The Education System in Switzerland
Switzerland is internationally recognized as a centre of excellence for education, and not only for Swiss children. Alongside the state-funded establishments, Switzerland also offers a wide choice of high quality education at private schools. Both public and private establishments provide a comprehensive range of education.
Swiss education includes the following educational levels or types of schools: pre-school level, primary level, secondary level I, secondary level II (vocational education, intermediate diploma schools and Matura schools), tertiary level (higher professional education, Universities of Applied Sciences, universities and the Federal Institutes of Technology), special education and continuing education (see graph below).
There are many different opportunities for a child to get an education. The curriculum below shows some of the most common pathways through the educational system. Of course, there are many other ways to get an education and there are other schools and possibilities especially in the area of continuing education.
Very broadly, it may be broken down into three levels:
