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Why are new grammar schools being built in Zurich and Aargau?

New grammar schools planned in Zurich and Aargau as well as extensions and temporary solutions

Several new buildings, extensions, and temporary facilities for cantonal schools and grammar schools are planned in both the cantons of Zurich and Aargau.

 

Zurich has put plans for new grammar schools and expansions on hold due to a lack of funds

A large number of new grammar schools are being planned in the canton of Zurich, as well as extensions and temporary facilities, some of which are already under construction. However, many new high school buildings that are still in the planning stage have been put on hold in Zurich due to a lack of funds. They are on a so-called cantonal priority list for major investments, the implementation of which has been halted, at least temporarily:

  • New cantonal school building in Wädenswil (postponed indefinitely)
  • New building for the Zurich-Aussersihl cantonal school (postponed indefinitely)
  • New building for the Dübendorf cantonal school (postponed indefinitely)
  • New cantonal school building in Affoltern am Albis (postponed indefinitely)

Construction is still going ahead, but probably only for the new cantonal school in Uetikon am See and temporary buildings. At the beginning of April 2025, the extension to the grammar school in Urdorf in the canton of Zurich was opened. Furthermore, the Küsnacht cantonal school received a temporary container building in the summer of 2025. The Freudenberg and Enge cantonal schools in the city of Zurich and Dübendorf are also receiving temporary buildings. And in Affoltern am Albis, instead of a new concrete building, a temporary wooden building is being constructed, which is scheduled for completion in 2028.

Aargau is committed to implementing three new cantonal school buildings and several extensions

New grammar schools and cantonal schools, school extensions, and temporary school facilities are also planned in the canton of Aargau. By 2040, three new cantonal schools are to be built in Aargau, several extensions are to be carried out, and several temporary solutions are to be created, some of which have already been implemented:

  • New cantonal school building in Stein (opening in 2029)
  • New cantonal school building in Lenzburg (opening in 2035 or 2040)
  • New cantonal school building in Windisch (opening in 2035 or 2040)
  • Extension of the cantonal school in Wettingen (opening in 2025)
  • Extension of the Baden cantonal school (opening in 2028)
  • Extension of the Wohlen cantonal school (opening in 2032)
  • Extension of the Alte Kantonsschule Aarau cantonal school (opening in 2034)
  • Temporary solution for Kanti-Stein (opening in 2025)
  • Temporary solution for Mittelland cantonal schools (opening in 2030)

Unlike Zurich, Aargau is sticking to its plans to implement these projects. There is no mention of a priority list.

 

 

Increase in grammar school students roughly corresponds to population increase

The question that arises is: Why are so many new grammar schools being planned in Zurich and Aargau? Is the grammar school graduation rate, also known as the “grammar school rate,” rising, meaning that an increasing proportion of students are attending high school? Or is it due to population growth in Zurich and Aargau that more and more students are attending the gymnasium?

 

Development of student numbers at grammar schools in Zurich

As can be read on the website of the Canton of Zurich, the number of students attending grammar schools in the canton has been increasing for years. While a total of 16,669 students attended grammar school in Zurich (long- and short-term grammar schools) in the 2015/2016 school year, in the 2024/2025 school year, a total of 20,073 students attended long and short high schools in the canton of Zurich, which is 3,404 more grammar school students than in the 2015/2016 school year.

 

According to the canton of Zurich, the need for new grammar schools in Zurich, as well as for extensions and temporary facilities, is due to the growth in the population in the relevant age group.

This is also reflected in the fact that the grammar school graduation rate in the canton of Zurich has remained relatively stable for years, i.e., the proportion of high school students in the total student population. In 2015, the percentage of high school graduates in the canton of Zurich was 18.4 percent, while in 2024 it was 20.3 percent; and in 2023 it was also 20.3 percent. Nevertheless, due to the rising grammar school graduation rate since 2015, it must be noted that over the years there has been an increasing number of students in the total student population who attend high school, but this proportional increase is not particularly pronounced.

The main driver for new grammar schools in Zurich is therefore population growth, which is primarily due to immigration. The forecast: By the middle of the century, the canton of Zurich expects that there will be a need for an additional 6,000 students in secondary schools, which also include grammar schools. Based on 21,943 secondary school students in the 2024/2025 school year, this would represent an increase of 27.34 percent.

Start preparing for grammar school in Zurich now!

Development of student numbers at grammar schools in Aargau

In the canton of Aargau, the development of student numbers at grammar schools is similar to that in the canton of Zurich. This is because in Aargau, too, the numbers at the cantonal school, where the grammar school in Aargau is also located, have risen in recent years, partly due to population growth, but also because more students from the overall student body are attending the cantonal school. However, population growth is also the main driver of the increasing demand for grammar schools in Aargau.

 

While the population in the 12 to 19 age group in Aargau grew by 11.76 percent between 2015 and 2024, the number of grammar school students increased by 12.87 percent over the same period, slightly exceeding population growth.

It can therefore also be observed in Aargau that the grammar school graduation rate, i.e. the proportion of grammar school students in the total student population, has also increased over the years in the canton of Aargau. While the grammar school graduation rate in Aargau was still 16.3 percent in 2015, it rose to 17.7 percent in 2024. However, a restriction on the grammar school graduation rate was rejected by the cantonal parliament in Aargau; there is no such restriction in Zurich either, although there is talk of an “unofficial quota” at least with regard to transfer to the long-term gymnasium, as this quota has remained at around 15 percent in the canton of Zurich for years.

In Aargau, it is assumed that the number of secondary school students, which also includes grammar school students, will increase by 1,500 by 2045, assuming an unchanged grammar school graduation rate, which corresponds to an increase of 25 percent.

Start preparing for cantonal school in Aargau now!

Conclusion

In summary, it can be said that new grammar schools are being planned and, in some cases, already built in both the canton of Zurich and the canton of Aargau primarily because the population is growing. Although the grammar school graduation rate in Zurich and Aargau is also rising, population growth in both cantons remains the main driver of the additional demand for grammar schools.

 

Sources

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