For those of us who did not grow up in Switzerland, the education system here can seem like a bit of a mystery. While there are variations between the different cantons, the Swiss education system is on the whole excellent and well-rated in world-wide rankings (ranked 8th best in the world in 2022). This article will focus specifically on the 0-18 age group and the schools in Basel Stadt.
As a parent with two school-aged daughters navigating this process, I felt it was worthwhile to share my insights with newcomers considering their next steps. Although I've made every effort to ensure the information here is accurate and concise, keep in mind that the education landscape is always evolving. For the most up-to-date information, please consult local authorities before making any final decisions.
The Swiss Education System
The Swiss education system is unique for its decentralized structure, giving each of the 26 cantons significant autonomy to shape their own educational policies and systems. Schooling in Switzerland is compulsory for children from age 4 to 15 or 16, depending on the canton. This period covers pre-primary (kindergarten), primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education.
Pre-Primary: KITA and Kindergarten
KITAs are for young children aged 0-4 and are not necessarily part of the Swiss school system as many are privately run. In Basel there are numerous choices with some specialty options available with regards to language or religion. KITAs provide day care and basic language education and are available in every neighbourhood. Children who speak little or no German (and want to attend public school) must attend a German-speaking institution at least two half-days a week where they learn to speak German through play. This is required in the year preceding kindergarten. For more information from the city please follow this link.
Kindergarten can be combined with a private KITA or be part of a public school and is part of the compulsory schooling for children aged 5 and 6. Children who have reached the age of 5 by the cut-off date (July 31st) enter Kindergarten at the beginning of the next school year. Kindergarten is for two years and is often only in the mornings. Emphasis is placed on play-based learning and children are not taught to read a write until later. The class size in Basel is maximum 20 children.
It may be surprising to foreigners but children of this age are expected to walk to school by themselves and this is seen as an important step to promote independence. You may see young children wearing yellow reflector vests walking alone (or event taking the tram) and this is considered normal and safe.
For more information from the city please follow this link.
Primary School (Primarschule)
There are primary schools in each neighbourhood in Basel covering grades 1 to 6 (ages 6 to 12). Unless there are special circumstances, your child is required to attend the primary school in your neighbourhood. When there are multiple schools in your area you are able to make a choice, provided there is availability.
The curriculum is standardized across Basel Stadt, incorporating all the usual studies of math, German, science, history, art, music, etc. French education is introduced in grade 3 and English in grade 5. In Basel children generally stay with the same teaching team for three years, (grades 1-3 and then a new teaching team for grades 4-6). This provides a level of consistency and allows for teachers to monitor the child's development. For children that are not native German speakers, there are German as a second language classes (called DaZ) available. There are also services for children with special needs, all of which is included in the public school education. The class size in Basel is maximum 25 children.
Children are accessed on a scale (from 'does not meet expectations' to 'exceeds expectations') in the earlier years, and get number rankings (between 0-6) in grades 5 and 6. While the curriculum is generally consistent across both public and private schools, there may be variations in the grading system and how these grades contribute to a student's overall assessment. For instance, subjects like math and German are often weighted more heavily in the final grade.
The 6th grade is very significant and challenging and the rankings for this year determine the child's placement for secondary school. While some cantons have a final exam, Basel uses the entire year for assessment. This final grade determines the student’s educational path at the lower secondary level (Sekondarschule), which can be A-Zug (allgemeine Anforderungen - general requirements), E-Zug (erweiterte Anforderungen - extended requirements), or P-Zug (hohe Anforderungen - higher requirements).
'Joker Days': Each child is granted 2 days per year (called 'Joker Days') that they can take off school with permission for family events or travel. Unused days can also be carried over to the next year and parents simply need to fill out a form to claim them.
For more information from the city please follow this link.
Lunch and After School (Tagesstruktur)
It is common for children to have many half-days of school at the primary level and Wednesday is always a half-day. This can pose a problem for working parents, but there is a system in Basel Stadt put in place to help. Taggestruktur provides a hot lunch and after school care (until 18:00) each day. The system allows you to choose the amount of care you want which can be booked through an online portal.
Lower Secondary School (Sekundarschule)
After two years of kindergarten and six years of primary school, students in Basel move on to one of the eleven lower secondary schools in the area. At these schools, the foundational knowledge and skills acquired during the eight years of primary education are further developed and expanded over three years, until the completion of lower secondary school.
In grade 6 children are sorted into the three categories mentioned above. Generally speaking A-Zug is geared towards more technically-based career paths, E-Zug encompasses technical and higher education and P-Zug is geared towards higher university-style education. There is flexibility between paths though, and children have the ability to change paths at each semester break depending on their performance and recommendations from the teachers. The aim is to prepare each student to find a suitable next step, whether that be further education or entering to the apprenticeship programs.
Lower secondary schools support students and their families in exploring future career paths or selecting the right school for further education. While all schools follow a common curriculum, some may offer additional focus areas, such as languages, science, sports, or music, and can provide instruction in either traditional or workshop-style classes. Job training and short apprenticeships are also part of the lower secondary school system and children are encouraged through job fairs and coaching to try out different career paths.
Children do not have to attend the school in their neighbourhood but can choose a school anywhere in Basel. To apply, families typically shortlist three schools, and the education council makes the final decision on placement.
For more information from the city please follow this link.
Klapp System: Canton Basel Stadt has recently adopted an app for parents and teachers of primary and secondary students to communicate. All messaging and absences are now done through this system.
Lunch and After School: All secondary schools have a cafeteria where students can buy what they want for lunch. Children do not need to carry cash, but can instead use a card that has money loaded on to it through the 'Sekanda' app. After school activities are also available for children who want to sign up and are generally free or have a minimal fee for participation.
Pathways After Lower Secondary
An apt saying that is often used when describing the Swiss schooling system is "All roads lead to Rome." The essential meaning of this is that after lower secondary school there are many different pathways available and much flexibility (as you can see from the diagram above). Some children will go directly into an apprenticeship program, some will continue on to Gymnasium and university and some will do both trainings at the same time. There is also the possibility for children to change their mind, apply for a different program and change directions. Apprenticeships are given equal weight as traditional schooling when applying for jobs as hight value is placed on work experience. Also, since every child takes a different path there is a range of ages in classrooms, so there is no stigma if children have taken extra time to reach the same level of schooling. For more in depth information on this topic you can purchase a book in English (see picture), as well as several other different languages here.
Vocational Pathway
There are several paths for vocational training in Basel area. This is a dual system that has a combination of classroom instruction and apprenticeship. It is also possible for students to earn some income during their studies.
WMS (Wirtschaftmittelschule)
The Wirtschaftsmittelschule (WMS) leads to the Federal Certificate of Competence in Business Administration (EFZ) and the vocational baccalaureate in three years of schooling and a subsequent year of practical training. Vocational training is integrated into the full-time school curriculum and is deepened in a one year work placement in the fourth year of training. With its high proportion of schooling, the WMS offers students a broad general education. Further information: https://wg.edubs.ch/schulprofil/wms.
The list of schools can be found here.
IMS (Informatikmittelschule)
The IT middle school (IMS) is also a full-time school in the area of basic vocational education. It is aimed at young people who are interested in practical training in the IT sector and would like to achieve this through school. The training concludes with the Federal Certificate of Competence as a computer scientist EFZ (Eidgenössischen Fähigkeitszeugnis), specializing in application development, and the vocational baccalaureate. Further information: https://wg.edubs.ch/schulprofil/ims.
The list of schools can be found here.
FMS (Fachmaturitätsschule)
The Fachmaturitätsschule (FMS) prepares students for higher education in one of the following six subject areas:
· Health/Science
· Education
· Social work
· Design/Art
· Music & Theater/Dance
· Communication & Information
Students deepen their general education over three years. From the second year onwards, the lessons are supplemented with subjects specific to the course. After three years, the students receive the Fachmittelschulausweis. This allows them to attend a higher technical college. In a further year, high-performing students can obtain a vocational baccalaureate. Depending on the subject area, this takes place as part of an internship, a preliminary course or an additional year of school. The vocational baccalaureate enables students to study at a university of applied sciences or university of teacher education. It is also possible to study at a university. Further information: www.fmsbasel.ch.
The list of schools can be found here.
Academic Pathway
If a student wishes to carry out an academic (university) career then the path is generally first Gymnasium which then leads to a Matura or International Baccalaureate program (usually within the school), which then prepares students for university. This path has the highest performance requirements.
Gymnasium lasts for 4 years. The application process is again guided by the Education Council of Basel Stadt. There are public schools as well as private schools providing both Matura (Swiss Education Curriculum) and IB (International Baccalaureate) education.
There are five Gymnasiums in the Basel Region. Depending on the school they specialize on certain subjects and some of the provide IB (International Baccalaureate) diplomas as well.
Gymnasium Bäumlihof www.gbbbasel.ch
Gymnasium Kirschgarten www.gkgbasel.ch
Gymnasium Leonhard www.glbasel.ch
Gymnasium at Munsterplatz www.gmbasel.ch
Wirtshaftgymnasium. www.wgbasel.ch
In addition to these public Gymnasiums there are Matura or IB program provided by private schools as well.
The Freies Gymnasium Basel and Swiss International School Basel are also authorized to issue certificates recognized by the Canton.
Transition to Higher Education
Universities accept students based on the cumulative graduation grades and some universities also provide entry exams. University options within Basel and nearby areas are:
University of Basel www.unibas.ch. Founded in 1460, the University of Basel is the oldest university in Switzerland
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland www.fhnw.ch
University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland www.hs-so.ch. Mainly in the French speaking cantons and provides wide variety of faculties.
University of Bern www.unibe.ch
University of Geneva www.unige.ch
University of Zurich, www.uzh.ch
ETH Zurich www.ethz.ch
EPFL Lausanne www.epfl.ch
Extracurricular Activities and Community Involvement
School-Sponsored Activities
Sports, arts, and clubs are widely available in schools. Some secondary schools like Baumlihof Schule have special programs for students skilled in music or sports. There are also other city-funded extra curricular activities such as Kinder Uni or Kinder mit Wirkung which provide exceptional activities for primary school children for free.
Community Programs
Collaboration between schools and local community organizations is also possible through public or private institutions in short or long term. There are also volunteering opportunities for student involvement in this area. To find out more follow the school communications or bulletins.
Practical Information for Parents
Enrolment Process
Key deadlines and documents needed are released in each of the school web pages or at the Canton Education Department. Visit this site to determine the requirements for enrolling a child in school. School application process starts early in the year, and in certain cases it is possible to start mid year.
School Calendar
At the beginning of the year you will receive an overview of the academic year including start/end dates, as well as holidays, and breaks. In Basel the dates for holiday breaks vary every year but follow the same general pattern:
School start: mid August
Fall holiday: early October - 2 weeks
Christmas holiday: encompassing Christmas and New Year - 2 weeks
Fasnacht holiday: end of February to early March (depending on Easter) - 2 weeks
Easter holiday: one month later - 2 weeks
May Day: May 1 - national holiday
Ascension Weekend: (depending on Easter) - 2 days
Whit Monday: (depending on Easter) - 1 day
End of school: end of June
I hope this guide has helps you to understand the basic structure of the Swiss school system in Basel. For those of you who plan to stay long-term in Basel it is an excellent choice.
Haluk Tekbulut
Originally from Istanbul, Haluk has lived and worked in Turkey, Canada and Finland and also studied in Turkey, USA and Finland in engineering and business. He has a genuine interest in travel and culture, which brought him to Basel at the end of 2016, as a trailing spouse. He has worked in global telecom companies for many years and later as independent consultant. He has contributed to global mobile network works and later as consultant on IT enterprise management issues. After moving to Switzerland, he has been busy settling his family and supporting his children's schoolwork. He is a volunteer at Centrepoint and has previously volunteered at ISB and SIS. He speaks English, Finnish and Turkish fluently and is learning German (B1) and French (A2).
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