Brief Review

Compulsory Education

In Switzerland, compulsory education consists of primary and lower secondary levels and lasts for nine years, from the age of 6/7 to 15/16. The individual cantons set the curriculum, but most include the following:

Primary level (age 6 to 12)

• One national language (depending on the region, German, French, Italian or Romansh), often integrated within this: writing
• Two foreign languages (of which at least one of them must be a national language)
• Mathematics
• History and political science
• Geography
• Science
• Drawing and design
• Handicrafts
• Music
• Sports

Lower Secondary level (age 12 to 16)

• One national language (depending on the region, German, French, Italian or Romanic)
• Two foreign languages, of which at least one of them must be a national language
• Mathematics
• Natural science
• Geography
• History and political science
• Home economics, needle work and crafts
• Drawing and design
• Music
• Sports