Does anyone know of any public schools in Switzerland that offer at least some of the core classes in English. We have come from Canada, and although we are trying to learn German as fast as we can, my 16 year old daughter will be shut out of University if she can't take at least some of the core classes in English.

I heard that a few of the Swiss Gymnasiums teach some of the core classes in English, to help prepare their kids for University. Has anyone here managed to get their kids into one of these schools?

I really like Switzerland, however we can't afford international school and we can't afford to let our daughter's future slip away either. Any suggestions?

I am sorry if this has been covered before, and if so, a link to the thread will be much appreciated!

Hi there,

Sorry for your dilemna. Have been here 13 years (western Switzerland) and have never heard of it. I think all the core courses are in F, G, or I. Obviously they would teach English as a second/third language, but I don't think that is what you are looking for.

Perhaps look at private Swiss school, not international, if there are some in your area (there is a a website of swiss private schools, google it). Less expensive than international, and can give you some options. My daughter is in private swiss bilingual French/German school, and as she gets olders some of the core subjects are taught in one or the other language. Believe there are others doing the same with English/Italien, etc..

I'm not sure where you are but here in Zuri, (and I know of schools in Aarau and St G's too) there are schools that are half in English ( "Bi-Ling," or "Immersion") Kantonsschule Ramibuehl, and Kantonsschule Enge in Zuri are two that pop to mind. More than half of the classes are in English, but learning German needs to be a priority, so make sure your children speak GERMAN with their mates, and watch German tv,and basically avoid English like the plague.

In terms of getting into them, it depends on the exams, and where you live ie zoning. Whereabouts are you?

These are public gymnasiums, I have little experience with secondaire schools, but if you give me details, I would be happy to ask further for you for sec (my host siblings are at a number of different schools, I get a good snapshot). I am at KFR, which is next door to Enge, as exchange student, so I've had a little experience with being an English speaker in an all German school. Let me know if I can help.

I, too, have heard that some of the Zurich Gymnasiums are teaching a few courses in English. But this is no help for your daughter. She must study and successfully complete the German language/literature exams. Some physics lessons in English are only light relief.

Indeed, it is doubtful that she would even be admitted to the Gymi without German fluency. She must first get intensive German coaching and prove equivalence to her future Gymi classmates.

For those who wonder what KFR might be:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantonsschule_Freudenberg

Yes, she has to pass the entry exam, which is in German. And then her marks in English are looked at.

This is called a Zweisprachig Matura and is modelled after a Canadian French/English exam system. Certain subjects are studied in English, depending on the school, often biology, chemistry, economics.

Here in Kanton Aargau, you have to do very well in your exams at age 16 to gain entrance to the Kantonschules that offer this bilingual Matura. In other words you must pass all your exams in German first in order to get into these schools. Only some subjects will be taught in English.

So I'm sorry to say that your daughter must be fluent in German to get into these schools. Sorry I can't be more positive. It's tough being 16.

Thanks for all the replies!

I am in Bern, and I have found one such school here (Gymnasium Köniz-Lerbermatt). So far the principal won't even meet with me. He spoke with my daughter's current teacher, and then told me to either enroll her in international school, or get her to write the entrance exams. I am sure they will be in German, but I am trying to find out if there is any possibility she could take at least some of them in English. I am not holding my breath.

You would think for the benefit of the Swiss students it would be nice to have some English native speakers in the bilingual Matura. They could help my daughter learn German, and she could help them learn English.

I am starting to lose hope that we can stay here.

secondaire may take those without German as mothertongue, and then Matura can still be made, albeit a little slower. And in the end, your daughter will speak two languages.

In Kanton Aargau there are some very helpful individuals in the education department. They have given me some very concrete information for families moving here, specifically those with older children which is always a bit more challenging. Until recently Kanton Aargau did not have an international school so local schools were the only option. Solutions had to be found for everyone.

I would think that in the Kanton of Berne you could find someone in the department of education who could give you some good advice.

How long have you been here? What provisions were made for your daughter to learn German in the first place? (i.e. intensive course).

We have been here two years. When we arrived we went to the Bern education department and they put her in a school here called Brunnmatt, which basically seemed like a holding area for foreigners. It was awful. It had a bunch of kids of different grades in the same class, and did not provide much academically; no intensive German either. After a year, we managed to get her out of there and into the local public school. In hindsight I really wish we had put her in the public school in the first place, as her German has improved a lot this last year. The first year was basically wasted.

I would write an official letter to the director of the school if he does not want to meet you. Write it in English and have it also translated in German, send both to him by registered mail and send a copy to the department of education in your canton.

Ask the director what options he offers for your eager learning daughter, I would also talk a little on her academic successes (you could also add her school report, extracuricular achievements, etc), explain how hard she tries and how his bi-lingual school surely must benefit from having an English sp kid there. Explain that you know there are international schools around but since your aim is to integrate your family into the Swiss society efficiently and successfully, your daughter should not be excluded, especially when she plans to go to university. Ask the director for concrete steps he suggests that should be done, what the official school policy is in terms of integrating foreign children into the school he directs and what the cantonal strategy he is asked to follow.

This is what I would do, I would also try to contact some organization for integration of foreigners and see what the normal procedure is here. I only know that the trouble here often is each canton has a different way to approach this, since each canton has different conditions to deal with.

Do not expect somebody willingly pushing your kiddo through this (the individual approach is more frequent in international schools imho), but stay proactive.

Good luck.

Well I have to say where your daughter was placed is very different to what would have been in the Baden region where intensive German would be the norm with a view to placing the student at the appropriate high school level in time.

I understand international school is not an option, but even international school would not guarantee your daughter will be admitted to university here. Looking at the entrance requirements for university (there are programmes offered in English) most require a minimum IB score of 32. If you intend to send her to university outside of Switzerland, for example in Canada, each school once again has different requirements but likely international school would be the best option for this.

You might want to look at a Fachhochschule for your daughter. There are schools offering programs in English and the entrance requirements vary greatly. Perhaps something like this is an option for your daughter while she stays in the public school system but perhaps at a more appropriate level for her. You might want to add a private tutor for German.
For example, this is the link to the Fachhochshcule Nordwestschweiz.
http://www.en.fhnw.ch/business/im/admission

A lot of kids here take different paths before continuing their education here. That is one of the advantages of the system here. There are also many career options for kids who have an interest in something specific. Getting a "dipl" in something your daughter is very keen on doing is also worth looking into. The trouble is at 16 a lot of kids have no idea what they want to do and additionally, if there is something they are interested in, they might not speak up because they anticipate a negative reaction from the parent.

Often when I take one of our dogs to the veterinarian there is a young person visiting and the vet tells me they are interested in working with animals and they want to see what it is like. One day the gardener had a young person with him who was observing.

I hope you find a solution for your daughter. It is difficult to move around the world with older children - I've done it more than once - you can make it work but you have to look for creative solutions and think outside the box.

Thank you for the encouragement.

Yes, we can get a bit pushy if we have to. This is how we managed to get her into Gymnasium stream public school last year. (Believe it or not there are pre-gymnasium vs pre-real streams in primary school here in Bern.) It was a bit of a fight to get her in, and we feel sorry for the poor kids left behind in Brunnmatt.

We are going to meet with the principal of my daughter's current school and see if he can get us an interview with the other principal. He is a nice guy, but I don't know how much influence he'll have. If that fails, we'll try the official letter writing route. The trouble is, that is a bit hostile, and they are well within their rights to stick to the "rules".

I completely understand, more so when you think about your child studying there, you gota grease the wheels rather than threaten, I know. But, it does not have to be hostile at all, you can put there also a couple of phrases how much you have heard about the impeccable school reputation and overall academic excellence it drills out of their students that you just simply cannot refuse addressing them with your child's studies in mind. I would also simply state all the steps you did already in facilitating your child's integration, so he does not think you do not do anything and just want too much. I agree with you, I would try anything there is before the polite written request, but if public official does not even want to meet with me, I would either ask him in registered written letter who does he suggest then I meet from his school to deal with or get the letter as I stated.

Thank you for your post.

In Canada, a lot of Universities now have an "open" admission policy. They let anyone in, regardless of marks. Once your in, you have to put out. If you can't maintain a decent average, you get kicked out. Of course you have to pay tuition, but if you maintain a first class average, you get automatic "general proficiency" scholarships. When I was in school this would cover 90% of your tuition. Unfortunately, the scholarships have not kept up with the tuition hikes.

Don't take offense at this, but I find it funny that you would defend the Swiss school system and say this in the same paragraph. The whole system seems designed to force kids to decide even earlier then 16. It looks to me like they have added the possibility to change paths because a lot of people initially choose the incorrect way the first time around (cause they are too young of course!).

Isn't there a fine for that in Switzerland? (thinking outside the box)

Actually, today my daughter came up with an interesting "plan B" all on her own. If she can't get into gymnasium, she'll says enroll in the fine arts Fachschule here, and then take her high school diploma at the same time through an online correspondence school from Canada. I can post a link if anyone is interested, and you don't have to be Canadian. If we go this route, we'll be sure to let you know if the school is any good.

OP has been in Bern for 2 years and has observed the BE and CH school system closely. Selection into the University stream, i.e. Gymi admission is coveted and very competitive.

Selection begins at a very young age. This is far from ideal. But that's the way it is. Difficult to wriggle through. Academically talented students can write the entrance exams, prove their merit and get Gymi admission.

I doubt that writing persuasive letters or insisting on meeting a "public official" is helpful.

I don't think it is really about writing persuasive enough of a letter nor wriggling through, it's more about being able to actually speak to somebody in person from the school about the requirements, it must be frustrating. I would have wanted to know if there are some prep classes, if they have specific private tutors the school is working with (there is a organisation offering tutoring for schools organised by our Commune for example), etc.

Mrs. Doolittle ist right. You should contact the canton. Get in touch with the Mittelschul- und Berufsbildungsamt, Tel. 031 633 87 00 or mba@erz.be.ch.

A gymnasium is not like a High School. Students are selected through grades and entrance exam. It's the same for every body. An other kind of school where she could focus on language the first year and on the academic the second one would make in possible to enter gymnasium afterwards. It's a lot of time but I do emphasize that Gymnasium is not a high school like you know it from english speaking countries. From a Swiss perspective, there is truely no point for the Gymi director to meet with you in this situation.

The price is time. The reward is German. I remember an American girl who did the same when I was in middle school in the 80ies. She did fine.