together in an international context that would help inform their world view. The founder of Neuchâtel Junior College, Leonard Wilde, was a British man who had led a peripatetic existence on several continents after graduating from Oxford University, and who had become a professor of English at Neuchâtel’s École Supérieure de Commerce in 1949. He soon realized that Neuchâtel was ideal for young people to acquire French while studying for entry into university in their homeland and to do some traveling. Having already taught in the United States, he decided that he would recruit his students from there. With the support of his supervisor M. Jean Grize, Director of the École Supérieure de Commerce, and enthusiasm of the idea, Dr. Wilde took a leave of absence in 1951-52 to tour the United States, visiting schools and educational authorities.
One characteristic of all good students is an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Our unique school, perched on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel in the beautiful Swiss town of the same name, is ideally suited to students of this kind. Students come to us eager to learn more about the world around them, drawn to change, the sense that the world has more to offer them if they could step outside the boundaries of their local experiences. Neuchâtel Junior College exists for these types of students at this pivotal time in their lives, and here, they learn about themselves as much as they learn about the world.
In 1956, NJC’s visionary Founder, Leonard Wilde, knew that “To be a leader today, one must travel the world.” This enduring idea is just as – if not more – relevant today. As much as our students have likely traveled to places with their families before, they have not gone on an extended, independent journey in most cases. The Neuchâtel experience offers a view of the world beyond childhood borders, and our trips are integrated with the curriculum to make the learning experience richer and fuller. The fact that students have chosen this journey to NJC sets them apart from both geographically and personally from where they began, thereby transforming them well beyond the potential of any single school trip experienced before.
Over many months, our students explore Western European civilization centers, which helped shape our own culture, giving them knowledge of the past with which to consider the future. They visit unfamiliar and exotic places to gain an insight into the similarities and differences of other cultures in this increasingly global community. Inspired by NJC’s program, our students also learn that they can positively impact each place they visit. This may be through participation in a service rip, involvement in a Model UN activity, or helping to make our school community a better place through personal character, talent, ideas, and leadership. They experience all of this while immersed in their studies, surrounded by inspiring teachers and classmates, and living with a local Swiss, French-speaking family. This formula, unique in the world for over 60 years, consistently opens minds, broadens perspectives, and inspires graduates to make their place in the world more meaningful and purposeful.
