History of JFK

The John F. Kennedy International School was directed by Mr. and Mrs. William Lovell between 1971 and 2011. They developed the school from the original Chalet Pfrundacker Children's Home which opened in 1950.

In 2011, the school was bought from the Lovell Family and then donated to the School Foundation Board to become a non-profit institution. The school is now run by the Foundation Board which is made up of members of the local community who share a love for the school and have a desire to see it succeed and flourish, at the same time encouraging its development as an international school second to none.

The school is a co-educational English-language boarding and day school for children ages 4 to 14, currently (Reception – Year 9). Expansion through to the IGCSE programme was recently announced for September 2012, taking the school to Year 11. The growing student body is made up of 90 students from over twenty different countries. Boarding enrolment is limited to 25 students in order to maintain first-rate quality of care in our family-like environment. From September 2012, separate houses for male and female students is planned.

JFK is an accredited institution and was awarded a Quality School Certificate (QSC) in May 2009 by Pro Cert. It is also accredited by the Department of Education for the Canton of Bern. The school holds memberships in the Council of International Schools (CIS), the European Council of International Schools (ECIS), the Swiss Group of International Schools (SGIS) and the Federation of Swiss Private Schools. The school is also a charter member of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC). 

Inscribed on a beam as one enters the main school building are the following words: "Of those to whom much is given, much is required." This quote from the Bible was used in a speech by American President-Elect John F. Kennedy on January 9, 1961.