Alternative to grammar school exam: Parents move from Zurich to Aargau
As an alternative to the Gymi exam (grammar school) in Zurich, Zurich parents have discovered the move to the canton of Aargau, where there is no Gymi exam. This workaround allows parents in Zurich to spare their children the grammar school exam.
However, if the average grade in the subjects relevant for transfer and/or the grades in the core subjects are not good enough in the final year of the Aargau district school, the pupils must also take the Gymi exam in the canton of Aargau, which is called the Kanti exam there, if these pupils still want to make it to grammar school.
Start your preparation course for the Kanti exam now!
Table of contents :
- Why is the Gymi exam a problem for parents in Zurich?
- In Aargau, it is possible to transfer to grammar school without an exam
- In Aargau, too, a grammar school exam is required as an exception
Why is the Gymi exam a problem for parents in Zurich?
If you want to transfer to a grammar school in the canton of Zurich, you can't avoid the Gymi exam (grammar school exam), which is part of the central entrance exams (ZAP) for the cantonal Matura schools. The problem: not even half of the students who present themselves for the Gymi entrance exam pass the Gymi exam in the canton of Zurich.
In 2024, 8,453 candidates took the Gymi exam in the canton of Zurich, but only 4,041 passed. This results in a pass rate of 47.49 per cent. In the previous year, this rate was slightly higher at 49.63 per cent.
You may also be interested in the following article: ‘Results of the 2024 Gymnasium Entrance Exam (Quota for the Canton of Zurich)’.
Many parents in Zurich who would like to see their children attend grammar school fear that their child will not pass the exam due to the strict selection process for the Gymi exam. In search of an alternative to the Gymi exam, some academic families would therefore move away from Zurich to the canton of Aargau. This is reported by the ‘CH Media’ editorial team, which is said to be aware of several such cases. Among other things, the possibility of children being able to transfer to grammar school without taking an entrance exam or the lower social pressure of having to pursue a grammar school career are said to have been decisive factors in these cantonal moves.
In Aargau, it is possible to transfer to grammar school without an exam
The reason why Zurich families move to the canton of Aargau to avoid the Zurich grammar school exam: In Aargau, pupils do not have to take a grammar school exam (Kanti exam) in order to make it to grammar school. Some children of divorce, where one parent lives in Aargau and the other in Zurich, also take advantage of the difference in the grammar school exam. This is because these divorced children can choose whether they go to school in the canton of Zurich or the canton of Aargau and favour the Aargau school system so that, in the best-case scenario, they don't have to take the Kanti exam.
However, the prerequisite for transferring to a grammar school in the canton of Aargau without having to take an exam is that you achieve the required grades in the final year of the so-called district school. The Aargau district school begins after the six-year primary school and lasts from the 7th to the 9th school year.
There are two possible points in time for determining whether you have the required grades for transfer to the cantonal school (Kanti): the first semester of the 3rd district school class or the second semester of this final class at the district school.
Students who achieve an average grade of 4.7 in the subjects relevant to transfer and a grade of 4.0 in the core subjects of German and maths in the first semester of their final year at the district school are provisionally admitted to the Gymnasium in Aargau. Students who achieve this average grade and these grades in the second semester of the final year at the district school will be definitively accepted at the grammar school.
However, when attending the Aargau school system, it is important to bear in mind that it takes 13 years to complete the Matura, whereas in Zurich you can complete the Matura after just 12 years.
In Aargau, too, a grammar school exam is required as an exception
The opportunity to take part in a Kanti exam (Gymi exam) is available in the canton of Aargau, however, as an exception for those pupils who have not achieved the required grades in the last district school class.
The following additional requirements must be met in order to take part in the entrance examination for the cantonal school (Gymnasium):
- Successful completion of the final year of the public district school
- as a rule, candidates must be under 18 years of age at the time of entry to the cantonal school
Book a preparation course for the Kanti exam in the canton of Aargau now!
Sources :
https://www.lern-forum.ch/en/blog/admission-quota-for-high-school-in-2024
https://www.ag.ch/de/themen/bildung-forschung/mittelschulen/gymnasium/aufnahmebedingungen
Multicheck-Kosten: Was kostet der Multicheck-Test?
Wie hoch sind die Multicheck-Kosten? Was der Multicheck-Test kostet und welche Kosten bei der Multicheck-Vorbereitung entstehen können, erfährst du hier.
Das duale Bildungssystem der Schweiz bietet Chancen - nicht für alle
Das duale Bildungssystem in der Schweiz: eine Chance für einige, aber nicht für alle: wir erklären die Bedeutung vom dualen Bildungssystem und seine Vorteile.
Ab wann sollte man mit der Gymivorbereitung beginnen?
Ab wann Gymivorbereitung beginnen in Zürich? Für das Langzeitgymnasium in der 4. Klasse und für das Kurzgymnasium spätestens in der 1. Sekundarklasse.