[B][Zurich school mums your knowledge please! Please could anyone who have/had non German speaking children in primary please explain how I find out whether a school area will offer a full integration programme separate from normal class or whether they would only offer a couple of hours of extra German support a week. We are considering living in Meilen but with an 8 and 6 year old with no German we are really keen that they make the transition into the state school system with necessary extra language support. Thank you for any feedback/knowledge especially if you live in Meilen./B]

We simply phoned around and/or sent emails. We got the list of schools from the Stadt Zurich web site.

We hit lucky, our first response was from Hofacker School in Hirslanden/Kreutzplatz and they offer a full time 1 year integration class. Our lad has been there for a year and enters mainstream Swiss schooling nearby at the end of the Summer holidays, he was pushed to his limit in a positive way and really enjoyed his teacher and class. Our daughter will maybe do another year, completing 16 months in integration class. They do not leave until they are ready. We consider ourselves very lucky to have found such a great school nearby.

So did you identify an appropriate school that had an integration programme (like you suggested) and then decide to live in the area of that school?

No, as it turned out , the school nearest to us had an integration class. We had already moved into that area. Had the commute been too much for the kids, I would consider moving to an area that offered an integration class. Personally, I am not fussed about where I live.