My son is currently in his first year at Kurzgymnasium, and he is dissatisfied with the teaching methods employed at the kantonschule. Here are the issues he has pointed out:

* Test-oriented and endless tests, right before or immediately after the two-week school holidays, which means the holidays are primarily dedicated to test preparation.
* He is required to study subjects in which he has no interest, such as Greek mythology and Roman history.
* He thinks he knows what he wants to focus on: math, science, and informatics.

During our discussion, we acknowledged that schools can offer more than just knowledge, including opportunities for social interaction, participation in clubs, and access to sports facilities. However, my son expressed that this is not the case at his current school. The availability of clubs is limited, and the pressure from tests restricts his ability to explore hobbies, interests, and socialize. Furthermore, as he has grown up in Switzerland, he already has a network of friends within local communities and other schools.

Consequently, we have been exploring alternative options and discovered that A-level/GCSE appears to be a more flexible choice to replace the Swiss Matriculation Certificate. We found information on Swissuniversities' website that supports this idea:
https://www.swissuniversities.ch/the...rnational-gcse

* Anyone can take the A-level/GCSE tests without any qualifications or prerequisites.
* Students have greater flexibility in choosing their subjects. Swiss universities only require a minimum of "BBC" in A-level and three GCSE subjects with scores of 5+.

My son believes that since he already speaks three languages fluently, along with his proficiency in math and science, he could allocate one of the three GCSE subjects for "Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften" and focus solely on his interests in the three A-level subjects.

Based on the information we googled, it seems that A-level is a viable alternative to the Swiss Matriculation Certificate, as it is recognized in most European countries.

However, the website of the University of Zurich (uzh) mentions certain requirements without explicitly referring to the use of A-level/GCSE. It provides general guidelines that align with the descriptions on the swissuniversities website mentioned earlier.

Has anyone had experience with homeschooling after compulsory education and using A-level/GCSE to apply to Swiss universities? Are there any potential challenges or factors that we should also consider?

Thank you!

I've been told that some Swiss universities ask for a language at A level so you need to be aware of that.

Also, to teach a child to pass an A level at grade B or higher you have to be pretty confident in their abilities. There are schools around Zurich which teach IGCSE and IAL, which would probably boost your child's chances of passing with a decent grade. Costs a bit, though.

Thanks for the advice, we are aware of the language requirement and we read the past papers of different subjects together. So far we found them to be managable. However, since we as parents were educated overseas, we are unsure if there are any potential complications or issues associated with this plan.

Spoiler alert: same in university and in working life. You have to work hard and do things that you don't like in life. There is no way around it.

Take it a a project manager. One option is to follow the gymnasium path. Other option is to do homeschooling and then the test to be admitted to university. So, a project manager would ask: (i) How to keep track of progress?, (ii) Which option has less risks?, (iii) What is exactly accomplished by taking higher risks ?

Back to the human part, I guess "dissatisfied" is quite an understatement because 100% of adolescents is dissatisfied with the system. Also, schools and social interaction in schools teach a bit about the future life where you have to fight for having a good life. Under home schooling, the future options are becoming the boss or be lucky in finding a benevolent manager. Otherwise, the culture shock of finding out that people only look after their personal interests will be quite interesting. No one cares about math, science or informatics by themselves, they're only tools to get things done.

PS. I was 15 YO too and my search of identity ended in being a drunk hippie that went to university to learn things about the Earth. So, determine if the homeschooling plan is not only "search of identity". In that case, well...the kid needs to find a hobby and just follow the gymnasium path.

OP which gymi path is your child in and how are the grades?

First year is pretty tough as stills year when the kids are being tested. I would caution you to changed based on a few months as the return path is likely not possible.

Studying things you don't like rounds you off and prepares you for situation in life where you will need to do that.... If it were me I would not risk it at this point and with 3 yrs left.

I am posting from London but was educated in Switzerland. However, in Basel were Gymi is not as intense as Zurich. Far from it. I am not sure what it is like these days.

There are more and more people homeschooling in the UK (if local state schools are not good and private schools have become unaffordable) and some are signing up to online schools which teach the GCSEs and A Levels. There are schools such as Kings Interhigh (just an example). Other people use a combo of tutors and homeschooling. It is a fast growing industry.

If you go down this path, I strongly recommend speaking to University Admissions in Switzerland first for the exact courses he wants to aim for. Like ETH might be out because they have very particular criteria.

Why do I keep hearing Helicopters?

Yes and I would add that even this is not a guarantee as things change, people change etc. A situation like this in a Swiss Uni admission office can easily be seen as "wanted the easy way out". In my experience there is a lot of scrutiny for students who live in CH but don't obtain the standard CH qualification. Even more if you have the Swiss nationality.

Absolutely.
2012 our daughter was in a similar situation. I was teaching chemistry at a Kurzzeitgymi at the time. My wife had a part-time job. We did not consider home-schooling. I wanted her to tough it out. My wife and daughter were in favour of international school. I lost the argument, but ISZL turned her around and for the first time she started appreciating her teachers.
She then wanted to study science. The ETH placed hurdles in her way even though her IB results were excellent. She ended up studying abroad.
The Matura gets better in the last two years with the Schwerpunktfach. It is a broader education, but that has many positives. IB is also much broader than a narrow selection of A-Levels.
Also studying in german at school will make life much easier when studying later on.

Our daughter took a Bilingual Matura, which was like a Matura only you spend the middle year in the UK. [You can in fact do so in German, Italian or English].

The Matura in Vaud takes just three years; I am told it takes 4 in Geneva and Valais, don't know about the Italian/German regions.

She didn't want to study a dozen subjects for two more years and this looked like a good route, at least that was one of her reasons.

In the UK she followed A levels [first year] taking English, Math and Italian, ok not you're son's forte, but nothing to stop him take English, Math and Computer Science for example.

On completing the 2nd year she could have stayed and completed her A levels, a route she didn't take because she was too homesick.

However the story doesn't end there; since she could not return the her old gym on coming back, but had to change schools.

This is where it turned into a horror story; I say that because she hated the school she needed to complete her studies in so much that she took herself back a year to redo the second year in Swiss Gymnasium. Sure her English improved and she ended up gaining more confidence , but it isn't a route I would recommend. Did I mention it cost me 10K in fees, with a government subsidy of about the same amount, so expensive as well.

But wait because I tell this story since on her return she discovered multiple paths beyond the academic Gymnasium route you can take to ultimately get the qualifications needed to go to University here, paths within Switzerland.

There are CFC schools for example in which your son can study Computer Science and closely related fields like Math and Electronics. Gymnasiam is the academic route, but it is by far not the only one. Some CFC schools can provide the qualifications needed to go to University ultimately, although it may take longer. That said I suspect the subjects you could subsequently study would be more limited. So don't get a CFC in computer science and look to go study French literature at University, that won't work.

It might sound crazy but get him to sign up with the school shrink; and push them for alternative routes to get the place he wants to go to. Talk to all the teachers too, especially the ones in the subjects he wants to chase maths and the sciences. Taking the Matura is the fastest, most academic path to getting to a Swiss University, but it is by no means the only path you can take here; there are others; other paths in Switzerland in main stream education.

I personally would be very wary of home schooling at this level of education; you need a level of maturity and self discipline that many people never reach even when they become adults...

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more? He should complete his first year; pass and then research, research, research alternatives over the summer, certainly BEFORE the new term starts. he needs to line up his ducks before he returns to the second year, at that point he will be too late.

One of my daughters dropped out of Gymnasium and did an apprenticeship instead. She completed her Bachelors last year, spend six months doing an internship and is now studying for her Masters.

My other daughter dropped out of FMS, did a degree with the OU (French and German), and now has a degree in Education from the FHNW, and is a fully qualified primary teacher. She's considering doing a masters in Maths with the OU.

So yes, there are many routes.

I do know a young lady who did homeschooling. There were problems with some universities accepting her qualifications, because the organisation who awarded them wasn't properly accredited. So that's something to watch out for.

__________________
Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

I don’t actually think that’s a very nice comment.

The Swiss maturity is not easy and it doesn’t work for everyone. There are lots of other paths available and it doesn’t do any harm for the parents and kids to explore those options together and decide which is the best way forward.

To be fair, it's a bit of a minefield to find your way around the schooling, especially if you didn't grow up here.

As a parent you're always self-checking and second-guessing that they are on the right path.

This comment when over my head? what is talking about?

Helicopter parents.

No idea why bowlie woke up today and choose violence.

According to berufsberatung.ch there is the option of taking the Matura exam without having gone to Gymnasium.

https://www.berufsberatung.ch/dyn/sh...re%20alt%20ist.

„This Swiss Maturity Examination may also be taken by persons who have not attended a Maturity School and who wish to prepare for it through self-study. As a rule, anyone who is at least 18 years old in the year of the examination is admitted to the examination. When registering for the exam, students must indicate the special subjects they have prepared and submit their Matura thesis.
This allows for more individual preparation in terms of time management and learning rhythm. However, success in the Matura depends exclusively on the final examinations. There are no preliminary grades.“

Our daughter is sitting written exams for bilingual Matura (French and German) this week in maths, German, French, English, and law and economics. Each exam is four hours. Oral exams in the same subjects follow in ten days.

The bilingual matura is different in each school that offers it - which subjects are in English, is time in an english speaking country included etc. It pays to do some research.
The external matura exam has a reputation as being more difficult than doing a matura course at a normal gymi where the exams are internal.

Me neither.
I always thought Bowlie was better than that.

And on top of that kids who don't learn these less when they should - when society is willing to cut them some slack, usually don't do well in their working life.