Homeschooling in Zurich

starjam New member

Member since 20 May 2023

starjamNew member20 May 2023 23:01:35

Hallo.

I realise that everyone in Europe is sleeping right now as I type this from Australia.

My husband is already working out there and has found a place for us to live. We are excited to be moving to a little village on the edge of Zurich in around 2 months' time with our two kids (aged 12 & 13), 2 dogs, and my Mum.

Our biggest hurdle (at the moment) seems to be education.聽 We were advised against state schooling because our children do not speak German and they will fall behind dramatically.聽 And we did not factor private schooling into the equation and the fees are eye-watering.

So my next bit of research will be homeschooling, or online schooling with a company like Crimson Global Academy (which keeps popping up in Google ads).

I understand all this varies from Canton to Canton and also to my great surprise the homeschooling numbers are low in Switzerland compared to Australia.

I would appreciate any experiences of a homeschooling path in Switzerland!

GuestPoster491 Guest

GuestPoster491Guest21 May 2023 10:54:02

Don't expect that you will be allowed to homeschool.聽 It is usually only allowed in exceptional circumstances.聽 Kids learn languages fast, and they will need to speak German to integrate there. They need friends, to communicate in public (shopping, restaurants, etc...), and yes, to be educated.聽 I'd recommend starting them with whatever language lessons or apps you can to start learning German.聽 It's not that hard

starjam New member

Member since 20 May 2023

starjamNew member25 May 2023 04:31:31

Thanks for your response. I've done a bit of research and spoken to an education consultant and it's legal in 16 out of 26 cantons, Zurich being one of them. The numbers have doubled in the past 5 years.

My kids have been doing Duolingo and we hope to get a family tutor or join in some classes when we arrive.

I was wondering if there was anyone that was actually already homeschooling and could share their experiences.聽 PM's are welcome