SWISS EDUCATION SYSTEM
Switzerland has a decentralized school system: responsibility lies with the cantons. There are three levels of education: the primary and first secondary levels are compulsory, and usually takes 9 years.
Currently private day and boarding schools in Switzerland accept students from kindergarten to grade 12. The majority of these schools offer intensive studies in English or French as a second language enabling all students to quickly integrate into the mainstream programme.
The secondary level covers all post-obligatory vocational and general education training. After completing their schooling, 60% of all young people go for an apprenticeship, which can take up to four years.
Higher education in Switzerland comprises academic studies at the 10 cantonal universities and the 2 Federal Institutes of Technology or at the more professionally-oriented universities of applied sciences and at the universities of teacher education. A few more university-level institutions are considered public institutions of higher education.
