When to start grammar school preparation: The calendar on the table with school bags shows that you have to pay attention to the right time.

When should I start the grammar school preparation?

If you want to transfer to a grammar school in the canton of Zurich, you have to pass the grammar school exam. But when should you start preparing for the central entrance exam (ZAP) for the Gymnasium?

This question of ‘when to start preparing for the gymnasium’ depends in particular on whether you want to transfer to the long-term gymnasium or the short-term gymnasium.

In the following article, we first explain the difference between long-term grammar school and short-term grammar school. We then explain when you should start preparing for long-term grammar school and when you should start preparing for short-term grammar school.

Table of contents

Long-term grammar school or short-term grammar school
- Difference between long-term grammar school and short-term grammar school Zurich
- Which is better for the child: long or short grammar school?
From when to prepare for long term grammar school
From when to prepare for short grammar school

Long-term grammar school or short-term grammar school

The question of when you should start preparing for grammar school in order to make the best grammar school preparation in Zurich depends on whether you want to transfer to the long grammar school or the short grammar school.

Grammar school exams approaching? Start preparing for the gymnasium in Zurich now at the latest!

Difference between long-term grammar school and short-term grammar school Zurich

The difference between long-term grammar schools and short-term grammar schools is firstly the starting date and secondly the duration. The long-term grammar school starts after the 6th primary school year and lasts 6 years, while the short-term grammar school starts after the 2nd or 3rd secondary school year and lasts 4 years in each case. Another difference is that Latin is a compulsory subject in the first two years of the long grammar school, whereas this is not the case in the short grammar school.

Both the long-term grammar school and the short-term grammar school lead to the federal baccalaureate (Matura). In terms of the baccalaureate (Matura), it therefore makes no difference whether you attend the long grammar school or the short grammar school.

With the long-term grammar school baccalaureate and the short-term grammar school baccalaureate, you can study at university, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) or at the University of Teacher Education (PH).

Which is better for the child: long or short grammar school?

So, if the graduation from the long grammar school (long term Gymnasium) and the short grammar school (short term Gymnasium) is the same, the question arises as to which of the two types of grammar school is more suitable for the child in question.

Basically, it can be said that transferring to the long grammar school is more demanding for the child than transferring to the short grammar school. The intensive Latin lessons, which are compulsory in the first two years at the long grammar school, represent a major challenge. German and history lessons are also challenging for young pupils at the long grammar school, as these lessons are taught at a high level.

You should also be aware that your child will have to prepare for long-term grammar school at an early age, i.e. devote a large part of their childhood to school. This can be at the expense of an artistic or sporting education alongside school, for example.

However, the child not only has to pass the gymnasium examination for the long-term gymnasium, but also the probationary period at the long-term gymnasium. If the child fails the probationary period at the long grammar school, he or she will be downgraded to secondary school. Such a downgrading can have a negative impact on the child's self-confidence. A child who wants to transfer to the long grammar school should therefore really be ready for it.

Please also read our article "Gymnasium trial period at the long-term grammar school in Zurich even harder than the Gymnasium exam".

If you want to give your child more time to prepare for grammar school, you should opt for preparation for the short grammar school. This also applies to the time needed to consider whether the child wants a grammar school education at all, for example to study at university afterwards. It is possible that the child will decide to do a vocational apprenticeship after reaching advanced maturity during secondary school.

From when to prepare for long term grammar school

If the pupil wants to transfer to the long-term grammar school, the question arises as to when one should start the grammar school preparation for the long-term grammar school. It is advisable to start preparing for long-term grammar school in Zurich at an early stage, namely from year 4 of primary school.

Preparation for the Gymnasium from Year 4 onwards is not only aimed at preparing for the Gymnasium exam itself, but also at improving grades in primary school.

On the one hand, pupils who perform well in primary school at an early stage are generally better supported by their primary school teachers. On the other hand, 50 per cent of the report card grades in German and maths in the first semester of primary school grade 6 are included in the overall grade for the Gymnasium exam.

Special preparatory courses are available from primary school year 4 onwards, for example from the Lern-Forum tutoring institute, in which pupils receive targeted support in German and maths.

Book a pre-course for grammar school preparation from year 4 now!

Following the preparatory course for grammar school in Year 4, a further preparatory course for grammar school should be attended during Year 5 for the subjects German and maths in order to continue to perform well in these subjects at primary school. After this, the preparatory course for the actual Gymnasium examination should be taken. In some cases, these Gymnasium preparatory courses are offered from the end of Year 5, but usually only from Year 6, and then to varying lengths.

In the preparatory courses for the grammar school exam from the end of year 5 or during year 6, pupils not only learn the relevant material for the grammar school exam in German and maths, but also how to deal with the tasks in the grammar school exam. This is because the way in which the tasks are set in the Gymnasium exam (central entrance exam ZAP) differs from the way in which tasks are set in regular lessons at primary school.

Pupils interested in grammar school are also not introduced separately to the different tasks of the grammar school examination in their regular primary school lessons. It is therefore necessary for pupils to take part in special preparatory courses to prepare for the Gymnasium; this is even recommended by teachers at state schools.

Choose a preparation course for the gymnasium in Zurich

From when to prepare for short grammar school

Students who wish to transfer to the short-term grammar school can do so after the 2nd secondary class or after the 3rd secondary class, after they have passed the grammar school exam during the 2nd secondary class or during the 3rd secondary class. Here, too, it is advisable to start preparing for the Gymnasium in Zurich at an early stage, from the 1st secondary class onwards.

And early preparation for the short-term grammar school is not only aimed at preparing for the short-term grammar school exam, but also serves to improve grades in the secondary school. This is because certain school report grades, in this case from secondary school, also count for 50 per cent as a preliminary grade in the overall grade of the Gymnasium exam.

In contrast to the overall grade in the long-term Gymnasium exam, the short-term Gymnasium exam takes into account the grades in French, English and Science & Technology in addition to the grades in the first semester of the last year of secondary school in German and maths.

In order to prepare pupils for the short-term Gymnasium at an early stage, preparatory courses for the Gymnasium are therefore offered during the first year of secondary school, in which pupils are strengthened in the subjects German, maths, French and English.

Book a grammar school preparation course from 1st secondary school now!

In addition, supplementary courses are also offered in French and English if there is a need for further support. These supplementary courses can sometimes be taken from the 1st secondary class onwards and mainly take place during the holidays.

For the actual grammar school exam, special grammar school preparation courses are then offered for the short-term Gymnasium exam, in which the exam material in the subjects German and maths is taught and consolidated on the one hand, and the special nature of the tasks in the Gymnasium exam is practised on the other. This is because even at secondary school, pupils who are interested in the Gymnasium are not familiarised with the special tasks of the Gymnasium exam.

Students who wish to transfer to the short-term grammar school after the 2nd secondary school year should take part in the preparatory course for the Gymnasium examination for the short-term grammar school from the first semester of the 2nd secondary school year.

Choose grammar school preparation during 2nd secondary school in Zurich

Students who wish to transfer to the short-term grammar school after the 3rd secondary school year should start the preparatory course for the Gymnasium exam for the short-term grammar school in the first semester of the 3rd secondary school year.

Choose grammar school preparation during 3nd secondary school in Zurich