It is now official: From the 2027/2028 school year, the Hohlstrasse branch (Zurich-West) of the Wiedikon Cantonal School (Kantonsschule Wiedikon) will be transformed into an independent middle school called Aussersihl Cantonal School (Kantonsschule Aussersihl, KAS).

The independent Kantonsschule Aussersihl (KAS) will continue to operate the grammar school and the secondary technical school (FMS) at the Hohlstrasse location.

Start now with grammar school preparation!

The most important points in brief:

Since the 2024/2025 school year, the Hohlstrasse branch of the Wiedikon Cantonal School has been running a grammar school (grammar school profile Philosophy/Psychology/Education) and a secondary technical school (FMS).
The capacity of the temporary Hohlstrasse school building will be fully utilised by the 2027/2028 school year.
Following the temporary facility, a permanent school building for 1,500 pupils is planned for the Hohlstrasse site.
For various reasons, the Hohlstrasse branch of the Wiedikon Cantonal School will become the independent Aussersihl Cantonal School (KAS) from the 2027/2028 school year.
The Aussersihl Cantonal School (KAS) is expected to teach the following core subjects from the 2029/2030 school year onwards: ‘Philosophy, Education & Psychology’, ‘Natural Laws & Mathematical Structures’ and ‘Geopolitics’.

Table of contents

Reasons for the Hohlstrasse branch becoming independent
Focus subjects at the new Aussersihl Cantonal School (KAS)
Conclusion

Reasons for the Hohlstrasse branch becoming independent

The Hohlstrasse branch of the Wiedikon Cantonal School began operating in the 2024/2025 academic year on the site of the former goods railway station in Zurich-Aussersihl. At this location, the Wiedikon Cantonal School offers both a secondary technical school (FMS) and a grammar school with a grammar school profile in Philosophy/Psychology/Education.

The Cantonal Government had already commissioned the planning of this temporary facility and a subsequent permanent middle school for the Zurich-West region back in 2021. This is because the population of the Canton of Zurich is growing, leading to an increased demand for middle school places, particularly in the city of Zurich.

The temporary school premises on Hohlstrasse have a capacity of 650 pupils and will help alleviate the growing demand for school places, particularly in the Zurich districts of Wiedikon, Aussersihl, Albisrieden and Altstetten. As this temporary facility will already be operating at full capacity by the 2027/2028 school year, the Government Council of the Canton of Zurich has advocated for the Hohlstrasse branch to become an independent institution, the Aussersihl Cantonal School (KAS), from that point onwards.

Separating the Hohlstrasse site from the main site at the Wiedikon Cantonal School would also make sense because the respective educational programmes would differ. At the main site of the Wiedikon Cantonal School, for example, the bilingual Matura with English is offered, as well as arts and languages Matura profiles. At the Hohlstrasse site, on the other hand, only the Philosophy/Psychology/Education profile is offered.

See also our article ‘All grammar schools in canton Zurich and grammar school profiles’.

Focus subjects at the new Aussersihl Cantonal School (KAS)

The independent Aussersihl Cantonal School (KAS) will continue to run its grammar school and secondary technical school at the Hohlstrasse site in the existing temporary school premises.

At a later date, a school building with capacity for 1,500 pupils is to be constructed for the KAS on the same Hohlstrasse site.

As part of the reform of the grammar school Matura (WEGM), the existing grammar school profiles will be phased out from the 2029/2030 academic year onwards. Instead, in accordance with Education Council Resolution 2026/09 of 1 June 2026, grammar schools will be organised around the following 12 focus subjects:

Media, Identity & Communication
Language & Culture: Italian
Language & Culture: Spanish
Language & Philosophy: Latin
Laws of nature & mathematical structures
Engineering
Life Sciences
Geopolitics
Economy, Law & Society
Philosophy, Education & Psychology
Art & Design
Music & Performance

Individual schools may offer the following additional focus subjects in the language department:

Language & Culture: French
Language & Culture: Russian
Language & Philosophy: Greek

In accordance with Education Council Resolution 2026/10 of 1 June 2026, it is planned that the following focus subjects will be taught at the Hohlstrasse site from the 2029/2030 academic year onwards:

‘Philosophy, Education & Psychology’
‘Natural Laws & Mathematical Structures’
‘Geopolitics’

It is to be assumed that, with this allocation, the Hohlstrasse site will continue to be run by the independent Aussersihl Cantonal School (KAS).

Start probationary period course now!

Conclusion

As the cantonal government itself states in its proposal of 5 November 2025 regarding the separation of the Hohlstrasse branch of the Wiedikon Cantonal School to form the Aussersihl Cantonal School, the separation of the Hohlstrasse site from its parent institution, the Wiedikon Cantonal School, comes at exactly the right time.

This is because the reform of the gymnasium Matura will be implemented in the 2029/2030 school year, which includes, in particular, the replacement of the existing grammar school profiles with focus subjects. The necessary preparations for this will begin in Zurich’s middle schools in autumn 2026. Consequently, the educational structure of the new Aussersihl Cantonal School can be fully aligned with the Matura reform.

The focus subjects planned for the Hohlstrasse site – ‘Philosophy, Education & Psychology’, ‘Laws of Nature & Mathematical Structures’ and ‘Geopolitics’– differ significantly from those of the Wiedikon Cantonal School, the school’s parent institution. The latter will remain heavily focused on languages and the arts, with the specialisation subjects ‘Language & Culture: Spanish’, ‘Language & Culture: Italian’, ‘Language & Philosophy: Latin’, ‘Art & Design’ and ‘Music & Performance’. In addition, from the 2029/2030 academic year, the specialisation ‘Engineering’ will be offered, somewhat deviating from the existing profile at the Wiedikon Cantonal School.

Accordingly, it still makes sense for the Hohlstrasse site to become independent even after the Matura reform comes into effect from the 2029/2030 school year onwards, as the educational programmes at both sites will continue to differ significantly overall in the future.

It is best to start preparing for the grammar school at an early stage