120 years of Champittet #2: Our logo, a wonderful mistake

This year marks the 120th anniversary of Collège Champittet. Follow us and discover, each month, the events that have shaped the history of Collège Champittet.

Did you know that the Champittet logo was initially inspired by  the coat of arms of the Dominican order that founded the school? As a tribute to the region of Lake Geneva, where the school is based, the founders turned black into blue and added a red fish. 

During one of the umpteenth visual iterations of the logo, a small mistake was made. In heraldic artworks, the fish species cannot be identified. Hence, the fish in the coat of arms is often a dolphin, which is more recognisable.  This is how we  shifted, without really realising, it from the tribute to the lake fish to the marine mammal, always in red.

What can we learn from this experience? The dolphin has two well-known attributes it helps its fellow  creatures and sometimes saves humans; and it is remarkably intelligent. There is no finer symbol for our school.

A marble dolphin, a gift from a PE teacher in 2020, now graces the gardens, and plush versions make it a favourite mascot for junior pupils.

Read also: The founding of the school and its DNA