Swiss School Supplies

When I got my first list of Swiss school supplies to buy, I was stressed because I didn’t know what most of the words meant, especially since some were in local dialect and not in my German-English dictionary. Even when I knew the word in English, I often didn’t know what to buy because it was a different school culture.

I asked my Swiss neighbors for a guided tour to Swiss school supplies to make sure my child had all the right things. Still, the teachers sent notes home telling me that I was doing it wrong and needed to buy different stuff. Sigh.

So here’s a quick guide to some typical Swiss school supplies to help you and your child navigate this next phase of your Swiss life. For many expat children, it can be very important to fit in and not seem like an outsider. I hope this helps.

Note: Thanks to coocazoo for sponsoring this post and supporting Swiss Family Fun. We support their values of making long-lasting ergonomic products, using eco-friendly sustainable materials & supporting fair wages and climate protection with their partners. Learn more here.

1. Schulthek / Rucksack – school backpack

The most important decision for parents and children is the school backpack, aka Schulthek (also called Rucksack or Schulranzen). When I was a kid, I simply picked a cute inexpensive backpack every year, didn’t think much about it, and it was totally trashed by the time summer rolled around. But in Switzerland, children typically use their backpacks for three years and they are a big part of their school life. For some children, picking just the right Thek and showing it to their friends is an important back-to-school social ritual.

These Swiss school backpacks are likely more expensive than you’re used to. But they are also much higher quality, very sturdy, and come with lots of bells and whistles. Selecting a comfortable, ergonomic backpack that grows with your child is an investment in your child’s health and happiness for the next years.

This year my son is graduating primary school and starting secondary school, which means time for a fresh new Thek that will hopefully last through the next three years. He picked out this ScaleRale Laserreflect Solar Green Thek from coocazoo, with a cool reflective design that will help keep his safe on his longer walk to school next year. He wants to start using it immediately, but I’m encouraging him to save it for the fall.

He likes that this coocazoo Thek has more compartments that his last one, which will help keep him better organized. It has a lot of padding and ergonomically designed straps, which will make it easier carrying all the heavy books back and forth since he doesn’t have a locker at his new school. It also uses a EASY GROW SYSTEM, allowing the straps to adjust as he grows. Plus, we really like supporting a brand like coocazoo that uses eco-friendly sustainable materials and cares about climate protection and fair wages in their production facilities. Learn more here.

To be honest, for my son’s first Thek, I was determined to find a cheaper option and I bought a store brand backpack for about CHF 50 and I felt quite proud of myself. But after the first school week, the cheaper Thek wasn’t comfortable and soon started to fall apart plus my son felt it wasn’t nearly as cool as his friends’ packs. We upgraded later that year to a higher quality Thek, which lasted more than three years and my son was much happier. I think it really important to invest wisely in a high quality comfortable Thek that will last longer than one season and preserves the back health of your child.

Note: This post is sponsored by coocazoo but all opinions expressed here are my own.

2. Etui / Mäppchen – pencil case

For years, I was oblivious to the importance of the Etui (aka Mäppchen), which is almost as important as the Thek. In many Swiss classrooms, the Etui always sits on the child’s desk, not only to organize their supplies, but also to visually mark their territory. Having a design you like makes a difference.

Many Schultheks come with a matching Etui, like my son’s coocazoo one shown below. We like Etuis like this that have a lid that zips wide open to reveal a deep box. It makes it much easier to store awkwardly sized items and find the items you need. We also like the flap that gives easy access to most frequently used items, like scissors, a pen and a few colored pencils.

Even my 16 year old uses his Etui every day, both at work and school. He was delighted to get this fresh coocazoo Mäppchen to kick off this new year.

Some Etui come with colored pencils, ruler, scissors and other supplies. Usually the colored pencils are such low quality that we never use them. The other supplies like scissors and a small ruler can be helpful, but I wouldn’t consider this an important part of your buying criteria for an Etui.

3. Turnsack – gym bag

All kids have these simple drawstring bags to hold their gym clothes & shoes or swim stuff for school. These bags go by a lot of names: Turnsack, Sportbeutel, Finkensäckli, etc. No one carries a roomy gym bag like I’m used to, with a sturdy over-the-shoulder strap and separate compartments for smelly shoes and a baseball glove. Do not get this style for your child! 

You can get a basic Turnsack at any sports store and they often give them away for free at events. But the cheap ones usually start disintegrating after a few months and don’t have any extras like pockets. So I think it’s worth it to invest in a nicer Turnsack, with sturdy fabric and at least one zip pocket, vital for storing keys, money, bus passes and IDs.

Often the Schulthek comes with a matching Turnsack made from high quality fabric, like this one that came with my son’s coocazoo backpack. We love that is a bit larger than the typical Turnsak, helpful for fitting in his big shoes and a jacket. The strings are securely attached to the bag with a strap sewn into the seam, instead of a metal ring punched through the fabric, which most others have (and always tears the fabric, creating a hole). My son’s Turnsack also has a big zip pocket, which can fit both personal items and snacks. I also like that the fabric is reflective to keep him safe when traveling to sports classes.

I like to have a second Turksack for swim stuff, which definitely needs to be bigger to fit a towel. I also like ones that I can wash because inevitably, my kids will leave a wet bag sitting somewhere and it gets all smelly.

4. Kindergartentastche & Znünibox – Snack bag & box

In Kindergarten, most kids have a Kindergartentasche, aka small bag, to bring their snack to school. This is usually a small satchel with an over-the-shoulder strap. My son had an adorable mini backpack. Since they don’t have to carry any books or supplies back and forth, this bag can be quite small and the focus is on maximum cuteness. This can be an exciting purchase for many children, so I recommend including them in the decision. There are very elaborate designs made from beautiful felt and leather but you can easily get more affordable versions made from sturdy cloth or synthetic materials.

above: Znünitasche from La Fraise Rouge and box from Sigikids

Many Kindergarten and early primary school kids will have a cute Znüni box to hold their snack. These often have different compartments to hold different kinds of snacks. It might have a place to write their name. Sometimes it match their satchel.

The mid-morning snack is an important part of the social routine for Kindergarten and early primary school. It might be different now with Corona regulations, but school kids often sit around chatting while they snack and spend time examining snacks of their friends and trading items.

We simply used the Clic Clac boxes from Migros, nothing fancy. But having a box with a cool design may be important to some children after they see the boxes other kids bring. This was never too important for my kids, but you should ask your children about it.

5. Turntäppeli – gym shoes

All kids who do any indoor sports, even at school, will need indoor gym shoes. In Kindergarten and early primary school, most kids are required to wear “Turn tappeli” which you will not find in your German dictionary. If you’re searching online, you’ll have more luck searching for Gymnastikschuhe or Geräteschuhe. These are thin slippers, similar to ballet slippers, you can find at any shoe store or sports store. 

pictured here are shoes from Dosenbach and Oschner Sport

You can get really inexpensive ones (as low as CHF 5) but those kind don’t last long and you might have to replace them at mid-term. Make sure to check your kids turntäppeli every semester. I was so embarrassed when the teacher sent my kid home with shredded tappeli, with instructions to have their parent immediately buy new ones. 

The really cheap ones (sold in plastic bags, often behind the register) are not stretchy and very narrow, which can be uncomfortable for kids with thick feet or wide feet. My kids had a really hard time shoving their feet in them, even if we bought them extra big. So I highly recommending spending a bit more for better quality Gymnastikschuhe that are stretchy. These are easy to find for girls that like pink, but a bit difficult to find in colors/prints that were acceptable for my boys. 

Our teachers would not accept socks because they were too slippery. They would also not accept socks with sticky tread because they were too sticky. 

In older classes, like 4th grade and above, my kids usually switched to indoor sneakers instead of the Täppeli. In this case, no one can wear Täppeli anymore because someone might get stepped on with a sneaker and that would hurt. These indoor gym shoes typically have smooth white soles. If you aren’t sure, just ask at the sports store for “Hallenschuhe.”  Since kids’ feet grow quickly, I prefer to get quite inexpensive versions at Dosenbach.

6. Finken – House shoes

Kids typically wear house shoes, called Finken or Hausschuhe, in Kindergarten and primary school. They leave their regular shoes in the changing room and wear these slipper/sandal shoes in the classroom. Shoe stores for kids will have a whole range of house shoes, from cheap plastic to comfortable quality footwear.

the shoes pictured here are from Dosenbach and Ochsner Sport

They come in all sorts of styles, a few shown above. My kids have usually worn Crocs. Some teachers will not allow open toe sandals, so check with the teacher first before buying something.

Make sure to check these shoes every few months because my kids would never tell me the shoes were broken or too small until I went to visiting day was totally embarrassed that my kid was wearing trashed house shoes.

7. Farbstifte – Colored pencils

School kids use colored pencils for everything – drawing, grammar, geometry, language learning, etc. This is probably their most used school supply. Many primary kids get a set to use at school. But they’ll need a set at home for homework that has the same colors at school.

My son’s latest school letter specified the colors: brown, blue, green, orange, yellow and red. We’ve had many an argument about the necessity of using the exact shade of purple that my child had used at school to finish the assignment at home. I never win this argument.

We typically buy the Caran d’Ache 18 pencil set in order to get orange and purple. I like the slim metal case that is easy to store. Caran d’Ache also offers a 16 piece school set with a box, eraser, sharpener, etc. Faber Castel is another popular brand here and we have lots of those as well.

Starting in secondary school, my son has to bring his own set to school and they ask you to carve their initials into the pencils. This is typically done as shown below, scraping off a bit from the end of the pencil, then writing on the initials.

8. Spitzer – Pencil sharpener

You can get any old sharpener, but my child’s happiness exponentially increased when we invested in a CHF 10 electric sharpener. He has sharpened every pencil in a 3 block radius. He is the envy of all his friends. He takes it to school and the teacher compliments him taking such good care of his supplies. This tiny item is an absolute delight and highly recommended.

9. Füllifeder / Tintenroller – ink pen

Swiss schools love to have kids write in pen, which to me seems ridiculous, but no one cares what I think. Most schools expect kids to have a “Fülli”, which is an ink pen that can be refilled with cartridges (Tintenpatronen). A ball point pen is not acceptable. My kids have to use blue ink, but ask your teacher. 

Pelikan is a popular brand for this type of pen and there are lots of ergonomic kid-friendly styles available. Any grocery or stationary store will have these types of pens and the ink.

photo from Pelikan

I like to buy the erasable ink pens, which are also refillable, because kids make mistakes and the stress of having to rewrite the whole page for one little mistake is a nightmare. But some teachers do not allow this, particularly for exams. So again, ask the teacher so your child doesn’t get in trouble for your shopping choices.

10. Lineal, Zirkel, Geodreieck, Oh my! – Math supplies

Math has a mysterious vocabulary of its own that you should quickly memorize so when your child is searching around the house for their Massstab, who know what the heck they are looking for. Again, many kids will have a set of these to use at school, but they need a set at home, maybe two because they are always getting lost. If you have multiple children, each child should have their own set, maybe color coded. I’m so sick of the arguments over who gets to use the Zirkel!

Lineal / Massstab, aka ruler. Precision is very important in Swiss school. My son has been marked down several times for less than 1 mm of variance on his tests. Do not be tempted by the flexible bendy versions of rulers that can mess with this precision. We like the see-through versions, which help you see the shapes you are drawing underneath the ruler. Best to have a variety of lengths and widths.

Geodreieck, aka “set square” or triangle rule. The English word is totally meaningless to me, so I’ve adopted the German word. We have bought at least 6 of these and they are all in various states of disrepair. You can not have enough of these. They are used for everything.

Zirkel, aka compass. You might vaguely remember this dangerous looking instrument from your school days. It has two legs, one with a sharp point and the other with pencil lead. It’s used for drawing circles and arcs, which my kids have to do constantly. The frantic searches around the house for the Zirkel are common occurrences around here.

Extra credit: Duden dictionary

I know a physical dictionary seems a little silly in this modern age. But having the standard dictionary at home saves a lot of homework hassle. These are used for spelling training and sometimes for vocabulary. Kids often need to know the same definition that everyone else in their class is using, not a random definition from a website. When kids take the standardized entrance exams for Gymi, they are allowed to bring a Duden with them to the exam. To be fair, we still don’t have one but have checked them out of the library or borrowed from friends on occasion. 

That’s all for school supplies. I hope you find this helpful.

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