Should we choose a private school or the state education system?

In the last twenty years there has been a sea change in choices parents make for their children’s education in Canton Zürich. There has been a veritable ‘going local’ movement in parallel with the book of that name. It is now clear that families choosing the Swiss system are encountering all the problems that were the reason for being careful about this decision. The Swiss curriculum is delivered both in private and public schools, so parents are choosing not just between systems but also between fee-paying and free local schools. The needs of children whose family might not stay in one education system for long led to the original foundation of international schools. These schools – with secondary phases only outside the city of Zurich – cater for families with a global lifestyle and teach in English or French up to school leaving age. They are also popular with families wanting more University choices for their children later but even international companies rarely pay private school fees any more. Choice in the Swiss system is limited to public or private as your child needs to attend your local school and ideally walk to school on their own, a much prized Swiss value. Therefore, choice is really an illusion in both systems, internationals have to be earning enough, or sacrifice the size of their accommodation, and locals only have a choice above a certain income too. Parents in Zurich also have to justify choosing an international school as opposed to a private Swiss school.  They may only choose a global education for more than 5 years for their children if they have an international job, since the enforcement of the Appli regulatory framework in 2014 in Canton Zurich. The politicisation of upper elementary and secondary education here means the authorities are saying, you cannot settle here or aim at getting a Swiss passport unless you give your children a Swiss education. Of course education and culture have always gone hand in hand, but the sheer mix of different cultures in all schools in Zürich makes this distinction nonsensical. However, the attraction of learning not just one type of German but two (!) together with the financial incentive of state education being free, lead parents to opt for the local system in larger and larger numbers.

The good reputation of Swiss High schools and Universities is justified. The problem is, how to prepare your elementary school age child without too much pressure to thrive in this competitive academic system, as the majority of children in the ordinary Swiss state system will embark on a vocational education at secondary stage and most educated migrants expect their children to have a good chance of a university education. Private Swiss bilingual primary schools impress multilingual families with their offer of languages but cannot guarantee good enough German for the Gymnasium entry exam at age 11. The lack of data on the quality of teaching and learning here makes it difficult to judge how many children are being prevented from going to university by lack of success in the Swiss system. What is more, many multilingual families put their young children into their local kindergarten without realising the opportunities they are missing at this age to establish certain foundation skills and early language fluency that will not be possible in the state education system.

Innovators on the Zürich educational scene are now drawing on experience to create more effective bilingual frameworks that will allow children to reach high standards in written (Standard) German without losing their English. At Children First we teach German in small groups to a tutoring model, as well as by pure immersion. Several other schools focusing on the future of bilingual education are imposing standards to achieve certain goals, such as by the employment of native well qualified teachers.

It’s never too early to learn

The younger your child is, the more you can keep your options open. Childcare choices up to the age of 4 are private in Switzerland. There are no subsidies for daycare once your income is above a certain level. So instead of just babycare, choose a nanny or creche where native speakers of English or High German or Swiss German will give your child a love of the language. From the age of 2, you will start to see the potential of your child and can ensure they attend a good preschool, not just a bilingual childcare setting. This is difficult given the system regulating the childcare industry relies on apprentices who are school-age Swiss students. If you live in Zürich you can choose Children First! 

Your child’s first school

At Children First we teach English reading and writing through playful exercises from kindergarten age on, like in a Montessori school. This helps parents to get reading established for pleasure at home. Otherwise whenever children change schools or change languages there’ll be gaps in their learning of the basics.

There are also schools with qualified English-speaking teachers, but ask about the concept of the whole school not just individual teachers. Only some curricular frameworks include the specialist teaching of reading, writing, maths and German as a foreign language. International private kindergartens with an age-appropriate curriculum have a clear advantage up to the age of 6, it is after this age when the choice for parents becomes more difficult.

Bilingual primary schools, international schools and all Swiss curriculum private schools are fee paying. Many parents do not know that in the local system you have to pay too. If your income is above a certain threshold there is less financial saving by going local. For example, lunchtime care (Mittagstisch) and after-school care (Hort) are income dependent. 

Parents also think children will make friends and belong here by using the local Swiss childcare and school systems. However real integration into Swiss society is a much longer process, and involves the whole family not just the children. Given the international mix in most multilingual families in Zürich, I always advise parents to make education in the right languages their first priority, as integration will come not from the curriculum alone (whatever language the class it in) but from learning Swiss German in the playground and outside school. Focus on social integration in Switzerland through your child’s hobbies and interests rather than expecting it all to come from their school education. 

Develop your criteria

Proponents of using the local system voice their concerns about living in an expat bubble. Luckily Zurich is such an international city, we do not have to worry about the great separation between international and Swiss schools that is the norm outside the main cities. 

Many Swiss families use the international system and international children attend Swiss school. When choosing a bilingual education I recommend 20 hours per week in a language for learning by immersion. Over the age of 11 children start to learn grammar more systematically, until then they absorb it from learning inefficiently but immersively. In order to keep their options open, if they are students who enjoy learning they can keep up both English and German through reading, films and socialising. Be aware though that form the age of 8 they will start preparing for secondary stage and you need to be clear which language to prioritise,

There are two ways to go local – private Swiss schools can be monolingual or bilingual at primary level, or state schools with the same curriculum in German. Both Swiss German and High German are spoken in both types of Swiss schools. There are more intensive language choices for families in the private system. Learning English, French or Italian as well as High German is possible to a native level in bilingual private schools. The difference really is that parents can choose that their children will learn written (High / Standard) German to a certain standard in the private schools because the teachers are more accountable. Otherwise there is a high risk of inadvertent confusion between Swiss German and High German in local schools because Swiss adults even if they intend to speak High German might automatically slip into Swiss German and don’t realise that they’re doing it. Go to a “Besuchstag” which are visiting days when you can observe lessons and listen to the language of the teachers. How are they using their language, and how do they handle children speaking other languages in that school or in that class? In some local state schools, they separate the children into a group of DAZ (German as a foreign language) learners.

And if your child’s in that situation, then a lot depends on the quality of German teaching in that small group and the other children in the group, because their level of language and level of education will determine how your child learns German. Look for experienced teachers who can teach in High German and who will be more aware of the differences and the difficulties for children who speak other languages. First, primarily, you need to be speaking High German when you’re learning and reading in High German so that the language, the sound of the language, and the written language are the same. This makes a big difference to children for whom German is a third or fourth language, which is the case for many children in Zürich.

At Children First, we recommend multilingual children learn English first, so that their ears are tuned into a language they can learn to read in before their Swiss schooling starts.  English is useful for life and for work options, and is easier to learn in terms of the spoken language and grammar system being the same as the written language. The system of teaching English reading is geared for young children, whereas German reading is taught later and faster. So we recommend that kids establish English in Kindergarten. Anyway once they move on to either part time or full time German there will never be as much time devoted to English again, in the Swiss system. Laying a path to university is a priority to all our parents, which is much harder in German than in English. Universities in the Swiss system are exclusive, reserved for a top academic elite, not the norm as in much of Europe and the US. Therefore parents who aren’t so sure that they’re going to stay will usually opt for Children First, keeping their options open at a bilingual primary school where the English will be of a high standard as well. And that standard will be transparent as you can meet teachers before your child enrolls in a private school. So I would say the private system keeps options open, whereas the free local system commits to Swiss lifestyle choices including vocational education, which may be perfectly good and lead to a good job, but may not lead to Swiss or international universities.

At what age do you have to make a decision?

Children in Zürich schools often change classes and teachers after the first three years of primary education when your child is 8 or 9. The Mittelstufe starts with Klasse 4. In the Swiss system this presents another change point because children won’t necessarily stay with their friends.

There are established education centres and preparation courses for Swiss Gymnasia (High Schools) in the German-speaking cantons such as fit4school so if you do choose a free school, paying for private tutoring enables some support for the students whose home language is not German or whose parents did not attend school in CH. This can bridge the culture gap as well as helping during key transitional years in the Swiss system.

Another thing that parents don’t realise is that Swiss families don’t regard schools as communities, they use schools just for learning. So the friendships that you think will remain stable and will be part of integrating in Switzerland in a local school will actually change. And they will change quite regularly because the children are moving around. And if families want to move house, then they will do that usually in the course of the first six years of primary education, and then they will be settled. Moving after age eleven is not a good idea because children become more resistant to moving as they want to keep their friends beyond that age. It’s important not to move children around too much. Change points are better in the early and primary years.

It’s good for international parents to understand that there are several points where kids can move, they are not locked in permanently. But the minute that you move into a Swiss school, you aren’t keeping your child’s university options open. Even if you have chosen a private Swiss bilingual school, that can be the case, because Swiss bilingual schools are all operating to the Canton Zurich curriculum. Parents want their child to fit in when they choose a Swiss school, not realising that it automatically limits educational choices later on. Once you are fully into any educational system, they’ll find it more difficult to make the transition into any other system or a very different type of school or another country. If you move abroad there may be a Swiss school in the new country, but it will still be a challenge to get a degree from a Swiss University, and by then your child may prefer another kind of university. So be aware that from the minute you’re doing Swiss tests and Swiss exams, it’s all geared up for Swiss apprenticeships and further education, not necessarily university education. Before you commit to a Swiss education, be sure you like it so much here that you want to stay regardless of what sort of job or uni your children get!

Regarding when you can afford to go into the free system, it depends how much your child enjoys the primary school they have attended and if they thrive there. There are selective German-French and German-Italian high schools in Zurich as well as German-English free high schools at secondary level from the age of 12.

International Schools 

There are a couple of ways you can go to international universities or have options for international universities. Some international universities recognise the Swiss Matura. And some Zurich Gymnasia schools offer the International Baccalaureate at school-leaving age, albeit not on an equal basis or with the coaching that could ensure a University offer abroad. If it’s an American university, then it really is important to go to an international school that does the IB because there won’t be any other preparation for an American university if you live in or around Zurich.

And then, of course, there’s the whole interesting choice of other types of international schools in Zurich, like the French school, where, although there is a bilingual stream, the school-leaving exams are French. There are French schools and French universities all over the world. So that’s another way that children can learn in a language which is a European language, and also a Swiss language. But it’s not the local Zürich dialect. I think parents might choose state schools for integration thinking that local friends will bring happiness from a sense of belonging. But that belonging might be a lot easier to cultivate in similarly multilingual families where your international identity is shared rather than different. The sense of community around international schools, whether English or French speaking, is also very strong.

Attending international schools does not rule out making Swiss friends, as they also attract many Swiss families who appreciate multilingualism. Moving to Switzerland doesn’t mean having to learn Swiss German and German, and that’s your only route to happiness. There are so many interesting Swiss who are educated and who do choose other international routes.

So almost any of these other international options could lead to another choice of university. There are also different courses available in other languages for example some Swiss French Bachelor degrees are only offered in the French speaking part of Switzerland. However I am based in Zürich, where I can see the majority of high school leavers choose a German-speaking university.

by Monica Shah

January 2025