Join us as Elena Liebrenz shares her inspiring experience studying at Mount Kelly in the UK while maintaining her Swiss educational goals. Discover how school abroad can shape discipline, cultural insights, and future opportunities. Plus practical tips for students considering international studies.

In this episode:

• The benefits of repeating a school year during exchange programs for academic pressure relief
• Language skill development and cultural immersion through international schooling
• The holistic education at Mount Kelly including leadership, networking, and discipline outside academics
• Elena’s transition back to Switzerland and her future plans at ETH Zurich
• How extracurricular activities like swimming and triathlon complement academic success
• The importance of creating and maintaining global networks during school years
• Advice for students and schools on leveraging international education for personal growth

Today on the podcast, I'm

speaking to Elena Liebreinz.

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She's from Switzerland and has just

finished her studies there, but

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she chose to spend her lower sixth

form year, year 12, at Mount Kelly.

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That meant moving to the UK, boarding

at a UK school for the first time,

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and using this as a chance to develop

her swimming and her English skills.

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It's great to have her on the podcast

today, especially as she's recording

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this while on holiday in Mallorca.

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Please join me in welcoming

Elena onto the podcast.

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Here we go

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Welcome to Mount Kelly Conversations,

the podcast from Mount Kelly in Devon.

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In each episode, we have conversations

with pupils, with staff, and with other

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people in the school community to find

out more about life at the school.

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Come with us now as we get

right into this episode

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Simon: Well, today is a very

special episode of the podcast.

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We're talking to Elena, who's a

student who came to the school from

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Switzerland and spent one year at school.

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She's with me right now.

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Elena, thank you for being here.

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How are you today?

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Elena: I'm good, thank you.

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How are you?

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Thanks for having me here

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Simon: Oh, it's great to have you, and

I appreciate you giving up the time,

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especially because we're recording

this online and what the listeners will

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not know until now is that Elena is

actually on holiday in Majorca right now.

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So extra special thank you to you, Elena,

for giving up your time to be here.

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Tell us for the sake of people who

are listening, tell us w- what you

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were doing at school because you were

there at Mount Kelly for one year.

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Tell us what that was all about.

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Elena: So initially I had the plan to go

abroad to improve my English, but also

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to find a place where I could combine

swimming and my education, and I felt like

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Mount Kelly really provided that place

for being a top swimmer and also have,

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like, the best ed- education I can have.

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And that's why I initially

wanted to go to Mount Kelly.

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Like yeah, maybe for a year or

two, do my sixth form over there.

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Yeah, that's why I initially went there.

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Simon: I see.

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Okay.

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Right.

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So all of your schooling,

generally speaking then, has

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been in Switzerland, I presume.

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But the idea of this was that you

come to Mount Kelly for one year, you

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improve your English, but you're also

in a place where you can do some great

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swimming because of the facilities and

the focus on swimming there at school.

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Is that right?

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Elena: Exactly.

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Yeah

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Simon: Okay.

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All right.

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Perfect.

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Great to understand that.

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Otherwise, people might worry that you've

came, that you came to the school for one

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year and then decided that it wasn't for

you, but actually it's quite the opposite.

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Okay.

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So what was it about Mount Kelly

then, aside from the swimming?

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You know, when you were looking at

different options and different places

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to go to in the UK I imagine that

you looked at a number of different

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schools, but what was it about

Mount Kelly that stood out to you?

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Elena: I think the location, because

Mount Kelly has, like, a really beautiful,

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like, building and also, like, the

landscape was quite impressive because,

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like, in Switzerland you don't have

such, like, such a wonderful place.

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It really, for an exchange student,

it was like kind of going to

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Hogwarts, and it was also, like,

a place where boys and girls were.

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So for me it was important that I wasn't

only in a boarding school where only girls

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went to, so I also wanted that diversity.

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And also the food was quite important

for me because Mount Kelly gave

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you the option to eat healthy.

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So, when I looked into other, like,

schools, they had, like, burger

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and fries, and chips, sorry, chips.

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It's chips.

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And so that's how I came upon Mount Kelly.

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And also I…

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The education, like, I could choose I

think maths, chemistry, biology, PE, and

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those were all kind of those A levels

I really wanted to do, and history.

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So, I think everything just fitted and,

yeah, that's why I chose Mount Kelly.

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And I also had, like, a day where I went,

I f- like, I th- took a plane to, England

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to go and have a look around the school,

and I felt like they really welcomed me.

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And also the people, the, like, not

only staff members, but also the

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students, they were really welcoming,

and that's what really had, like,

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a big impression on me, and that's

why I chose Mount Kelly at the end

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Simon: Interesting.

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I was going to ask you about that, you

know, about in particular how it was for

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your first few days, because I imagine

that you would've joined a school possibly

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other children, other students would've

been joining the school into sixth form

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anyway from other schools in the UK.

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But I imagine that a lot of people

would've known each other already

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from coming from year 11 in the

same school, and there would've

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been existing friendship circles.

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So tell me what those first few days were

like as you settled in, met new people,

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and how welcome you felt given that there

were these existing friendship circles.

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Elena: Mm-hmm.

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Well, I think Mount Kelly had

like a really good way of breaking

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those circles and kind of,

integrating other people as well.

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Because we had like I think one day

where we had like open door activities

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where we had the opportunity to get to

know all, all the people from our year.

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And I think that workshop really

helped us to get to know each other

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and form those deeper connections.

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But I also feel- felt like Mount Kelly

was an open place where every single

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new student was really welcomed.

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So, they … Like, I remember students

actively asking me whether I wanted to

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eat with them and sit with them together

and have that, like meal or also with

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the swimming team, swimming squad.

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I felt like you were also given a

place where you could form those

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connections and friendships.

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So, yeah.

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It was … I felt like

the first few days…

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Oh, we also had the barn

dance, so also an activity.

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So there was a lot of social activities

where we could meet everyone.

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And, well, I would say the first few

days as an exchange student is really

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hard because, like, you are in a

totally new place and everything is new.

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You don't really know the language so

well and but I feel, felt like Mount

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Kelly and also the staff members and

also the students, they took a lot of

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pressure away, and they found a way to

really, yeah, just make you feel home and

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welcome and, yeah, happy in that place.

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Simon: Fantastic.

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It was great to hear your story there.

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Thank you for sharing that.

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And one of the things you mentioned,

of course, there was, was the language.

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What was your English language

like when you first arrived?

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How well could you speak English?

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Elena: Well, I understood a lot of

English because I went a lot of, a

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lot to America with my family, like,

I think every year for four weeks.

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So I understood the language

quite well, but my speaking was,

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like, I couldn't speak fluent.

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Like, there wa- I could say

something, but I was still very

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hesitant and wasn't really secure.

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So that year really helped me to

improve not only my speaking, my

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language, but also my writing.

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So that was also a huge, like,

advantage I gained during that time.

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Yeah

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Simon: Well, of course, now you're

here on a, on an English-speaking

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podcast, so I take my hat off to you.

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clearly the year that you spent at

school has served you well despite

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the fact that actually, of course,

this came to an end, I think you said

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two years ago, so, shortly I'll be

asking you about what you've been

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doing since you were at Mount Kelly.

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But let's stick with that lower sixth

year that you were in school for a moment.

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Y- you mentioned about

swimming, of course.

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Tell me more about the attraction of the

school from the swimming point of view.

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And actually before that,

tell me why swimming is such

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an important thing for you.

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Elena: Well, I've been swimming for,

like at that time, I think I was

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swimming for 10 year- no, 14 years, so…

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No, 12.

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I'm not sure.

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Something around 12 or 13 or 14.

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Yeah, exactly.

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And, but I hadn't really had the

opportunity to train that much as I

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really wanted to, like I wanted to,

and Mount Kelly had, like, that really

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great perf- swimming performance center.

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So, I think they also had those…

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They had Olympians and yeah, they just…

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The program, the time schedule, like

everything was fitted so well, like

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with morning training, then having

breakfast, then my A levels, and

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then again some gym work, and then

later the evening training session.

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That, like that really was so, su- such

convince- so convincing because you had

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the swimming side, but also the school

side, which was really fitted into a

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time schedule, so I really liked that.

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And yeah, the swimming center, like, it

was, like, for me to see that some- such

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a thing is, like, that you can maybe…

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Oh, how do you say that?

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Like, it was so, for us in s-

as in s- like, for me as a Swiss

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person, it's so impressive that

you can have a really high…

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That you can swim on a really high

level and at simonta- simultaneously

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have a really high educational level.

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So that's why, yeah, why Mount Kelly was,

I felt, the best thing to go to the place.

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Yeah

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Simon: Yeah, it sounds like the

perfect choice for you in that case.

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And then tell me how Mount Kelly compares

to the school that you were at in…

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Actually, quick question.

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The school you were at in

Switzerland, did you return to

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that school after Mount Kelly then?

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Elena: Yes, I did

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Simon: And then tell me how the,

how Mount Kelly is different

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to that school in Switzerland.

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Elena: Whoa, it's completely different.

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Like, you can't really compare it because

yeah, we basically in Switzerland we do

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A levels in every single subject, so in

chemistry, biology, maths, like arts even.

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So we do that in every single

subject, but it's really stressful,

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the school in Switzerland.

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I'm not saying that Mount Kelly can't

be difficult as well, but I felt

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like the time management was way

better in, at Mount Kelly and also

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the way that you could go to staff.

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Like you had a better, I would

say, relationship to the staff

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members because if you had like

a problem as an international

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student, you could just go and ask.

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Like for example, if you didn't

understand homework, you could just

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go and ask your house mother as well

or, yeah, it was so much more personal

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and in Switzerland it's more just

focused on your studies and not really

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your life beyond the school studies.

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So, yeah, that's a different thing.

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And in Switzerland only I think

around 10% go to a school which later

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gives you the allowance to go to

university, so only a really small

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percentage, is goes to that school.

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So that's also different.

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And may- as I said, sports

inclusion, so at Mount Kelly

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you have the swimming program.

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But in Switzerland you only study.

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That's like s- there, there is also

a school where you can do both, but

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you must be like on a really high

level, for example, a national team.

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So you can't really get into that school,

i- like if you, only if you're like top

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zero, zero one percent in your sport.

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So I felt like that's also a difference.

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So in Switzerland the school isn't

really, it doesn't really give you

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time to do any sports besides school.

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So yeah.

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And yeah, that's what I felt like

the main difference in, at Mount

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Simon: see.

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I understand.

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Elena: in compared to Switzerland.

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Simon: I understand.

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I understand.

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Now some people might be listening to

this right now because they're thinking of

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doing exactly the same thing that you did,

coming to a school in the UK, but they

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might also be wondering how it works when

the, the things that students learn when

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they're in the UK may well be a little

bit different to what they're learning

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when they're at home in Switzerland.

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So how do you match those things up so

that you don't learn two things twice, or

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learn anything twice, but at the same time

you don't miss out anything which could

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jeopardize any exams that you're taking

at the end of your studies in Switzerland?

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Elena: Mm-hmm.

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Well, I-- that's a really great

question because that was another

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problem or, like, a difficulty for me.

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That's why I kind of chose to

do that one year in England.

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But then when I came back, I didn't

re-join my old s- like, my old year group.

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I went from below.

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So I repeated that year, and I would

recommend that to every single, like,

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exchange student, regardless of how good

they are i-in school, because that really

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takes the pressure out of that year.

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Because all of the-- Like, suddenly

you can really enjoy it because

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you don't have that academic

pressure, as you said, keeping up

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at home with all your schoolwork.

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So, yeah, I would

definitely recommend that.

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And in, like, in England, of course,

I already had some topics covered

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in Switzerland, but I feel like the

language barrier is still there.

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So, even though maybe you've learned

that at your own home school, it's

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still different because now it's--

now everything is in English, and

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you're occupied with so many different

things as well besides school in that

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one year that it doesn't really-- it,

it's not such a big deal if you maybe

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have covered the biology topic twice.

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So it's-- I fee-felt like it is more

if even it rather help-- it helps you

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even more because then you already kind

of know the systematic of that topic,

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and now you can translate it in-- you

translate it into English in your head.

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So it's-- I would say it's even

better to have those things, yeah.

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Simon: That's really helpful to know

because I think a lot of people might

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think of school as the place where you go

in order to learn things, to pass exams.

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But what you're demonstrating just

naturally by the way that you're talking

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is that school is so much more than that.

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School is an opportunity to learn

different languages, different

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cultures, but also to develop

swimming, especially at Mount Kelly.

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So, you know, to pick up on things

that you might not otherwise have

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the ability to do quite so well.

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That's really interesting

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Elena: Yeah, no, exactly.

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I feel like that's a really important

point you mention here because I

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felt like at Mount Kelly I was put

so much more than just education.

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Like for example, I've learned

so-- I've learned discipline.

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Like for example, waking up for my mo-

morning sessions at 5:15 in the morning to

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go and have a two-hour swimming session.

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Like, it sounds brutal and rough,

but I felt like-- I feel like I'm

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still holding onto that feeling, like

waking up in early-- waking up early

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mornings and doing pre-pool, doing my

sessions, later doing my schoolwork.

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Like that structure that we have

been given and like show it, and the

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discipline you must have waking up and

going every time to that pool and still

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perform really well in your education.

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Like at school, that really helps me

up till now, and I'm convinced that

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like that played a major part in my

education now and how I developed

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as a person here in Switzerland.

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Because y- we had like also that one year

that is really tough and through that

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discipline and through like yeah, so,

so much more besides education that I've

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learned in Mount Kelly, I could kind of

find a way of connecting those things back

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in Switzerland and that helped me then

perform here in Switzerland really well.

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Like I, I can only recommend that.

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Yeah.

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Simon: That's really good to hear.

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I'm glad that you got on

so well when you went back.

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So now that you've finished your

studies in Switzerland, what are you

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planning on doing next in your life?

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Elena: I'm planning on going

to ETH and study maths.

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And like it's really competitive and hard.

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So, yeah, that's what I'm gonna do now.

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And I've also qualified…

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I've managed to get into, like, to be

under the 10 best, in my year group,

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and that's why I also can achieve,

like, get some scholarships as well.

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So I'm going to, yeah, study at the

top university, like the university

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of my dreams, and I'm really

proud of that and really happy.

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And yeah, that's why I really want

to give that, what Mount Kelly

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has given me, back to the school.

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And if, like, if they have maybe

students that want to come and visit,

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like ETH University as well, they

can-- they are always welcome and

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to reach-- of reaching out and…

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Exactly.

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I felt like it's-- I feel like it's really

important to have the connections as well,

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and providing the place that Mount Kelly

has provided for me and giving that back.

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Yeah.

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Simon: Helena, that's really kind of

you, and I'm sure that some people

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would be interested in taking you up

on that offer, especially if they're

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also interested in attending ETH.

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So that's ETH Zurich which is

one of the best places to be in

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Zurich, I presume it is as well.

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Elena: Yes.

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Ja, aus Switzerland

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Simon: Yeah.

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Very good.

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Very good.

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And if people are listening to this

right now, and if they wanted to

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get in contact with you, what's

the best way they should do that?

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Elena: Well, I can give my email if they

want or, and maybe they can also, they're

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listening and they are Mount Kelly, maybe

they can ask the administration staff

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and they can, like, send me an email.

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So I'm very open of finding a way to

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Simon: Okay, perfect.

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We'll make sure then that the

school has your email address.

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and it'd be good for anyone to

get in contact with you if they're

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planning on doing anything like that.

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Elena, final question, given that

you are in Mallorca right now, how

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does the rest of today look for you?

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Elena: Well, I'm definitely gonna

study and prepare for my time at

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university and well, it was kind of

hard to keep up swimming like the

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amount I did at Mount Kelly, so that's

also why I switched to triathlon and

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now I'm preparing for my Ironman.

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So, I'm gonna…

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my day is gonna be training and

studying, and yeah, that's also what

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I learned at Mount Kelly that you

can, if you really want to, you can

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combine those two things in your life,

sports and also your aca- academics.

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So yeah, I'm probably gonna have like a

one-hour, it's not that much, but like

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a one or one half-hour swimming session.

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Later on have maybe like a 10K run and

do some gym work, and in between I'm

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gonna do like I'm gonna study maths.

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Yeah.

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So that's what I'm gonna do.

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Simon: Gosh, look at that.

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And there was me thinking that

you were going to say something

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like you were going to pop in some

AirPods, listen to something by

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the pool while reading a book.

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But no, no, you're

preparing for an Ironman.

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I absolutely love it.

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Elena, it's been a real

pleasure talking to you.

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Thank you for giving up the time,

especially being away right now.

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I really appreciate you being here.

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I'm sure people have enjoyed

listening to you hearing about your

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experience at school and the great

things you're going on to do next.

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Thank you so much for your time.

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Elena: Thank you so much

for having me here, Simon.

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Thank you.

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It was really nice

having that conversation