Grammar school exam in the canton of Aargau in certain cases
In principle, pupils in the canton of Aargau can transfer to the cantonal school (Gymnasium or Kanti) without having to take an examination if they have the required grades in the first or second semester of their final year at district school. Those who do not achieve these grades can take a Kanti entrance exam (Gymi exam, grammar school exam) in the canton of Aargau in order to be able to transfer to the cantonal school.
However, there are also other situations in which you can transfer to the Gymnasium by successfully passing the Kanti exam. In the following article, we have listed the cases in which you can take part in the cantonal school entrance examination in Aargau, which takes place once a year. We also explain the content and procedure of the grammar school entrance exam in the canton of Aargau. And finally, we provide tips on where you can get support in preparing for the grammar school exam.
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Table of contents
- Participation requirements for grammar school exam
- Content and procedure of the Aargau cantonal school entrance exam
Participation requirements for grammar school exam
As already mentioned at the beginning, there are various circumstances in which you may take part in the grammar school exam in the canton of Aargau (Kanti entrance examination), namely the following:
- In the final year of the district school, the average grade and/or the grades in the core subjects are too poor.
- A pupil wishes to transfer from a private school to a grammar school.
- A pupil moves to the canton of Aargau and was previously at an equivalent school in the corresponding grade level.
In the following sections, we look at each of these three options for taking the entrance exam to cantonal school or grammar school (Gymi exam) in Aargau.
Kanti entrance exam due to failing grades at district school
In the canton of Aargau, there is the so-called district school, also known as Progymnasium or Undergymnasium, which lasts from the 7th to the 9th school year after the six-year primary school.
Anyone who achieves an average grade of 4.7 in the subjects relevant for transfer and a grade of 4.0 in the core subjects of German and maths in the first semester of the last year of district school can be provisionally admitted to a grammar school in Aargau. Anyone who achieves this average grade and these grades in the second semester of the last district school class has qualified for definitive admission to the grammar school.
All others who do not achieve the required grades in either the first or second semester of the final district school year still have a chance of being admitted to the cantonal school (Kanti) in the canton of Aargau. To do so, these pupils must have successfully completed the final year of the public district school and then successfully sit the annual entrance exam for the Kanti (Gymi exam). However, this so-called Kanti entrance examination can only be taken in the year following graduation from the district school.
Another prerequisite for transferring to the Gymnasium or cantonal school: As a rule, only students who are under 18 years old at the time of entry to the cantonal school are admitted to the cantonal school.
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Gymi exam for transfer from private school to grammar school
Another option for transferring to the Gymnasium via participation in the annual Kanti entrance examination is a previous education from a private school equivalent to the district school. A distinction is made here between ‘admission from cantonally recognised private schools without differentiation according to ability and from private schooling’ and ‘admission from cantonally recognised private schools with differentiation according to ability’.
In the case of ‘admission from cantonally recognised private schools without differentiation according to performance and from private schooling’, pupils who wish to enter the first year of cantonal school must take the Kanti entrance examination.
In the case of ‘admission from cantonally recognised private schools with differentiation according to ability’, pupils who complete the structural 11th school year (including 2 years of kindergarten) at district school level can register for the Kanti entrance examination. The same applies to pupils who have already completed their schooling at district school level.
Entrance exam for cantonal school as a newcomer to the canton of Aargau
Anyone who has recently moved to the canton of Aargau (newcomers, new residents, new arrivals) can also take the entrance exam for the cantonal school, provided that the newcomer has a previous education that was provided by an equivalent school at the corresponding level.
You may also be interested in the following article: ‘Tips for parents to support their child during the examination phase’
Content and procedure of the Aargau cantonal school entrance exam
The Aargau cantonal school entrance examination consists of several written examinations in German, maths, English and French, which are spread over two examination days. The duration of the examination in German and maths is 90 minutes each, while the duration of the examination in English and French is 60 minutes each.
Anyone who passes the entrance exam is entitled to definitive admission to the grammar school, once at the beginning of one of the two school years following the entrance exam.
If you do not pass the Kanti entrance exam, you can retake it once.
The content of the Kanti entrance exam is based on the requirements profile of the cantonal school (Gymnasium). This means that subject-specific competences are tested that are essential for transfer to the first year of grammar school. The subject competences tested are based on the curricula that apply to the final year at the district school. Specifically, the examinations in the individual subjects consist of the following content:
Examination subject German
Based on a text template (approximately 1 page of a non-fiction or literary text), the candidates must complete three parts of the examination (without aids), namely:
- Text comprehension: summarising, reformulating, explaining, interpreting text passages
- Language observation: spelling, grammar, vocabulary
- Short essay: you can choose between two writing tasks on different types of text; the essay must be at least 250 words long.
Maths examination subject
The maths exam focuses in particular on arithmetic, algebra and geometry (calculations and constructions), but also on other skills listed in the current district school curriculum. The focus of the correction of the examination performance is on the evaluation of the solution (correctness of the reasoning, of the algebraic transformations or of the construction steps).
Calculators that are not programmable and do not have a computer algebra system may be used as aids. Compasses and a set square may also be used. All these aids must be brought by the candidates themselves.
Examination subjects French and English
The examinations in French and English also consist of three parts each, which must be completed without any aids:
- Text comprehension: Questions on the reading text (approx. 400 to 600 words) in the target language must be answered here.
- Language observation: grammar, vocabulary
- Short essay: The essay must be 130 to 150 words long.
The entrance examination for the Gymnasium (Kanti entrance examination) is passed if the following requirements are met cumulatively (i.e. both together):
- the foreign language subject grade (average of the examination grades in English and French) and the subject grades in German and maths must result in an average grade of at least 4, and
- of the three subject grades, a maximum of one subject grade may be below 4
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Sources:
https://www.schulen-aargau.ch/regelschule/unterricht/pruefen-beurteilen/promotionuebertritte
https://www.lern-forum.ch/blog/pruefungsphase-tipps-eltern-kind-pruefungszeit
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