Swiss Public School: The Path to Long Gymnasium

The Swiss public school system is complex and can be difficult to navigate, especially when your German is not perfect. We’ve learned a lot about the system as both of our kids have been in public schools since Kindergarten and our oldest is now in 9th grade at the local secondary school.

I made a video series where I talk about what comes after primary school, what options are available, and important info to know at various decision points. This post accompanies that video, including a list of important points and links for more information.

Note: In 2022/23, Zurich canton has changed the entrance exam content and grade requirements. See current requirements.

This is part 1 where I talk about the path leading up to Long Gymnasium. First, here is the video which talks about all the below points in more depth.

Caveat: This is not a definitive guide to the Swiss public school system. Nor is this advice on how to pass the gymi entrance exam. This is simply helpful info based on our personal experience in the Zürich city public schools. Your experience may vary.

Links

If you want to go straight to the source for info, here are some important links:

• School overview from Zürich canton
• Practice tests for Gymi entrance exam

Overview

In short, in the Swiss public school system in Zürich canton, kids go to 2 years of Kindergarten, then 6 years of primary school. After that they can optionally take an entrance exam for Lang Gymnasium, which is an elite academic program, which lasts 6 years. Only about 20% of students qualify for this program. If students complete Gymi, they are qualified to go directly to a Swiss university.

The rest of the students go to secondary school, either public or private, which lasts 2-3 years. Students then have another chance to take the exam and quality for a short version of Gymnasium (aka Kurz Gymi for 4 years) and a few other schooling options. If they don’t pass, most students go for an apprenticeship, which lasts 3-4 years, after which they can continue to work or pursue higher education.

This flowchart is available from Zürich canton, showing the schooling options.

Should my child take the Gymi exam?

Good question! I fretted over this for a long time. If your child is a high achiever in school, definitely have them take the test. But also definitely take a prep course, if you can afford it, to help ensure that they pass. Not all smart kids pass so don’t get cocky.

For regular students, I would recommend taking the test even if your child likely won’t pass. The preparation will help their education in any case and taking the exam is a good life experience. But maybe skip the expensive prep course and intense prepping in their free time. Use this experience to identify knowledge gaps and focus on getting them ready for the Kurz Gymi exam in 2-3 years.

School doesn’t prep kids for Gymi

It is not a goal of the public schools to prep kids for Gymi. In fact, not all material on the test is necessarily covered in schools. Of course, each teacher is different. Some teach to the gymi material and more kids from those classes pass. This is just luck of the draw. Just don’t rely on school to give your child all the skills and knowledge they need for the exam.

For example, in my son’s class, he did not learn any algebra in 6th grade (didn’t even know what a variable was) although there is algebra on the exam. It is important to look at the old gymi exams early and figure out what gaps in knowledge your child has so you can figure out the best way to bridge those gaps.

Good grades in public school help

First, if you want to take the free prep class at the public school, you usually need at least a 4.5 in Math and German or the teacher or school admin might not allow it. 

Second, public school grades can be used to improve their final exam score (private school students cannot do this). If you don’t include your school grades, you need a 4.5 to pass the long gymi exam. If you include your school grades, you need a 4.75 to pass the exam.

But the school grades for Math and German count for half of the exam score. So if your child has 5.5 to 6 grades, that can really pull up the exam score. The exam website has a calculator where you can enter your child’s grades to see what they need to score on the exam. For example, if your child has 6 in Math and 5 in German, they only need a 4 on the exam.

Test preparation courses

Free prep course in school

Some schools offer a free gymi prep course in school. Ask your teacher for options at your school. You usually must have good grades to take the course. It is sometimes during school hours, so your child might miss other instructions. It focuses on taking practice exams, not additional core instruction. In our experience, this course was only helpful in prepping for test taking skills, not in bridging knowledge gaps.

Practice exams on website

This website has all the old gymi tests and answer keys. This is the best place to start prepping for the exam to see where the gaps are.

Don’t forget to practice tests under the time limits of the actual test. Many students can do well with unlimited time, but start bombing when under time pressure.

Private prep courses

Many parents pay for expensive private prep courses. These are usually on Wed afternoons or on Saturdays during the first semester of 6th grade. Intensive courses are also available during the school holidays.

In our experience, a course like this can help your child focus and structure their prep time. Both of my children took test prep classes at Lern Forum, which was priced about the same as others and seemed good (not sponsored, we paid the high fees ourselves). If you search Gymi Vorbereitung and you’ll see lots of companies offering classes.

Private tutor

I think one on one instruction is helpful in bridging specific knowledge or skill gaps, like essay writing, which in our experience was severely lacking in regular school. However, for grammar and math drills, I think group classes are more cost-effective and efficient.

Selecting the right school

Zürich canton has 13 Lang Gymnasium schools, which you can see on this website. Each school has different “maturas” available, which basically means the area of focus your child can choose to study. For example, you could choose German, History, Biology, Math, etc.

It is important to choose a school that has the focus your child is interested in. However, if you start at school that doesn’t have the Matura you want, it is possible to transfer after the first two years.

In the Zürich canton school brochure, they list the following available Maturas. Download these brochures here.

When signing up for the exam, you sign up at the school you want your child to attend. Each school hosts an info evening in Nov – Jan prior to the gymi exam in March. Go to these meetings! At the meeting, you can buy a PIN code so you can apply at the school. But you can get that PIN later at the admin office, after visiting several schools and making a decision.

Gymi is harder than the entrance exam

Passing the gymi exam is only the first step. If you pass, you are in a probationary period for the first semester, aka Probezeit. If your grades aren’t high enough, you are kicked out, which happens to about 30% of new students. These students then go to regular secondary school (or private), where they can try again for the short Gymi two years later.

If you pass the Probezeit, you still have to maintain good grades or you will be kicked out. In some cases, you can repeat a year to improve your grades. But many students drop out due to the pressure or flunk out.

Also note that unlike primary school, Gymi has some fees for books, supplies, school trips and other incidentals.

Have a backup plan!

If your child doesn’t pass the Gymi exam (most kids won’t) or doesn’t pass the Probezeit, you need a backup plan and you should think about this very early in case you want to investigate private schools. Here are the paths we see most kids take if they don’t pass the Gymi exam:

1. Secondary + short Gymi – Most kids simply go to the public secondary school, then try the Kurz Gymi exam after the 2nd or 3rd year. If your child takes this route, s/he will likely need some extra prep outside of school to help pass this exam, as the school doesn’t provide any support for this.

2. Private Swiss secondary – Many parents, especially wealthy expats, choose to send their kids to private secondary school. These schools usually have a Gymi prep track, which hypothetically focuses on getting kids into Kurz gymi. To qualify for this track, students usually need a note of 5 in German and Math. Otherwise, they go into a normal track

3. Private Swiss Gymi – Some kids go to private Swiss gymis, but I’ve heard that you still have to take the public gymi exam to get into these schools. But perhaps their note requirement is lower.

4. Private international – For some expat parents, if the child doesn’t pass the gymi exam, they abandon the Swiss school system and opt for an international school. If you choose this route, make sure to research schools early and get on the waiting lists so you have an option ready for 7th grade. You might find this list of all international schools in Zürich from Studying in Switzerland helpful.

Aftermath – prepare for emotions

Most kids will not pass, so prepare them and yourself for this outcome. It can be a very emotional time for many people, especially after so many time, effort and money spent on preparing for the exam.

If you do pass, be kind and considerate to those who didn’t pass. It feels bad when your friends pass and you don’t.

After primary school, many friends are separated as kids go off to lots of different schools, be it gymi, private, or different public schools. Many kids have a very hard time during this transition period and perform poorly in school as a result. Just be aware of this so you can support your children during this time.

That’s it for now. I hope you found this help, but I’m sure I missed a few things here and there. Good luck!