3. Understanding Swiss Public School

Understanding Swiss Public School – What Parents Need to Know

In this episode of FIND MY SWISS SCHOOL PLUS+, Pascale and Sandra sit down for a candid and informative conversation about Swiss public schooling—what makes it unique, what to expect, and how families can navigate the system with confidence.

We cover a wide range of essential topics, including:

• Swiss school culture and values
• What parents can expect from teachers and schools
• Grading 
• Afterschool care options
• The famous “permeable pathways” 
• Sports and camps
• Cantonal differences
• School rankings
• Swimming classes & more!

Whether you're new to Switzerland or looking to better understand your child's educational journey, this episode is packed with practical insights for international and local families alike.

About Us:
We’re Sandra Hueskes and Pascale Baumgartner, education consultants at FIND MY SWISS SCHOOL, Switzerland’s leading school consultancy. We support families in choosing the right public, private, international, or boarding school across the country. From workshops and one-to-one support to corporate partnerships, we’re here to help families make informed and confident decisions about schooling in Switzerland.

🌐 Learn more: www.findmyswissschool.ch

Transcript

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Understanding Swiss Public School

Sandra: [00:00:00] Hi there. Welcome to Find my Swiss school, plus the podcast where education meets parenting in Switzerland. I'm Sandra 

Pascale: and I am Pascale. We are the founders of Find My Swiss School. Your go-to educational consultancy in Switzerland. Whether public, private, international, or boarding school, our mission is to help you find the right school fit for your child.

Sandra: Whether you're new to Switzerland or just looking to better understand your options, we are here to help you navigate the school system with confidence. Stay tuned for more exciting episodes with educators, parents, specialists, students, and more. 

Sandra: So today Pascale and I are very excited to talk a little bit about Swiss Public School.

Sandra: That is a hot topic with many of our clients. So we're dedicating this episode to [00:01:00] deep dive into a couple key topics that come up with many of our clients in consultations.

Pascale: Absolutely.

Sandra: So where do we begin?

Pascale: Well, you mentioned most common and often misunderstood options, the public school.

Pascale: So why don't we talk about public school today? 

Sandra: I think, I think that's great. 

Pascale: Yeah. 

Sandra: Maybe the one place to start is to explain the Swiss public school system. There's 26 cantons. You also explain it so beautifully. Would you mind jumping right in?

Pascale: Being Swiss I have gone through it and I know how it works.

Pascale: At least I try to understand the Swiss educational jungle. What's important to understand the public school is actually the main choice for 94 or 95% of families in Switzerland. 

Sandra: I actually did research on this. And I discovered that the Canton of Geneva. Actually has a slightly different percentage than the rest of Switzerland, which I think is by nature from the population in Geneva.

Pascale: Yeah. You have the United Nations, you have the international organizations in Geneva, and that is automatically linked to international [00:02:00] schools. And a lot of these families are in and out of Switzerland. And they prefer international private schools.

Sandra: Mm. But for the Rest of Switzerland the preference is public school. 

Pascale: Yeah. Because it's a strong academic system.

Sandra: Yeah. And it's for free. And it's rated sixth worldwide. 

Pascale: Yeah, it's quite highly ranked. And it gives you a very sound academic background.

Pascale: It offers different pathways and as we mentioned, it's for free. You might have to pay for books or for school trips, but in general it doesn't cost you a cent. 

Sandra: Even computers are provided actually pencils. 

Pascale: Everything. You might need a backpack. You might need a so-called Etui.

Sandra: Schläpli.

Pascale: And you need Schläpli. Some schools ask you for slippers or Finke, that's actually not the bird when you google it. It's actually slippers. Or, a gym bag, things like that. So your daily equipment. But everything else is [00:03:00] provided by the school. 

Sandra: Mm-hmm. Books, materials, everything. So if that's your question, it is provided.

Sandra: Let's talk a little bit about the federal structure of the education system and then the cantonal application. 

Pascale: Yeah. Welcome to Switzerland. Federalism sends its greetings to all of us. We do have a national curriculum. It's called Lehrplan 21. 

Sandra: In the German speaking part. Yeah, yep. 

Pascale: There is the equivalent also existing in the French and the Italian speaking part. And what you need to understand is the implementation of this national curriculum lies with the cantons. Every Canton has a little bit of different way of implementing that curriculum. But in general, the rule of fist is that you have the same subjects. You have languages depending on where you live they start at different ages or grades.

Sandra: Mm-hmm. For example, in Basel you start French in grade three and English [00:04:00] in grade five. And in Zurich...

Pascale: it's vice versa. You start with English in grade three and French in grade five. And in the French speaking part, they all start with German in grade three. So we see there are already some differences. 

Sandra: Yes. The other thing I find very interesting, and this has come up with many families that we work with, they tend to look for information about the Swiss public school system online.

Pascale: Yeah.

Sandra: And they will find a blog, or they'll find a post and it's very, very important to understand that parent is going to reflect their experience from the Canton that they live in. And it can be different if you're going to be living somewhere else. So for examples, Zurich is well known for having what's called the Gymiprüfung, which is an exam that you take, at different points in your educational career to go into what's called the gymnasium track.

Sandra: And that Is not the same for every Canton. So just be warned when you do look for information online make [00:05:00] sure you look for Canton specific information, or of course you can always reach out to us. 

Pascale: Yes, and don't be shy. Ask teachers. Call your community the educational department of your community or the Canton, and go and ask.

Sandra: Yeah, they are very helpful and they're often Infoabends or information evenings. Please go to them. Everyone is here to support families to navigate the school system. It is quite different to what you would expect if you're coming from a much more linear school system.

Pascale: When do you start In the public school system? It's actually with kindergarten.

Pascale: And there is a cutoff age, and it's generally in Switzerland, end of July. So when you have turned four or reached your fourth birthday, by end of July, you will then be allowed to go to kindergarten.

Pascale: It starts with two years of kindergarten, then six years of primary school, then followed by three years of secondary school.

Pascale: And in some cantons you [00:06:00] can already go into long-term gymnasium after grade six, and then you stay in gymnasium for six years.

Pascale: Or if you go to short-term gymnasium, you move after secondary school into the short-term gymnasium.

Pascale: Or if you don't want to choose gymnasium, there are all different kind of schools. You can do an apprenticeship or you can do this so-called upper specialized schools. 

Pascale: Don't panic.

Sandra: The only pin that I wanna put in this is that here in Switzerland, vocational education and training is chosen by about 60 to 65% of students which might sound quite shocking to some families who aren't from here. You might hear the statistic that only 25% of kids go to Gymnasium, the equivalent of high school. And that is true, but it's not the full picture.

Sandra: So if you're in Switzerland and you're very confused by it, take a breath. There's much more to the story and it's a much bigger picture [00:07:00] than it might seem at first. 

Pascale: Yes, indeed. Because we talked about the dual pathways and in Switzerland you can combine professional vocational education with a high school diploma. It's called the Berufsmatura, the Professional Matura.

Pascale: And that will get you to Universities of Applied Sciences.

Pascale: And there are multiple pathways and it allows the kids after the age of 15 to tailor made their education to their needs and also their interests, and their skills 

Sandra: and strengths. Yeah, absolutely. 

Pascale: Yeah, definitely. And that's quite unique. And talking about vocational training, it's high level. I mean, some companies and some specific technical or science training, professional trainings only take top-notch students. 

Sandra: And it can be very competitive. So you might hear of companies like Google or any of the pharma companies, Roche for [00:08:00] example. They will only take top-notch students for some of their vocational education and training pathways. 

Pascale: Yeah. With Google, we know that about couple of hundred students are applying. The last numbers I heard was 600 applicants for 60 spots. 

Sandra: So it gives you a picture of the dynamic opportunities that are available in Switzerland in these different education pathways.

Sandra: One other famous saying in Switzerland is there are no dead ends.

Sandra: And it's true. So Switzerland tends to have a very permeable education system. Do you wanna talk a little bit about that? For example, we have clients or we know students who have gotten into the gymnasium route and the first year they realize this is not for me. And then they might switch into sort of a business profile high school diploma. 

Pascale: Yes, it's not only about primary, secondary and gymnasium. There are upper secondary specialized schools. And in comparison to a gymnasium, they offer a three year academic track [00:09:00] in combination with a one year internship.

Pascale: So you get the professional experience with a professional certificate, like a vocational training, and you get an academic certificate. It's a combination of the two. And within these schools you have special focuses.

Pascale: So gymnasium normally is quite general, even though you can have, a specification in terms of science or music or languages.

Sandra: It's like broad based subjects.

Pascale: It's a broad based subjects. But on the other hand, with the upper specialized schools, you really go there for specific pathways, be it the pedagogical pathway if you want to become a teacher with the FMS. Or if you're more business and law oriented, you go to the WMS, the Wirtschaftsmittelschule or

Sandra: the Handelmittelschule.

Pascale: in Zurich, the HMS. Welcome back to Switzerland. And IMS, that's the Informatikmittelschule. So that's the computer science specialized school. That allows students to focus [00:10:00] on their interest and strength. 

Sandra: Hmm. That's very true. I find a lot of Swiss families don't know the Swiss education system. We work with a lot of Swiss families in German as well, by the way.

Pascale: We do. Being Swiss, I can tell you when my son entered the Swiss public school system, I was flabbergasted. After 20 years not being part of that, having a child entering, I was so surprised to see the changes I thought I knew I went through, but nevertheless, it changed.

Pascale: And it's constantly adapting, probably improving.

Pascale: On the other hand the cantonal differences have an impact and you need to know. 

Sandra: Yeah. Especially if you're moving to Switzerland. Or if you're moving cantons, you might be surprised at how different it can be. 

Pascale: Yes. And what you need to understand is when you send kids to school, to kindergarten, to primary school, then your child will be allocated to school next to your domicile.

Pascale: So you can't choose. You get what you get. That allows the [00:11:00] kids to go independently to school and walk back home from school with their friends.

Sandra: We should talk about that. This is a huge topic that comes up and I understand why having also had my kids in New York City for many years, you can't let your 5-year-old walk alone on the streets. You just cannot do it. And I think Switzerland is one of the few countries that you can and it is a cultural adjustment.

Sandra: Having seen my kids learn how to do it, there's an incredible sense of pride also self-confidence. And the kids are taught to walk alone to school properly the police come, they teach the children in kindergarten. They're taught how to crossroads correctly. And as a driver, you always say there's rules around that too. 

Pascale: You learn it as a driver because you have these toddlers and they look at you and they wave. And feel free to wave back. Why? 'cause they are taught to make eye contact with the driver . And then once they have [00:12:00] this eye contact and they waved and they see you stop, then they start walking.

Pascale: Things can happen on the walk to school or back home.

Pascale: Kids are not always friendly, let's be honest. But in general, it works well and it allows the kids to have a little bit of freedom. 

Sandra: We actually just wrote a blog post about this, so I'll put the link into the text of our podcast. There are a couple really great online resources about safety, the philosophy behind this tradition. Also tips and tricks like wear bright clothing, put a bright colored hat on your child. Yeah. You can wear reflectors in the winter, that kind of thing.

Sandra: And I will admit I have done this and so have many other parents you might be like a secret agent on their walk to school, following them just to make sure they make it. You won't be alone if 

Pascale: you see a parent hiding behind the bush. It's probably someone making sure their kids survive.

Sandra: It's more the parents need to get comfortable with it.

Pascale: Yeah, definitely. But you know, feel free also to walk your kids. The driving part is a bit [00:13:00] difficult because Switzerland does not have a lot of space, and then when every mom and dad is driving up to school with the kids and drop them, there's a traffic disaster.

Pascale: So if you can't walk them. Feel free to team up to walk them in the beginning. You can also do walking groups, pooling, so to say. It's not carpooling, it's walking pooling.

Sandra: There are online resources in a lot of communities for exactly that. So if you need a walking pool, they are available. You can ask at your local school or your Gemeinde or your community and they will direct you. 

Pascale: And it's a great way to integrate. Because your kids have friends and you get to know the parents of your kids' friends.

Pascale: And that's quite lovely. And I can tell a little story about my son. I was a working mom and then when I walked my son, I had neighbors telling me, oh, you are your son's mom. Nice to meet you. They knew him and through him I met them, which was a nice experience.

Sandra: And you become very much a part of the local community. And the [00:14:00] community becomes involved in the safety and raising of your child so it's, it's a very special tradition. I think it's much more complex and valuable then it might seem at first.

Pascale: And public transport is safe in Switzerland and kids team up, they meet on the train and they chat and it's their time off.

Pascale: And it's socially important because that's where they develop social skills in the exchange with their peers and not only at school, off school as well. 

Sandra: Another question, Pascale, that we hear a lot is: Why are there no school rankings in Switzerland?

Sandra: These are all over the world and everyone comes to Switzerland and they Google and they cannot find anything. 

Pascale: Yep. Due to the fact that the public system is quite strong and we have a direct democracy. We vote regularly on whatever kind of question.

Pascale: And there was an initiative about school ranking and Swiss population decided to vote it down because why? They felt like they didn't want to go into a [00:15:00] school ranking cultures like the US. 

Sandra: Yes. Which has had greater impacts on not just the schools, but also the society in general.

Sandra: So I think it's interesting that Switzerland chose deliberately not to have a ranking culture. 

Pascale: Yeah. We are part of the democracy we have in this country. You vote for things, you have an impact as an individual and also responsibility.

Pascale: But that's all linked to trust your system. It's also the school system. You'd simply trust it. And that's why Swiss people felt like we don't need ranking. It's good.

Sandra: So another thought that I think is useful for people to know Pascale is a little bit about the approach in kindergarten. In Switzerland it's a much more play-based curriculum.

Sandra: Can we talk about what to expect in kindergarten? 

Pascale: So you won't have a very academic approach in terms of reading and writing or counting or mathematical [00:16:00] topics.

Pascale: They certainly are exposed to letters and they can read and write their names once they go to first grade. They also play with numbers, but it's a playful they try to foster all different kind of skills to, to provide them with a skillset that they, once they enter into first grade, then they are best prepared to easily learn.

Pascale: So when you look at the learning curve in terms of reading and writing, it's quite steep so most kids learn within a couple of weeks how to read and write. And spelling too. And academically, you don't see that the kids in primary year or the Swiss students in the Swiss educational program are behind.

Sandra: It's true. I did some research on this because I was curious where it may balance out. And the kids really don't start learning to read and write properly until grade one primary school. And the idea behind it is that their brains are so ready to [00:17:00] learn, that they learn reading and writing quickly.

Sandra: And it helps build confidence and an interest in learning. They see their success and they start to build an excitement for their achievements and for learning.

Sandra: The other thing that I read was, it's probably by about grade three within different school systems that they all start to align again.

Sandra: So it might seem that the levels are a little behind. You might come to Switzerland and think, why are they learning, reading, and writing in grade one? My kid learned this in kindergarten in the UK and it does balance out, so don't panic. 

Pascale: Yes. Don't panic if things are strange or new to you. Go out and ask why.

Sandra: One of the other topics is school culture is quite different in Switzerland. The culture in general is something you have to adjust to, right?

Sandra: You always have this great saying, the glass is always half empty here.

Pascale: Yeah. You got half an empty cup here. Yeah. 

Sandra: And, what I have noticed in the US we would get a daily report on everything my kids ate, [00:18:00] what they did, what they had to do, et cetera. And when my younger son was in kindergarten here in Switzerland, we never knew what he was doing.

Sandra: So we should talk about what to expect with the Swiss schools culture here. 

Pascale: Yeah, that's where Swiss, I have to say, no news are good news. If you don't hear anything, things are fine. You will hear if things are not, fine or if something is happening. We do not have this kind of culture that's back to the trust.

Pascale: You trust the system and you trust the teacher and they try to take care of your kids. It's not a daily reporting on activities, on performance. It's about them and the teacher, and they try to foster the relationship between student and teacher, and both sides feel responsible.

Pascale: It's changing from grade to grade. The expectations are changing as well.

Pascale: Kids are educated to be responsible for, carrying their things. So if [00:19:00] they have PE - sport - they should bring their PE bag. If they play an instrument, they have to take that one along as long it's not a piano, and so on.

Pascale: So it's, it's the idea. It's like a triangle. The corners are parents, teacher, and kids.

Pascale: And another interesting experience is parent, student teacher conference.

Sandra: I was just thinking of that. Yeah.

Pascale: So Elternabend, and an individual Elternabend so meet the teacher, and talk about the performance of your child. That's normally happening once or twice per year, depending on the school in the Canton.

Pascale: And, your child is sitting there as well. So you don't talk between the parent and the teacher. What is my son or my daughter doing? It's about them.

Pascale: They are involved. They are responsible. And that's part of the educational approach here in Switzerland. 

Sandra: I really noticed it with my kids from early on.

Sandra: It was about having independence, being reliable, they would have to bring the papers home to me and say, oh mom, here, you have to read this. You have to sign [00:20:00] this. I don't receive it from the teacher. I receive it from my child. There's even a little folder that's for Elternpost or parent papers.

Pascale: Schulmäpli 

Sandra: Schulmäpli

Pascale: that gets regularly lost by the way 

Sandra: And that's part of it. Those little things are about, from early on, teaching your child to be responsible for things, be accountable for things, and I found that amazing.

Sandra: I also noticed in the parent-teacher evenings. My child would have to self-assess.

Sandra: And reflect upon even in kindergarten, reflect upon how they feel they're doing, how they're addressing problems, where they think they can improve. So automatically from a very early age, they're taught to be accountable for their learning, and a partner in schooling.

Sandra: It's quite different to other school systems.

Sandra: And even in private schools in Switzerland, it will be very different. I've noticed in a couple different schools that the parents will have an electronic tracking of papers or, assignments due.

Sandra: And you [00:21:00] will not see that in the Swiss public school system. Nope. Some teachers may or may not. I've heard of a couple different stories, but in general, do not expect that. 

Pascale: Yes. But on the other hand, don't feel left out and don't be shy if you have a question and you might ask your child. When I ask my son, how was school?

Pascale: I always get the same answer. Gut, good. That's the male approach towards whenever you want some information. But feel free to reach out, to send an email to go and ask.

Pascale: Teachers are always open to talk to parents to explain, don't forget, it's a learning curve for everyone.

Sandra: Other parents are helpful and there's always a parent representative. So if you need to find out information or you're curious about how things work, go talk to the teachers, talk to other parents, and you can request to go into the classroom all the time and see what it's like. You're more than welcome. The teachers will include you.

Pascale: And there is also some open days at schools where parents are encouraged to go [00:22:00] and it's sometimes fascinating to see it from a parental viewpoint.

Sandra: There's also a psychologist that's on staff in schools and I can speak from personal experience with my kids.

Sandra: If there's conflict, things that they need to address, they can go to the school psychologist and there is a support network available within every school. 

Pascale: School nowadays is not only a teacher and a student, it's actually a whole team teaching and supporting kids. There are social workers, there are special educators for learning needs.

Pascale: So kids from an early age on actually have a team and also learning then to cope with different personalities. In primary years it's not subject based, you have a homeroom teacher. Then if they move on to secondary school. Then it subject based teaching.

Pascale: But that trains them also in terms of social skills and to manage relationships in an age appropriate way.

Sandra: [00:23:00] And I've noticed my kids that's a moment for them to understand their behaviors as well. 

Pascale: They get feedback, don't worry.

Sandra: They do. They do. That's very true.

Sandra: The other thing that I think would be helpful for families to understand is a little bit about foreign language support. In the German speaking Switzerland, it's called DaZ - Deutsch als Zweitsprache.

Sandra: The idea behind it is that children who do not speak German and need to learn the schooling language, get support, and the support can vary depending on the age of your child, what, when they're entering the school system. My older son, received it. They assess the students, see where they are, what they understand, and they tailor programs for them.

Sandra: So it might be that a child is placed within a special school that's outside of the regular classroom, and that's more of an integrative approach. Or with my son for example, they did pull out classes with him and provided support so that he could follow the material. And it took a couple months for him to feel comfortable and express himself.

Pascale: [00:24:00] Switzerland is a country where you have officially four languages, Italian, French, German, and Romansch. That's the language of instructions in the respective area where you live. So in the German speaking part, it's German, French, French. Italian speaking port is Italian.

Pascale: And in the mountain areas where you have Romansch, it's sometimes mixed. It can vary from community to community. And as a matter of fact, integration happens through language. Switzerland has an excellent track record in terms of integration language wise, and we are not reluctant to learn languages because everyone in school learns three languages.

Pascale: It's the local language, the language of instruction, plus foreign languages. A national, either French, Italian, or German, depending where you are. And then English. And that's why kids moving in from abroad, not knowing German yet, or not knowing French or Italian yet, they're fully supported.

Pascale: Depending on the school, it's happening in different [00:25:00] ways. The idea is to get them up to speed in the shortest amount of time so they can follow classes, integrate and be part, not only of the learning, but socially as well.

Sandra: The other thing that comes up often is the school hours when we work with clients, that's always an interesting conversation.

Sandra: So in kindergarten, for example, your child will have five mornings of school a week. And only one afternoon of school a week. School finishes at lunchtime and the afternoon the kids might go in from two till about four, for example, and in grade one and two, you will have one afternoon of school a week.

Sandra: And in grade three and four it will be two, and then in grade five and six it's three.

Sandra: In secondary school, it's a whole different thing, but the early years of schooling is a different structure to this all day school model that I think many families are used to.

Pascale: And everyone is struggling with that [00:26:00] independently of your nationality.

Sandra: True.

Pascale: Switzerland is very conservative. Don't ask me why we haven't been able in the last 30 years to implement day school, we have so-called Blockschulen. That means that the kids are either mornings or afternoons at school.

Pascale: But a lot of private schools are offering with a competitive advantage, day schools five days a week from eight or nine to four or three or whatever, it's not happening at public school, and that can be a challenge, especially if you are working parents.

Pascale: And, that's another interesting topic about lunchtime and Tagi and Kitta and all the child daycare available in combination with public school.

Sandra: I have spent a lot of time looking into this topic and I can tell you two big takeaways.

Sandra: It's extremely different from community to community. [00:27:00] So how you would arrange your afterschool care or lunchtime care is different depending where you live.

Sandra: So for example, in the center of Zurich, they're switching more to a day school model, which is being phased in throughout the city of Zurich in different areas, Luzern as well, and these models are becoming more popular in more urban areas, but if you live in more rural areas, it's going to be a little bit harder to figure out this kind of care. However, the schools, the education authorities, will help you. You have to apply within kindergarten and primary schools separately for afterschool care.

Sandra: Some communities may ask you to prove that both parents are working and they will prioritize your access to afterschool care based on that.

Sandra: And if you aren't working, then you have to figure out other solutions. Maybe you're trying to build a business, maybe you're trying to find a job. There are always ways that you can find [00:28:00] additional support, and it's very important that when you apply for school. You talk to the authorities about what options are available to you.

Sandra: If you do get into a Tagesstruktur or Mittagstisch or Hort. As you can see, there's many different terms depending where you live, then there are some costs involved. You will be charged by what you use and what you sign up for.

Sandra: So for example, if you have three lunches and two afternoons of care per week you have to stick to that schedule. It's not changeable from one week to the next, but you will get charged on a monthly basis for what you use.

Sandra: And the charges can vary depending where you live. And there are subsidies available. So these subsidies can be scaled also by community. 

Pascale: Yeah. It's not only by community, it's by Canton. Every Canton has a different system. Yes. Every community sometimes. And it's also related to your income.

Pascale: Offers are charging you [00:29:00] according to your income. So the higher your income, the more you pay. 

Sandra: And it is possible to make it work. So we always say, this looks like a jigsaw puzzle, and it is, but it does work and there are options available.

Sandra: If there is a wait list for afterschool care please talk to your community.

Sandra: There are different options and ways that you can find solutions. So don't panic. 

Pascale: And be early. The early bird catches the worm. Or how do you say that's right?

Sandra: No, you got it. I gotta, I have to learn more of those in German. 

Pascale: Sign up. It's easier to cancel than to register. 

Sandra: Correct. That's a very good tip. Yes. 

Pascale: Yeah, it's quite a hands-on approach, a high majority of parents, both parents are actually working. Whether full-time or part-time or in combination of these concepts.

Pascale: But it works at the end of the day. 

Sandra: And now you can see why having your kids learn how to walk to and from places is extremely valuable here in Switzerland.

Sandra: Because they may have to walk to their lunch [00:30:00] program and back to school again, or they may walk to their afterschool activities. Which actually brings me to the next topic we wanted to cover, which is after school activities. 

Pascale: Yeah. That's not organized by the school. That's the bottom line.

Pascale: The Swiss idea of schooling is teachers teach.

Pascale: They don't serve lunch and they don't offer afterschool activities. We hopefully might change that in the next generation, but it still is that kind of approach. And therefore, you are the manager, the master of the disaster, so to say.

Pascale: You are organizing the afterschool activities of your kids.

Pascale: It's a huge offer out there. In terms of sports activities, creative, music, whatever is there, but you have to sign up, you have to organize, and it's not only about signing them up in a special class or sports club, it's also to organize the transport to that kind of activity and back and either your kids [00:31:00] are old enough to do it independently or you have time to do it, or then we are back to the parental support.

Pascale: Talk to other parents.

Pascale: That's where really parents are teaming up, helping each other out. For instance, a mom working part-time saying, I do Wednesday and Tuesdays, or dad says I can work from home. I can get them to tennis and back.

Pascale: That's what it is, and it's actually, it's life. It's about connecting to other people and trying to manage your daily workload.

Sandra: The other advantage to planning your kids' extracurricular activities is they have a chance to choose or think about what interests them, what they want to try.

Sandra: And in a more North American model, you just choose from the menu of options at the school programs. Whereas here, you have a wealth of options available and the way you can find out about them is if you go to your community website or a community contact and say, how do I find out about what Verein or clubs or sports offers are [00:32:00] available?

Sandra: There's chess, there's all the sports you can imagine. There's football teams that practice three times a week to a very professional level.

Sandra: All these kinds of things will be available to you, and many of them are subsidized, not very expensive in comparison to what I know from other countries.

Sandra: You will be amazed at also the relationships that your child builds, not just within your immediate community, but beyond.

Pascale: Yes. And you know, your kids might come home and say, oh, my best friend goes bungee jumping or to dancing or to whatever, and they want to do it as well. At a certain point your kids will come up with ideas and want to do something their friends do or they feel interesting and that's how they take on responsibility.

Pascale: And that takes us to the next topic , Sandra, summer camps.

Pascale: Summer camps in general.

Sandra: Camps, yes. And right now my children who are based in Basel are on vacation. And Zurich area is not on vacation yet. So that's another thing about the cantons. You will have these phased vacation [00:33:00] periods.

Sandra: There are a lot of holiday camp offers and you will find out this information through your community or your Cantonal website.

Sandra: There are a wealth of camps available. There's boy Scouts called Pfadi. What is the Girl Scouts called?

Pascale: Blauring.

Sandra: Blauring.

Pascale: Pfadi is both, it's boys and girls. It's boys and girls. Used to be more the Catholic kind of Pfadi. So it's two different organizations providing boy and Girl Scouts experiences. 

Sandra: They offer camps. My niece is currently away on a two week sleep away camp.

Pascale: Sommerlager.

Sandra: Ah, summer camp. Thank you.

Pascale: I used to be on the Girl Scouts, it's a cool experience because you are out in a tent. You cook, you have activities. You are together with other kids, it can be up to 2/ 300.

Pascale: There are also Federal Boy Scout and Girl Scout Camp. International as well. They traveled. The last one was in Japan .

Pascale: It's amazing activity and also you have the World Wild Life Fund. Then you have the so-called, Jungend und [00:34:00] Sport, that's the Youth in Sports federal department.

Pascale: And they offer all kind of camps, 

Sandra: ski camps, everything.

Pascale: You can become a ski instructor, tennis. My son did a ski camp. He became a Swiss ski instructor. It's quite fun. 

Sandra: I'm super impressed in Switzerland how many outdoor activities are a fundamental part of the school experience.

Sandra: Even in kindergarten, the kids will go to farms. There's a great appreciation of nature that's taught from early on and I think it's just wonderful.

Pascale: You always call it Disneyland.

Sandra: Yeah.

Pascale: Switzerland.

Pascale: We are very small. You can live in a very urban city like Zurich, and you drive 15 minutes and you hit on the first cow. That's also reflected in the school day. School is not only about academics, it's quite high level, but on the other hand it's about experiences, learning.

Pascale: So kids in Switzerland do know that the cow is actually producing the milk. And it's not just [00:35:00] in the supermarket, in a tetra pack or something.

Pascale: There was a huge topic in Switzerland years ago, learning how to swim.

Pascale: We have a lot of lakes. It was compulsory that the schools taught them how to swim for safety reasons, like crossing a road and that was stopped in certain communities and cantons due to cost cuttings, that has been re-implemented. Because the rate of kids drowning increased.

Pascale: And it's not only about safety, it's about connecting, knitting the kids together. Certain schools do ski camps. You have the so-called Schuelreisli, that's the school trip.

Pascale: Most of them go hiking. They come home heavily tired, proud. It's just a nice outing and it's this connection they make.

Sandra: And to nature too.

Pascale: We are very close to nature. You don't have to go far in Switzerland to hit on a forest you go swimming with your teacher to the lakes and it's great. 

Sandra: I also have one thought to share.

Sandra: From my experiences in Switzerland, there's a [00:36:00] lot of unspoken rules here, and I find them really interesting and I'm the kind of person that will ask what do we have to do and how does this work?

Sandra: And I would encourage other families to do that too, because Switzerland is high context culture. There's a lot of things that everybody knows how to do, the garbage, how it operates. The walking to school. And if you're not from here, you come here and you go, I didn't know that. How do people know that? 

Pascale: Yeah, that's a tricky one.

Pascale: Sandra, it honors you that you try, keep trying and, Swiss people won't even be able to explain you why.

Sandra: No, they will not. 

Pascale: For instance, we say Grüezi all the time, and I had friends moving in from abroad and telling me. Where and why do you say Grüezi now to that person in that moment, and not to the other one in another situation.

Pascale: I couldn't explain it. So I had a darling friend, she went to do her grocery shopping and to every person she said, Grüezi and I told her you don't greet everyone. She [00:37:00] said, why not? 

Sandra: I have to admit, I think I'm that person.

Pascale: No, it's okay. Don't be shy if you say grüezi to someone and they look at you in a funny way, don't feel bad, and you know all the greetings. You kiss each other. Two times or three. French speaking part, it's three.

Pascale: In the German speaking part is two, you never know, but it's quite relaxed. And it's about these rules, they are there. Just try to ask copy paste. And sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's wrong. It doesn't really matter. 

Sandra: And your kids will grow up in the school culture. They know and they will understand.

Sandra: So you can just ask them at some point. 

Pascale: Being Swiss, I know we have this culture of the half empty cup. That's something we suffer from too. We try not to be. And that's going back to the topic of school in terms of grading.

Pascale: We have grades one to six, one being the lowest, six being the best.

Pascale: But there is a certain reluctancy to grade top notch, to get a six is high level, and the Swiss way is always we are not sure that you're good enough.

Pascale: Math is an easy one [00:38:00] because it's quantitative, but everything else is a bit muddy.

Pascale: Take it with a smile, with a sense of humor. 

Sandra: Well, on that note, I think this is a good way to wrap up the conversation. We have many more topics we're going to dive into, and of course you can always drop us a line.

Sandra: So we are here to address questions and of course we are Find My Swiss School. 

Sandra: We work with both corporates and private families. We also do in-depth schooling presentations for many corporates in Switzerland. We specialize in knowing the cantonal differences. So if you think we can be of service, please drop us a line . You can find us on www.findmyswissschool.ch. And we are here for you.

Sandra: Any thoughts to wrap up, Pascale? 

Pascale: Thank you for listening.

Sandra: Thank you for listening and have a good day.