Are there any public (non tuition based) grade schools near Lucerne or Zurich?

I am also looking for an English public school. If anyone has any information, please advise.

international schools tend to be private and cost you (or your employer ).

I will be moving to Zug and I cannot afford the international schools. are there no public schools for English kids?

Sorry, English isn't a national language in Switzerland. So you won't find a public English school. There probably are some complementary lessons for pupils with foreign mother tongues but going to a public school equals going to a German school (or french/italian, depending on the region). Perhaps you can give your kid a bit of a head start and organise some German lessons before moving here / before he turns seven and is ready for school enrolment?

My kids are 8 and 13 and already at school. I think that I am going to have one major problem. Are there really no other alternatives?

I know of people who had to move their kids to local (german speaking schhool) at 10 & 13, They had very little german perviously but they picked it up. Of course they had to go through a settling in time but aparrently a year later the kids love it now, and wouldn't want to go back to international school.

Kids really are amazing at languages, its the adults that suffer !

well, there's the Zurich International School. (lower level in my town... )Pretty sure though its not for free =)

Zurich International School

hth,

-KraBaT^

Hi
I have two daughters (6 and 12) and they do not speak any German currently. We are considering relocation in Switzerland (Zurich area) and also considering sending them to a public school (cannot afford the private ones). I learned that public schools have programs for non-Germans speaking kids, but I wondered if the fact that they will not speak fluently (at least in the beginning) could hinder their progress. I also learned that kids are "channeled" to Gymnasium or apprenticeship - type of school at early ages. Is it possible that they will not be equally placed because of their language abilities? This sounds pretty scary.

i think you'll find the fees for ZIS around 25-30000chf per year. good school my kids went there bit the company paid.

In the canton Zürich, like in most others, elementary school ends after six years. The 12 years olds then either go to a secondary school for the next three years, or to the Gymnasium, the standard route to the university or other high education.

However, not everything is set in stone after the age of 12, there's an opportunity to switch to the Gymnasium for secondary scholars after one or three years. Also, the assignation to a certain grade isn't completely inflexible for newcomers. To learn German naturally will be an additional tast for your daughters, but it shouldn't be a burden in the long run.

I'm pretty sure that nobody is spared the entry exam in a Gymnasium and it includes a German test, too. The local and cantonal school authorities can inform you about further details.