Primary School

Primary school lasts 6 years, from the 3rd to 8th year of schooling, 6 to 12 years old. Classes are from Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 12:00, with one afternoon per week during the first two years, then two afternoons a week. There is no class on Saturdays.

There are no more than 25 students per class.

Signing up your child: an application form will automatically be sent to all families with children of age to attend the first class of primary school. If you send your child to a private school, you will need to send a written note to let the canton know.

A day in the life of a Primary school student (an example)

School is co-educational.There may also no strict separation between the classes, allowing for flexibility in time management in the class.

While the children will have a main teacher who will spend the most time with them (a homeroom teacher), many teachers do job-sharing, are specialized (e.g. German as a Second Language or Special Education) and/or work part-time only. The children will generally go with a different teacher, often to a different classroom, for handicrafts (textiles, woodwork, etc.) and music. If needed, a child may also have special support classes for German, dyslexia, etc.

Throughout the year, the children will take part in a number of special activities often related to the time of year or traditions: sports day, the visit to Santichlaus (Saint Nicolas) on December 6th in the woods, a year’s end concert, carnival, the school’s hiking day which usually includes a hike and cooking sausages on an open fire. Visits to museums, the zoo, historical tours of Basel, theater, etc. are often part of the school activities.

Required German

A number of primary schools have specialized in teaching German as a second language (DAZ, Deutsch als Zweitsprache). Your child would be sent to the closest school offering such support so that he or she can stay for the full primary school time in the same school. Regular teachers and DAZ teachers work together to find the best support system for each individual child. Foreign language children can either enter a regular class straight away and receive intensive German classes in addition. Or they can start in a German learning group, and attend a regular class for specific subjects, until the child can attend all regular classes in German.

https://www.bs.ch/ed/volksschulen/foerderung/foerderangebote-den-volksschulen#deutsch-als-zweitsprache-daz

All families needing after-school programs should find a suitable solution in Basel, whether public or private. There are “Tagesstrukturen” (= day structures) in all kindergartens and primary schools in BS, run by the education department. They are open from Monday to Friday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., and at some locations additionally from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.

The program is structured into modules. You can register your child for individual modules on specific days (minimum four modules a week) or for the entire week. Entry into the day structure takes place at the beginning of the school year and is valid for the entire year. If no place is available, the registered student will be placed on a waiting list.

Please note that Tagesstrukturen are not free of charge but will be billed depending on the parents income. You can register your child here:

https://formulare.bs.ch/volksschulen/registrierung-tagesstruktur-portal.

There are special holiday programs (also at a fee) for which you must sign up months in advance (they tend to be fully booked within hours of being published).

Primary school gives the foundations for life-long learning, especially reading, writing and arithmetic. Just as important is the child’s relation to the natural and human made environments, as well as social competencies.

There are no independent subjects in primary school. Children will study language arts, reading, mathematics, environmental studies, the region and country, singing and music, drawing, textile and handicraft and sports. Leisure and play are given an important role. French starts in the 3rd grade, English in the 5th grade.

Children have homework, but not over bank holidays or during the holidays.

For students who regularly find it difficult to meet the learning objectives, or the opposite, for those who regularly far exceed the learning objectives, individual learning objectives may be set and reviewed each year.

Tests, grades and school reports:

Learning progress reports are handed out and progress talks are held at the end of the first semester (between January and March). School reports will be handed out at the end of the school year. In the 3rd grade, grades will be introduced.

During the primary school years, students will normally be promoted to the next class. In special circumstances, students may repeat or skip a class.

Special needs?

If your child has special needs, there are a variety of options going from integrated support in the school, integration classes or separate classes. Teachers and school psychologists will accompany the family throughout the process.

After the 6th year of primary school, students will move on to Middle or Secondary School, Sekundarschule. There are three levels in Middle school (A, E or P levels). The level your child will attend will depend on his or her grades in the last year of primary school. Roughly a third of each age group will attend each level, all are taught in the same school.

A = allgemein > standard level

E = erweitert > extended level

P = progymnasial > high level

For the selection process, Math, German and Environmental studies count triple, English and French count 1.5, Sports, Art and Music count for 1. Grades go from 1 to 6, 6 being the highest grade. Children with less than 67.5 points will attend the A-level; children with 67.5 or more, but less than 78.75 points will attend the E-level and children with 78.75 points or above will attend the P-level Students can also take a test if they wish to reach the higher level but did not achieve the points necessary.

Question: I was told the level in math is high in Switzerland, but my first grader is still just learning numbers up to 20 and doing basic additions. Her cousin in the States is already doing fractions and learning to make and read graphs.

Answer:  Arithmetic and understanding numbers are essential to have a strong basis in mathematics further on. Yes, they do spend a lot of time on the basics, but once the foundations are there, they move on very quickly.

As for fractions, they do not play such an important role in everyday life in Switzerland as they do in the US, no half cups or quarters here. So putting these off until later means the learning process will be much easier, but they will get there.

Question: Why is there so little school? My children seem to always be home.

Answer: In the Swiss way of thinking, school is for learning, not looking after children. No 8 year old can learn from 8:oo to 16.00 every day, so when they have finished with learning they go home to play, learn instruments, do sports, etc. However, Basel has realized that families need after school care and there are lots of alternatives for the time they are not in school.

As you get used to the system, you may even come to enjoy it. More time for play dates, visiting museums or the local farm, cooking or painting together. It was when I moved to another country that I realized how much I missed the free time with the kids.