I am in desperate need of assistance. My teenager is very unhappy at Riverside and feels ZIS is too "upper crusty" for him. Are there any other options in or near Zug? His German is pretty rudimentary so I'm afraid a Swiss public school isn't realistic for him.

Have you looked into Montana?

Thanks for the suggestion! We haven't taken a serious look at Montana yet as I had heard that it has a number of illustrious alumni so I assumed it would be even more "upper crusty" than Riverside or ZIS, and therefore not a good fit for my son. (He's quite bright but very passive/aggressive when it comes to schools.) Do you know anything about the general atmosphere at Montana?

No personal experience (mine kiddo is almost 2 ), but from the kids I know that go to ISOZ, most go either to Riverside or Montana. You'll find that both are upper crust type of schools, both have lake views. Main difference is most students at Montana tend live on campus.

Ah, there are days that I wish my 16 year old live on campus somewhere. How I miss the days when he was 2. Not sure that Montana will be a good fit, but have scheduled a meeting on Friday. Still hoping for other alternatives, but it's not looking too promising.

Thanks for the info!

Has your son actually visited ZIS? I'm surprised he felt is was too "upper crusty" as the majority of kids are quite down to earth.

He visited ZIS in August 2006. He was very put off by the school. In all fairness to ZIS, though, this was before we moved to Switzerland. My son was used to a suburban Minnesota high school. I suspect that after living here for more than one year his expectations have changed. It's probably worth a second look.

I've heard Riverside & ISOZ are merging.

This is true.

They are, indeed. In fact, it was after the merger was announced that my son became very unhappy, claiming the atmosphere at the school at changed. Of course, that could just be a 16 year old finding an excuse for his bad behavior. On the other hand, I have also experienced a change in attitude by the administration. Again, that could be the result of...

yeah they are! I go to ISOZ and we are merging.Its all a bit confusing at the mo coz there isn't much info.