We are moving to Zurich in a year or so and I have some questions about bilingual schools in the Zurich area. I have looked at other threads but nothing quite answers my question.

I'll have three children aged 18 months to 5 years and would like them all to attend bilingual school/daycare at the same place. Ideally I'd like to live on the western side of Lake Zurich (I think it provides better access to the rest of the country- yes?) and the only school I can find on this side is Obersee at Pffafikon . Are there any other schools on the western shore that fit the bill (or are planning to introduce a primary school/daycare in the near future)? The school doesn't have to be in the Zurich canton but we need to live no more that a 30 minute train ride to the city (for my husband's work) and ideally I'd like no more than a 10 mins drive (walking distance if possible) to school each day.

Thanks for any advice...

Hi, I know of two schools on the western side of the lake that do 18 months to 5 years, although one does not have primary (they stop at age 6, after which the kids need to move on to another primary school).

Montessori House of Kids, at Grüt Park (former site of Grüt Farm, between Adliswil & Wollishofen) is the one without the primary school.
Rietberg Montessori School has, according to their website, ages 3 - 12 but I have heard that they recently opened a toddler class (from 18 months). They're right near Rietberg Museum, on the #7 tram line (just two or three stops from Bahnhof Enge).

There is a third bilingual Montessori school I know, over on the eastern side of the lake (near Kreuzplatz & Hegibachplatz), d'Insle Montessori School that also does toddlers through to the end of primary school.

I have three kids; the older two go to d'Insle, the youngest to House of Kids. The main reason for the split is that there was just no space at d'Insle for the youngest when we wanted him to start. Another component of our decision, though, was that if all three were at d'Insle I'd have to bring all three to school and back each day ...
This way, my wife takes the youngest & I'm left with just the two older children. For a few months I had to take all three, dropping the youngest at a Swiss krippe before getting the other two to school, and it was a nightmare! Of course, coming from the other side of the lake, it was half an hour with all three on various modes of public transport ...

Have you looked at the cost of childcare/daycare/private schooling ?
How long are you planning to be in Zurich ?

Although it looks 'convenient' to have three kids in the one place, it will be very tricky to organise, and it probably won't be possible for long...sooner or later the kids will need to be in separate places.

Talking from experience as the parent of three children, what works for one, may not work for another, or what is good at one age may not be the best at another age, so whilst it may look 'perfect' to have three kids at the same place, sooner or later I'd suggest differentiating your children's needs and trying to work a solution that is going to be best for each individual child.

If you are not going to work full time, and are not on an absolutely awesome salary, then it may not be that the kids are 'together' every day anyway (full time daycare here costs between 2500-3000chf per month, per child)....