Since Switzerland

Introduction:

Since Switzerland has no natural resources, education and knowledge have become very important resources. Therefore Switzerland claims to have one of the world's best education systems. Because the cantons are responsible for educational services (kindergarten, schools, universities), education may vary significantly between cantons. For example, some cantons start to teach the first foreign language at fourth grade, while others start at seventh grade. This can turn moving with children between cantons into a nightmare.

In Switzerland, most children go to public schools. Private schools usually are expensive and people tend to think that students of private schools probably didn't make it at the public school. Public schools include "Kindergarten", "Volksschule" (elementary school), "Gymnasium" (secondary school) and "Universitäten" (universities). Most municipalities provide kindergarten, primary and secondary schools. Most cantons provide at least one secondary school. There are eleven universities in Switzerland, nine are run by cantons, two are run by the confederation.

After elementary school, kids may either choose to go to secondary school or to start an apprenticeship. In the later case, after finishing the apprenticeship, it is still possible to start an academic career at either a secondary school or a so called "Fachhochschule" (FH) (technical college).

Schools:

In Switzerland, every child must attend at least the elementary school. Our country provides various schools at different levels. Because the cantons are responsible for the educational system, the names, the subjects, the starting age of the students and the duration vary significantly between the cantons. The rest of this document therefore focuses on how it works in the canton Zürich.

2.1 Kindergarten:

Unlike school, children may or may not be required to attend "Kindergarten", depending on the region. However, attending Kindergarten becomes more an more mandatory and most children do go to Kindergarten. They do not learn how to read and write but shall develop their social capabilities and get used to sit quiet for a while and pay attention to the teacher. Children may attend Kindergarten for one year or two years. Because they are supposed to start school at the age of seven, they go to Kindergarten when they are five and six years old.

2.2 "Volksschule" (Elementary school):

The "Volksschule" (elementary school) is mandatory for all Swiss children. They must either attend the public school or must go to a private school. Elementary school starts at the age of seven and lasts at least eight, but usually nine years. Some schools offer an additional year for kids who haven't either yet decided what to do after school, haven't found a job to start an apprenticeship or haven't yet reached the age to start what they would like to do. The "Volksschule" is divided into "Primarschule" and "Oberstufenschule":

• In Zürich, "Primarschule" lasts six years. Usually, the children have only one teacher who teaches all subjects.

• "Oberstufenschule" lasts three years. Usually, there are at least two teachers for each class, one teaches some, the second the other subjects. There may be other teachers for some special subjects like gym, needlework, cooking and so on.

"Oberstufenschule" itself is divided into three different levels: They used to be called "Sekundarschule", "Realschule" and "Oberschule", but there were some recent changes to that. Today, the schools still provide three different levels, but students will be assigned individually to one level per subject. This is true for major subjects such as math, native language and first foreign language only; all other subjects are taught per class.

• "Sekundarschule" is the highest level. Some apprenticeships require this level of education. It is particularly required if a student wants to attend a "Gymnasium" (secondary school) afterwards. "Sekundarschule" includes math, geometry, native language (German in case of Zürich), first foreign language (french in Zürich), geography, history and more. In addition, students may attend other subjects like a second foreign language, usually English or Italian.

• "Realschule" basically teaches the same subjects but not to the same extend.

• "Realschule" takes care of students who have difficulties in learning.

After "Primarschule", students can also choose to go to "Gymnasium" (secondary school) directly without going to the "Oberstufenschule"; in this case, the "Gymnasium" takes 6½ years instead of 4½ years (see also curriculum).

2.3 "Berufslehre" (Apprenticeship):

In Switzerland, most kids start a "Berufslehre" (apprenticeship) after elementary school. Depending on the profession, an apprenticeship takes two to four years. Apprenticeships include all kinds of professions, from handicraft (mechanician, carpenter, baker, hairdresser etc.) to office worker (secretary, bookkeeper, IT specialist etc.). Apprentice will get trained at a company or organization, but also attend school for one or two days a week. Some companies also provide additional classes on their own.

After apprenticeship and depending on their education, young people can either start a job or join other schools for further education, including so called "Fachhochschulen" (previously known as "Höhere Technische Lehranstalt" (HTL), technical colleges).

2.4 "Gymnasium" (Secondary school):

There are various types of "Gymnasia" (secondary schools) with different emphasis and major subjects:

The "Mathematisches und Naturwissenschaftliches Gymnasium" (secondary school of math and science) focuses on math and science, but teaches German and two foreign languages as well (usually French and English or Italian). The "Neusprachliches Gymnasium" (secondary school of modern languages) focuses on modern languages such as German, French, Italian and English, but includes some math and science as well. The "Altsprachliches Gymnasium" (secondary school of ancient languages) focuses on Latin plus at least two other languages, but includes math and science subjects as well. There is also the "Wirtschaftsgymnasium" (secondary school of economics) that focuses on economy. Recently, new types of "Gymnasia" have been introduced, such as the "Musisches Gymnasium" (secondary school of art) which focuses on music and art

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