Well my husband and I are planning to move to the area around Zurich, but a big problem for us is the education. We have two girls, one in 9th grade and one in 6th. They both are smart and have very high ambitions. Swiss public school does not seem like a good option since they do not know German at all, and we are concerned about them getting into gymnasium so that they can go to university. So the solution would be bilingual or international school, but we could not find any that would fit in our price range.
Are there any bilingual or international schools in the Zurich area that are around 20,000 CHF or less in fees for high school age?
Thank you for any help.

20K both or each?

if they are smart and ambitious, then maybe they would cope well with learning german.

20k each,
and though they probably would learn German well, we are worried, there is always the what if? We understand the education system for high school expats as that they have a year to master German enough to pass a exam which only 10% of people are admitted to Gymnasium, and most of them have been speaking German their whole lives. So we would want them to at least have more time.

have you considered sending the eldest to a state school and then on to university in your home country when she turns 18?

The youngest has enough time to get a good handle on the language (i think)

Your concern about getting into gynamsium and being able to sustain it is warranted. I know people who have had children fluent in german unable to sustain it and mainly this was when the parent was also not fluent in german. If either of you are fluent in german it will help.

if they don't make gynamsium, you have to consider them doing a trade, leaving school (15-16year) or as you have mentioned using an International school where you can at least be assured they will get a full education to their senior years.

In answer to your real question which noone has answered yet . There is an international school at winterthur will cost about 25k a child which is lower then those in zurich city. Most levels do have waiting lists and not easy to get in which is the case with many of the schools.

Even if you spend all that money, there is no guarantee that they will a) want to go to university or b) get in easier than if they did a few years in a local school...

My impression is that if they don't study in German or maybe French, they won't be able to go to university in Switzerland anyway, so you are looking at sending them back to your home country, or another country, to go to university.

What does university cost where you come from ? Do you know how many paths exist for university ? How much tutoring, international travel, living costs, or bridging courses can you pay for later with the money you are going to spend ?

Are you comfortable spending 'extra' years on your kids to bridge them across ? My brother, sister and I all did an extra year at primary school, my brother repeated a year in high school and my sister took a 'gap' year before applying for entry to university based on audition and interview (creative, dance) but is now doing a PhD in developmental psychology and working for one of the top research projects in her area, so we certainly don't have a 'linear' approach to education

I've posted here before, but it's very possible to find intensive language support in the 'low' level secondary, and then transition through the levels - a friend of ours is on track to finish his matura at 19, and he arrived at age 12, and he's a non-German speaker, but another friend of ours is 19-20 and sitting his matura now for the second time - and he's swiss!

You may also have a hurdle with the 9th grader finding intensive language school - the gemeinde only have an obligation to pay for schooling to a particular age - so I'd recommend finding out ASAP what they will do for integration, and tapping into that ASAP (the younger the better) - and then giving it a year before switching out to an english-speaking programme if it's not working. Tap into the enthusiasm to get her working on the local language, and making friends who are also going down this path - and take it like a 'gap' year if you like.

There are more options than 'just' the international schools (some of which are 'outside' the swiss system) - there are other private high schools that offer bilingual, GCSE's, bilingual swiss gymnasium, Montessori based and others...but the cost is going to be similar...

This website lists a few:
http://www.thebilingualway.ch/

The ones I can list of the top of my head (in and around Zurich)

Freies Gymnasium
Hulls School
Swiss international school
Lakeside
Lipschule

Zurich International
Intercommunity
IS Zug Luzern

Another website here:
http://www.circleofschools.ch/en/index.cfm?treeID=9

And here:
http://www.xpatxchange.ch/education/...ingual-schools




There is a legal separation between 'international' schools which do not deliver the swiss curriculum, and the 'bilingual' and 'private' swiss schools that do deliver the swiss curriculum - in Zurich they have just brought in regulations to limit enrolment to the 'international' schools to those that are not permanent in Switzerland, whereas the schools that do deliver swiss curriculum can (and do) enrol locals.

The ISSH in Schaffhausen is also around the 25k mark for High School. www.issh.ch , no waiting list.

I know there is a big pro local school crowd on this forum but really, you do not have to explain or defend yourself for your choice of school.

There are a number of private bi-lingual or other english language medium schools around this area, Geneva - Lausanne, for less than 20,000 chf per year, but it likely won't do you any good if you are in Zurich. Have you checked out all the private schools in the Zurich region, here is the website where you can search by region and curriculum. http://www.swiss-schools.ch/?language=en

I would also agree that keeping them in english language schools would be imporatant at that age. Not sure if boarding school is an option? but know that with the high chf, low euro, some people I know are actively pursuing Irish boarding schools at the moment.

I haven't heard of any international or bilingual schools at 9th grade level and higher for <20k.
The 12 year old may have a realistic chance in the local system (if motivated, disciplined and bright), and it might be worth the try. You could organize very intensive German immersion prior to the move to help. Before the summer (when it is a zoo), Humboldt institute in Lindenberg, for example, provides a very high quality residential program (7-8 hours a day), and we were impressed with the results.
If you only need International school for 1 daughter, the 30+k will be more within your budget than trying to squeeze it for 2.
The ability of teenagers to integrate and make it to the gymnasium (it sounds like a traditional university path is important to the OP) varies widely depending on the individual child and the canton. You should research what will be the options for the 6th grader in the local schools. Integration programs vary in quality, local rigidity varies, permitted use of English during the first months varies, etc.
Only you know how motivated and disciplined your child is, but there certainly are children who come here at 12 and are able to get a Matura. It would be a worthwhile option, as the quality of the state schools (speaking of higher level middle school and gymansium) is much better.

I personally would be wary of putting a 9th grader in the state system, especially if she has ambitions of a career requiring a traditional university path (doctor, lawyer, scientist, etc.) Especially with a teenage girl, I would also worry about potential psychological issues related to the move.

Lots of good advice above.

When and IF local state schools are a good fit, they can be really excellent. I would actually be prepared to try two state schools first, quickly moving to a second, moving apartments to a different area if things clearly don't go well, use private schools as a last resort, and be resigned to paying 30K per child later on if things go badly. If state schools go well socially, academically, but you don't quite get into a Gymnasium what then?

Plan B:
At 16 it is possible to send them on an overseas International Baccalaureate course at an intensive school in the UK, Wales, Scotland. That should get them into Uni, shouldn't it?

Our kids are younger, in state schools and we are satisfied at the moment. I would be interested to know what people think of the feasibility of the Plan B above?

They can also go into uni by doing well in Secondar Schule.

You can also spend the money early and give them a better chance of getting into local Gymnasium. The school costs are a lot less in the first few years too. Putting them into a good school early sets them up for life. They can learn study techniques and other skills that can give them a real advantage in the local school later on.

Does anyone know if a Swiss Matura is accepted for admission for universities in the UK or Australia?

Re: Plan B above
Yu don't have to do anything as drastic as a boarding school if you'd rather have the child live at home. They can start the international school at 16 if needed. ZIS capacity for their high school, for example, is much higher than for the middle school, must be to account for such transfers. Hull's only offers high school grades. You can give up on the local schools anytime and switch to international, that is why it might be worthwhile to try local schools - it is not a very risky choice, unless the child is psychologically fragile as a result of the move.

I don't know if this needs a new thread but I did a quick search to try to answer that question and found this wonderful article about the swiss system.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Sw.....-a0269775429

To give you an idea of how the IB translates to university admissions in Australia there is a link that gives the equivalent UAC (entry cutoff) for 2012.
http://www.uac.edu.au/international/faq/ib.shtml

Of course, those numbers mean absolutely nothing unless you go and look what a current cutoff score is for your desired course...

But there is an alternative path for international students to university in Australia - who don't have an IB or an Australian qualification and that is the 'ATAR' - the components for admission are here:
http://www.uac.edu.au/international/admission/

Hope that helps!

You can also break it down for each university in Australia - they will list the courses they recognise - for example, Sydney university 'recognises' the Swiss Matura:

http://sydney.edu.au/future_students...ications.shtml

And for an example - Oxford university UK:
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/under...ualifications/

Lists the criteria for swiss matura with a 'grade' of at least 5 in each subject...

Just wondering - does Literaturgymnasium Rämibühl offer any "creative"solutions?
Might be easier to stick to an Anglo Saxon schooling mentality than trying to switch to the local system.
Booklover, how long are you planning on staying in Switzerland? Personally, this would be the deciding factor as to what you do with schooling. A 9th grader may well be better of in an English language school environment whereas with a 6th grader, you could take public school into consideration if you're planning on staying any length of time

If you are willing to consider boarding - AND it is suitable for your children - then you could apply to a British boarding school. If your children are as bright as you believe then they may be able to get a scholarship to offset a large amount of the fees.

Don't take this the wrong way but, at that age, a large amount of the ambition of children is a reflection of the ambitions of the parents.

This is exactly what I was thinking. But not having children I wasn't sure. But from what I understand you only need to go to Gymnasium to get into Swiss schools. I doubt the OP's kids are planning to do university in Switzerland anyway.

If they are both in local schools they can speak the language with each other at home.

Thank you all for your help, this is really helping us with our decision!

A few people have mentioned British boarding schools. Can anyone recommend a good reasonably priced boarding school?
My 15 yr. old daughter has been in the Swiss system, but is not doing very well. So I have been looking into private schools (English or bilingual) but the prices are not affordable here. (maybe I should start a new thread?)