The statistics on the results of the 2026 grammar school entrance exam in the Canton of Zurich are now available. At 48.22 per cent, the pass rate for the grammar school entrance exam remains relatively stable compared with previous years.

Looking at the transfer rate to the long-term grammar school, this stands at around 15 per cent again this year; for the short-term grammar school, the transferrate is approximately between 6 and 7 per cent, similar to previous years.

In the following article, you can find the exact figures, namely the pass rates for the long-term and short-term grammar school exams, the transfer rates to the long-term and short-term grammar schools, the results of the other central entrance exams (ZAP), namely for the FMS, HMS, IMS and BMS exams, and the retention rate following the grammar school probationary period.

Find out more about grammar school preparation courses now!

The most important points in brief:

The pass rate for the 2026 grammar school entrance exam in the Canton of Zurich remained stable at 48.22 per cent compared with previous years.
The ‘unofficial grammar school rate’ for transferring to the long-term grammar school also remained stable at around 15 per cent in 2026.
For the HMS, IMS, FMS and BMS examinations, the overall pass rate in the 2025/2026 school year was 54.96 per cent.
Taking all ZAP examinations together, the pass rate in 2025/2026 stood at 51.1 per cent, which is in line with the long-term average.
The retention rate following the grammar school probationary period stands at around 90 per cent for both the long-term and short-term grammar school.

Table of contents

Grammar school exam results 2026 - success rates
Success rates for HMS, IMS, FMS and BMS exams 2026
Grammar school probationary period quota (results 2025/2026)
Conclusion on the ZAP results 2026

Grammar school exam results 2026 - success rates

In mid-May 2026, the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich once again announced the results of the grammar school entrance examinations for the Canton of Zurich. The list below shows the 2026 grammar school entrance examination results, broken down by candidates for the long-term grammar school examination and the short-term grammar school examination:

Results of the 2026 grammar school entrance examination for the long-term grammar school: out of 4,772 candidates, 2,517 passed, i.e. 52.7%
Results of the 2026 grammar school entrance examination for the short-term grammar school from the 2nd secondary level: out of 2,446 candidates, 984 passed, i.e. 40.2%
Results of the 2026 grammar school entrance exam for the short-term grammar school from the 3rd secondary level: out of 1,690 candidates, 794 passed, i.e. 47%

In total, 8,908 candidates sat the 2026 grammar school entrance exam in the canton of Zurich, of whom 4,295 passed. This means that the overall pass rate for the 2026 grammar school entrance exam was 48.22 per cent. The previous year, the figure was 47.56 per cent.

Looking at the total number of Year 6 pupils, only 15.1 per cent of them can move on to the six-year grammar school. In the previous year, 14.9 per cent had this opportunity. The so-called ‘unofficial rate’ for grammar school entry therefore remains stable at around 15 per cent this year as well.

Start preparing for the grammar school entrance exam now!

The transfer rate to the short-term grammar school in 2026 stood at 7.2 per cent for pupils in the second year of secondary school and at 6.3 per cent for pupils in the third year of secondary school.

The number of candidates sitting the grammar school entrance exam has risen again. In 2025, there were 8,695 candidates sitting the grammar school entrance exam, whilst in 2026 there were already 8,908 candidates, an increase of 213. However, the rate of increase has slowed slightly. This is because between 2024 and 2025, there were 242 additional candidates.

Success rates for HMS, IMS, FMS and BMS exams 2026

The pass rates for the 2026 HMS, IMS, FMS and BMS examinations have also been published by the Canton of Zurich and clearly summarised by us in the following list:

ZAP results for the Commercial Secondary School (HMS) at the end of the 2nd secondary level: out of 1,137 candidates, 553 passed, i.e. 48.6%
ZAP results for the Commercial Secondary School (HMS) from the 3rd secondary level: out of 1,253 candidates, 714 passed, i.e. 57%
ZAP results for the Secondary School of Computer Science (IMS) in the third year of secondary school: out of 145 candidates, 73 passed, i.e. 50.3%
ZAP results for the Specialist Secondary School (FMS) at the third level of secondary education: out of 1,333 candidates, 692 passed, i.e. 51.9%
ZAP results for the Vocational Maturity School (BM1): out of 2,159 candidates, 1,453 passed, i.e. 67.3%
ZAP results for the Vocational Maturity School (BM2): out of 824 candidates, 280 passed, i.e. 34%

In total, 6,851 candidates sat the HMS, IMS, FMS and BMS examinations in 2026, of whom 3,765 passed. The overall pass rate was therefore 54.96 per cent.

It is striking that 56.5% passed the FMS exam last year, meaning the pass rate was nearly 5 percentage points higher. The drop in the pass rate is even greater for the BMS exams. For BM1, 74.2% passed in 2025, which is nearly 7 percentage points higher. For BM2, the rate was 42.5% in 2025, which is also nearly 7 percentage points higher.

Grammar school probationary period quota (results 2025/2026)

The Zurich Department of Education has released the following figures regarding the pass rates for the probationary period at grammar schools in the canton of Zurich:

Long-term grammar school: 92.9 per cent passed the probationary period
Short-term grammar school: 90.2 per cent passed the probationary period

Read our article ‘Gymi trial period at the Langgymi in Zurich tougher than Gymi exams’.

Conclusion on the ZAP results 2026

In the 2025/2026 academic year, a total of 15,759 entrance examinations were taken for grammar school, HMS, IMS, FMS and BMS. The figure for the previous year was 15,273. Once again this year, the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich states that the increase in the number of examinations is due to population growth.

Since 8,060 of the 15,759 ZAP entrance exams were passed, the overall pass rate for all ZAP exams is 51.1 percent, which is in line with the long-term average. However, there was a significant drop in the pass rate for the FMS exam—by nearly 5 percentage points—and for the BMS exams (BM1 and BM2)—by nearly 7 percentage points each. This could indicate that secondary schools are providing their students with an increasingly poor education.

This means that approximately half of all ZAP candidates still fail the ZAP entrance examinations for secondary schools. Optimal preparation for the central entrance examinations in the Canton of Zurich therefore remains extremely important.

Ideally, candidates should attend one or more preparatory courses run by a professional exam preparation institute.

For example, you can book various professional preparatory courses for the ZAP for grammar school, HMS, IMS, FMS or BMS at the exam preparation institute Lern-Forum:

Choose a suitable ZAP preparation course at Lern-Forum

At Lern-Forum, you’ll find both face-to-face courses and online preparation courses. Incidentally, after the Gymnasium entrance exam, you should take part in preparation and support courses for the grammar school probationary period to improve your chances of passing.