The AMADEUS Boarding Experience

State-Of-The-Art Facilities and Leading Boarding Opportunities Programme.

The AMADEUS boarding experience bridges the gap between the academic rigor of the school day and comfort of being at home. In collaboration with AMADEUS classroom teachers, the boarding team provide a balanced enrichment programme that caters for developmental needs of young people. Our focus is to facilitate growth of “Global Citizenship” within our students by providing opportunities to demonstrate positive decision-making, overcoming challenges and building a flourishing boarding community together.

As a boarding community, we are committed to the empowerment of student leadership and student-led initiatives and community projects. We have a robust student leadership and representative programme that enables our students to have a voice within the growth of the community.

International School of the Year – The Happy Boarding Programme :)

Our boarding programme is built on the four pillars of UNESCO’s Happy School’s Framework, plus one additional pillar, which raises the programme up to our vision of ‘distinction in boarding’ and supports our boarders to lead ‘flourishing lives’.

AMADEUS International School Vienna has long embodied the value of Happiness within its guiding statements, though we believe we are the very first international boarding school to operate our boarding programme under the UNESCO Happy School’s Framework.

In a publication released this year by UNESCO, they highlight the particular importance of the value of happiness. In the report, titled “Why the World Needs Happy Schools: Global Report on Happiness in and for Learning” they make the case for “placing happiness at the core of the transformation of education”. This is something we have been doing successfully at AMADEUS since 2012 and happiness is the central concern of our boarding programme.

There are a number of reasons this is the most important element of any international boarding provision. We only need to survey the alarming truths about adolescent mental health and education worldwide to illuminate the double crisis in learning and well-being.

Sadly, based on WHO and UNICEF statistics, it is reported:

- Secondary-aged students experience unprecedented levels of unhappiness and anxiety; rates of which have seen a 25 percent post-pandemic increase;
- One in every seven 10-19-year-olds will experience a mental disorder; accounting for 15% of the global disease burden;
- Every 11 minutes, a young person dies by suicide; which is the fourth leading cause of death in 15–29-year-olds.
- Furthermore, based on UNESCO and World Bank data, it is reported:
- 250 million students are out of school;
- 70% of 10-year-olds in low and middle-income countries cannot read a basic text;
- School learning outcomes have been progressively falling in most parts of the world.

Beyond this, however, there is an even stronger case for placing happiness alongside learning as the educational goal; and this is a simple fact that cannot be separated. We know, beyond doubt, that happy learners learn more, and learners who learn more are happier. Policymakers who attempt to compartmentalize these outcomes and apply unreflective structure and processes to one without consideration of the other, ultimately fail, if not make matters far worse.

A Happy School with Five Pillars

Five pillars are articulated below as our core commitments to our boarding students and their families. We have taken the pillars outlined in the Happy Schools Framework (People, Process, Place, and Principles) and their descriptors and adapted them to our statements of practice. We also added an additional pillar that is unique to our vision of Educational Distinction (Performance). Through this progressive and forward-thinking approach to boarding, we leverage the UNESCO Happy School’s Framework and pioneer their work in Happy Boarding Programmes!

People
- The people who join our boarding team love being with students, have much to offer them and are generous with their time and support.
- Our staff has access to training based on the latest research in positive psychology (Dr. Brian Marien), positive behavioral leadership practices (Dr. Bill Rogers), and other inspirational professional development.
Process
- Our boarding students are each assigned a boarding mentor who is their key point of contact for all things relating to their life in boarding.
- This trusted adult monitors academic, social, and emotional development and also guides our students through our innovative boarding enrichment framework which helps students maximise their boarding experience through choice.
Place
- Our boarding rooms make use of our high ceilings to provide a mezzanine-level private sleeping pod to provide the perfect balance of privacy and social interaction.
- Our boarding facility and wider campus are safe, healthy, accessible, and inspirational. Students have access to all facilities including a fitness centre, art rooms, and music practice rooms.
- Our school facilities are arranged as “halls” which represent all of the important aspects of a student’s life in boarding. Each “hall” plays a special role in the student’s educational and social life at the school and is designed as a community hub for the boarding students. These include the dining hall, study hall, recital hall, and student hall.
Principles
- We treat our students with unconditional positive regard (Carl Rogers), trust, and inclusion.
- We listen to students’ views and we seek their thoughts and input. In particular, the student prefects are empowered to lead and collaborate with boarding staff with the aim of making the boarding house the happiest, most thriving, and collectively successful community possible.
Performance
- We provide high-level personalised support, required to meet our high expectations of every single student.
- We reward our students’ effort, hard work, progress, and development toward mastery.
- We believe in strengthening strengths. We support our students to utilize their unique character strengths to their greatest benefit.

Student Testimonials

Isabela GRISOTTI (G12)

“What I love about boarding is the friendships and that we are represented through so many nationalities.”

Watch Isabela talk about her Boarding experience HERE!

Zirui (Don) HUANG (G10)

“I have a reason to come here because of how I like boarding and also how AMADEUS can provide excellent practice rooms.”

Watch Don talk about his Boarding experience HERE!

Hanieh BOOALI (G10)

“I love that whenever I feel like painting, I can just come to the open arts studio, and the teachers can always help and guide me.”

Watch Hanieh talk about her Boarding experience HERE!

Arno OGANEZOV (G9)

“I asked my boarding parents about judo practice and they said it’s totally alright and helped me to find a judo club.”

Amirmahdi BOOALI (G12)

“AMADEUS is the best place for me because we have our own all-equipped gym and fitness area that is very close to the Boarding house.”

Daria IAKUBCHIK (G7)

“My last boarding trip was to Bratislava and that was a trip that I was enjoying very much with my friends and my favourite boarding parents.”

Watch Daria talk about her Boarding experience HERE!

Manting ZHANG (G8)

“The food in the Dining hall is very nutritious and in every single meal, we are provided with desserts, fruits and meat, and even vegetarian food.”

Watch Manting talk about her Boarding experience HERE!

Georgii KAPATSYNA (G9)

“Movie nights with Mr. Jimmy and my friends, when we’re all watching horror movies together is really nice!”

Watch Georgii talk about his Boarding experience HERE!

Luka PRELEVIĆ (G11)

“I applied to be the Student Head of Boarding House because I think my input will be valued and my leadership skills put to good use.”

XiRan WANG (G11)

“I really enjoy being part of the Boarding House.”

Lukas PADILLA GONZALEZ (G7)

“After school, I like to go to the Basketball court, and it’s really nice – it’s just next to my house!”

AMADEUS Boarding Activities and Experiences

“We want our students to remember that they lived in Vienna, Austria, not just attended an international school”

The Boarding Opportunities Programme is delivered primarily over the weekends and offers students a selection of culture, arts, sports, adventure and life-experiences. The Opportunities Programme takes a seasonal approach with a selection of Activities and Experiences that take full advantage of the time of the year.

Seasonal Highlights:

Term 1 – Autumn

Schneeberg Mountain Hut Adventure
Painting amongst the Vineyards
Spanish Riding School Exclusive Tour

Term 2 -Winter

AMADEUS SKi race Team
A Night at the Ballet
Prague Overnight Trip

Term 3 – Spring/Summer

Danube Paddleboarding & Sailing Course
Vienna Open Air Concert

Examples for spontaneous and student-driven activities:

In-house recreation activities: reading, board and card games, table tennis, table soccer, darts, arts and crafts, music sessions
Home entertainment: TV-shows, movies, play-station
On campus sports: running, yoga, slack-line, bicycling, fitness and weights workouts

We welcome the opportunity for prospective students and their families to visit AMADEUS Vienna and learn more about our unique programme and inspiring school environment. Contact our Admissions team to ask your questions or schedule a tour.

Contact Admissions