Hi all
My family and I are shifting to Switzerland in March 2012, the house that we have selected so far is in gabenstof but before we finalise it I wanted to know if the schools in that area are good especially with teaching kids from abroad.My kids are in a private british schools in abudhabi. I have 2 girls one is 7 and the other is 3.
I am more concerned about my elder girl who is 7 turning 8 in august. They have no knowledge of german but she will be taking german language lessons from today to get a bit familiar.

As i have read on a lot of posts that some area schools are better at teaching expats than others. My husband will be working for ABB Baden, but we could not find a suitable place for ourselves there, but we liked something in Gabenstof.

Since we haven't finalized anything if you all can suggest any other area near Baden according to schools i would be greatful then i can base my searches according to areas identified.and if baden is good with the schools ill try and then insist on finding something there only for the sake of the school if we have to.

We live in Aargau, about a 20 minute drive from Baden (also 20 minutes by train). Our kids attend primary and the equivalent of junior high. PM me if you want more details.

I guess you wanted to say Aarau not Aargau.

No, my original post was correct. Why?

Language should not be an issue for a seven year old. My kids were 4,6 and 10. All are now fluent and have/are doing well in the Swiss system. If you are not planning to stay for the long haul, then sending your kids to one of the international schools would be best.

You said that you live in Aargau. Aargau is the Kanton. Aarau is a city in Kanton Aargau. Baden is in Kanton Aargau also. So maybe for the OP is confusing when you say that you live in Aargau, 20mins from Baden, when both cities are in Kanton Aargau.
And your Location is Zurich.

Am I wrong?

Princess, the OP referred to "Aargau canton" in the title, so she knows already that it is a Kanton. So when I say "we live in Aargau", she will know that I mean Canton Aargau. And no, I don't live in Aarau.

What I was originally asking was that since we have the option to shift anywhere in the canton Aargau then I should choose where the primary school has abetted repute and they have dealt with more expatriate children. So if someone can help with that it would be great.
As mentioned earlier we have found something we like as a house in gabenstof but then what are the schools like there. Or is wettengin or Baden a better option for my girls?

Hi there, we just moved to the same canton and have done a bit of looking around. Nussbaumen, Wettingen and Baden would be my first choice. Since your children are quite young, i do not think language would be an issue at all. If you are a working mother, check for schools that have child care attached to them. some of the schools do have and some do not. Like for example, the ones in Baden have and in Nussbaumen they dont. Nussbaumen is very close to ABB too (though i dont find distances here too much of a problem because of the excellent public transport system). My child is not in school yet so i cannot comment on it however whatever i have seen of the school system here you will find it more relaxing than the UAE ones (i have lived and worked there and know how it is).
All the best for your move and welcome to Switzerland

The OP knows that Baden is in Kanton Aargau because soon she will move here so of course she knows where she will be living.
But you said Aargau (as a city, because you said you live in Aargau, 20mins away from Baden. Usually you say the distance between cities and not the distance between a Kanton and a city as one doesn't know of which city in that Kanton you are talking about. Aargau is the Kanton.

Sorry OP for the off topic, I am off this thread now. I hope you find the right school!

OK, Princess, you wanna continue this discussion, then let's do it at the Subway Sandwich in Wohlen. I live just down the road. Meatball sandwich is my favorite.

Back to the OP question: I don't know anyone with kids in Gebenstorf, but if I understand correctly they a) do not send the kids to Baden for middle school (not sure if it matters, with the oldest child being 7) and b) do not have the integration school model like some other villages in the area. It is an easy commute to Baden by bus or bike.

What does that mean what is integration school? And why would my daughter need to go to Baden for secondary school? As the house we might go of has a school 300 meters within the distance

Ya I just got what u mean. So which are the schools in the canon that offer that integration model which would help my daughter settle in better and move to the main stream school. I just checked out some sites. Do u think nussbamen, wettingin / or Baden would be more appropriate there. Any other small villages like gabenstof offer these because getting a house ( not an apartment) in the above mentioned are very difficult and rare due to a lot if influx of people recently.

If I am not mistaken, I don't think you have a choice of which public school your child attends: you pay tax in the village (Gemeinde) where you reside, meaning your children are obliged to attend the local public school. Schools in other Gemeinde won't accept them. Private schools are a different story, but they are extremely expensive.

You are right Karl but you can certainly chose an area where is the repute of the school is good and is better at handling expat kids than other maybe because of the number of expatriate children they get is higher than the rest of the Kanton. So I thought maybe if I get info about which area in the Kanton would be better interns of helping my daughter settling in than I start looking for houses Ian specific area so that my child attends that school. As to what I know so far is that children will walk to school meaning they will put ,y child in a school which is near the house right?
Correct me if I am wrong please

At least you make it clear if you are putting your child in a local or international school. I live near Baden and my just-turned-7 yr old goes to the regular primary school. I can imagine that the system would be the same for the whole Aargau and we are very happy with her progress here. We arrived February last year and took her to K2 where she was the only one who could read and write already. She had atleast one english speaking friend and german lessons provided (free) by the same school one afternoon per week.. Last August they accepted her in the regular first grade...she learned the language very fast (less than 6 months)...otherwise they would put her in a different class where they need 2 years to finish first grade level. Im not sure what the reasons are for putting some kids on the other class but language might be a big factor. On her first day in first grade i saw other expats (some seem much older maybe 8yr old) who said they also just moved here and those kids didnt speak german but they have a german subject twice a week. They dont give grades yet on the frist grade, only a report when theres a scheduled parent-teacher meeting.

I can't advice you specifically on any villages in the canton of Aargau but generally speaking I doubt that small towns offer integration classes because it's expensive and they might not have enough "foreign" children that would use them. Therefore the suggestions given (the bigger towns) are your better bet. But if you liked the town / house you saw why don't you call the Gemeinde and aks them? Or let ABB do it for you if you don't find anyone that speaks English at the Gemeinde (which I doubt).

Secondary school won't start until the age of 13 so the other poster said that might not be important for you yet but it could be that not all small towns have a secondary school (and especially BEZ which would be the grammar school) so the children have to go to a bigger town (by bus, train or bicycle depending how far they have to go) but again I don't think you should worry too much about that now unless you plan on staying in Switzerland for a long period of time.

Have you read this document (just click on englisch!) from Kanton Aargau? -

http://www.ag.ch/ike/de/pub/eltern_a...chulsystem.php


I think there is a happy medium with regard non-German speakers in class. You want the teachers to have experience with non-native speakers BUT you want your child to pick up correct German and you don't want teaching hindered by too many children not understanding.

Nussbaumen is very convenient and with lots of facilities, but some might argue that there are too many non-native speakers in class? I would be happy to live there and send my boy to school there, but I have heard this said by other parents.

I don't know Gebensdorf, but I am sure they would have had experience with non-native speakers there. Basically, most towns and villages within a 8km radius of Baden will have foreigners.

Just one more thing to consider.

Thanks guys all and very information is appreciated at this time. I am scared for the sake of my kids and healthy opinions like this one will help us decide better thanks keep the information coming