Zurich schools

[firstboard]

Dear moms,
We will be moving to Zurich in Aug 2015 and I have a son aged 10, he will join Grade 6 in Zurich. Please share your experience of following schools:
ZIS Baden, International school Zurich North and International school of Zug and Luzern.

Many thanks

Hi I have heard good things about Zis Baden. It's quite small tho and a long trip from Zurich, will he be going on the bus? So that might impact meeting friend after school.
Any chance of getting in the Zis Zurich campus?
Zurich North is also quite small.
I have heard good things about ISZL. Definately worth looking at www.englishforum.ch be careful about posting though as a lot of the members are quite abrupt and prickly about international schools.

Thaks Heather. I posed in englishforum but no one has replied yet. It looks like they are bored of answering same question !!!
ZIS Baden has place in DS class .
DH is thinking of living in Zug, so I am looking at ISZL with more interest.

There is also a yahoo families in Zurich group that you might want to look at. Or maybe even a Zug group, there is one called zimmerberg sihltahl group too which is the area around Zurich.
My previous down stairs neighbours had boys at the ISZL campus in Baar ( they were younger than your son though)
Zug is a lovely town, beautiful lake and quite a high number of expats. What is your sons German like? I would say the more and easier access to friends the better. I wouldn't mind living in Zug!

My German ends at Guten tag !! Though we all will do some German classes beofe we move.
I haven't figured out how DS will travel to school, but you reminded me a very important point about friends living locally. DS has an active social life here because all his friends live locally !!! So ISZL looks exciting.
I have posted in Zurich moms yahoo group. I think I am all over the internet with same questions :)

Hi we've been here three years and I've realised the quicker they make friends and settle the better. Happy child = happy Mum, well less worried about them anyway!
Kids tend to be more independent here, taking the train to school, meeting each other etc so if it is possible to be near the school ( we are a 15 minute drive from my boys school) it certainly makes life easier.

I don't have personal experience of the schools, just wondered if it was a permanent move or temporary?

As there are also Bi-lingual options such as SIS?

Wally - I haven't heard many good things about bilingual schools in other forums - Montana is for richi richs with private jets , SIS has a very negative reputation on English forum .
Moreover, I am convinced that IB is for DS, not bilingual. We may send DS to UK boarding at 13+.

All international schools tend to get negative feedback on the English Forum at some point or other! People only tend to post the negatives in situations, rather than the positives. There is also a lot of negativity regarding the IB curriculum.

It can be useful in some respects but the forum overall is pretty prickly as heather said.

The language thing was the big debate for us. Bi-lingual school was the perfect fit, as the English skills were kept up in case of a return to the UK (my line of work is quite vunerable shall we say!), but if we fell in love with Switzerland and wanted to make it permanent then our DC had the advantage of another language. They also cover each curriculum.

He is now completely bi-lingual and I am so pleased that he had this opportunity to learn a language fluently like this.

SIS in Basel has a really good reputation.My son attends another bi-lingual school and his progress has been excellent.

On a side note, if you are thinking about Boarding school in the future, would your DC follow the IB there?

Thanks @whallyB...I am familiar with forums and I am cautious about what / who to believe on English forum.

DS will follow UK curriculum in UK boarding.

I want to give IB a try. We will have 2 years at IB school that'll give us fair idea of how DS responds to IB and if we want to live in Swiss or move to the next country/ comeback to UK ?? !!!

DH wants me to like Zug International school but ZIS's website has impressed me more. Till I visit schools, I am keeping my mind open.

Hi Wally!
Firstboard have you looked at the Zis middle school campus in Kilchberg? A lot closer to Zurich than going to Baden.

Yes the visit is the only way.

I received some great advice on the Education threads on International and IB school visits.

DS is primary, doing English Curriculum and Swiss Matura at the moment. We have a few years to decide, but then the choice will be bilingual IB at SIS (although they are also combining with IGCSE - kids doing both), full Swiss system in local school, or IGCSE's in his current school.

Everything is open at the moment!

Hope the visits go well!

Heather - Yes, looking at both Baden and Kilchberg campus of ZIS. Baden has space but am not too sure about Kilchberg having a space in DS's year group.

Have you seen www.zis.ch/cf_news/view.cfm?newsid=3589 ?

WallyBanters - Which school does your DS go to? SIS?

Thanks LIZS. Just read the news about Baden. From my visit it was clear that Kilchberg will not have any space for DS, unless someone moves out. Now if Baden class moves to Kilchberg, it'll be nearly impossible to get a seat.
We were impressed by International school of Zug . But the availability is tight there :(

No he is not at SIS. He is at another bilingual school in Basel.

How are you getting on? Are you getting anywhere?

WallyBanters - The schools I liked have waiting lists and with closing of Baden campus, it'll be more complicated. We will know in summer if we have a place or not. I have applied and now its wait and watch !!

Zis are shortly having a meeting with the Baden parents ( apparently they knew nothing of the planned closure until the press release yesterday) so more information should come out from that I guess. I know parents won't be please if class sizes get any larger.

Heather - did they bring about that ruling in Zurich that if you are a permanent resident your child has to attend a local school?

firstboard good luck with everything, I know it's a nightmare to sort out, I felt the same five years ago.

Wally, as far as I know they did. If you live in Canton Zurich you have to prove you will only be short term resident ( how short term I don't know I'm guessing around 2 years) to send your child to international school.

Heather - What happend in parents meeting of Baden ZIS? There were 11 students in DS's year group and I presume most will join the Kilchberg ZIS campus as they will give a bus facility from Baden to Kilchberg. So chance of DS getting a place is slim.

Does anyone know how oversubscibed International School of Zug and Luzern is? They also told me that they don't have any space .

Hi Firstboard I didn't go but I know they had a meeting. Explained the closure. Parents who want to can move their children to Zis Wadenswil or Kilchberg. I think your guess might be right.
It must be very difficult and you have my sympathies.

Have you considered a bilingual school? I know a teacher and a few families with kids in the Obersee Bilingual School and they're very happy and have good enough German to make local friends.

If you are looking for 2015 entry there will be a turnover of expat families next summer which throws up places. Usually first indications are requested in the New Year and confirmation by Easter. It would pay to be on the waiting list for more than one but it is likely something will come up.

Also if you are on a waiting list, keep in touch, ring up every couple of weeks so they don't forget you!
Don't just sit on the list and wait for them to call. Be a pain!

Good news at last. Been offered a place in ISZL from next academic year. Phew !! Thanks for the support.