Zurich, Switzerland
International schools in Zurich: what families need to know
Zurich has one of the highest concentrations of international schooling in Europe, priced accordingly, sitting alongside a Swiss state system that is free, well resourced and genuinely used by many foreign families. The catch with the state route is language: instruction is in Swiss standard German, and the canton decides placement, not the parent. This guide covers admissions, curricula, the school year, fees, areas and how places actually work here.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
What you tell us
- Where you are moving
- Zurich
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
You tell us once, for every child. Your adviser assesses the brief and contacts relevant admissions teams on your behalf.
Example only. School names in these examples are fictional.
Zurich in short
- Curricula available in Zurich: Swiss (Lehrplan 21), IB, British, American and bilingual German–English.
- The Zurich school year runs Mid or late August to early July, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Bildungsdirektion Kanton Zürich; private schools require cantonal authorisation.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Zurich school.
- You tell us what your family needs once, and see matched Zurich schools with places, fees and next steps.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Zurich at a glance
The facts that shape a Zurich school search
- Oversight
- Bildungsdirektion Kanton Zürich; private schools require cantonal authorisation
- Main curricula
- Swiss (Lehrplan 21), IB, British, American and bilingual German–English
- School year
- Mid or late August to early July
- Ages served
- Kindergarten from age 4 or 5; compulsory schooling to 15
- Language
- German in the state system; English at international schools
How admissions work in Zurich
Most Zurich schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Zurich. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Zurich
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Zurich school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Zurich fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Zurich school year runs mid or late August to early July.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Zurich
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Zurich market costs, in round numbers
Premium band- Primary, per year
- CHF 25,000 – 35,000
- Secondary, per year
- CHF 30,000 – 45,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$28,000 – 50,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Zurich schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why relevant schools answer directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Zurich school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Your schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
From the school
North campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Place availablePlace available for August
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
From the school
City campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Waiting listWaiting list, reviewed monthly
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
From our team
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Earlier-year reference fee
Fees for your intake not yet confirmed
- Sofia · Year 4Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
- Luca · Year 1Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
Next step: We ask admissions to confirm
Every option says who provided the information and whether places are confirmed. Your adviser explains what each answer means for your children.
Example school options. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Zurich
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Zürichberg, Kilchberg and the lake's western shore
Close to the city with established international campuses and short journeys. The most expensive housing in the region.
Zug and the corridor south
Popular with corporate families for tax and space, with its own international provision. Confirm which canton your school and residence sit in — rules differ.
Wädenswil, Horgen and the lower lake
More house for the money, S-Bahn along the shore, longer commutes into the city.
Winterthur and the north-east
Cheaper, well served by rail, fewer English-language places. Works if the school bus route reaches you.
Moving to Zurich with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Zurich.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Zurich are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Your schools, side by side
Westbrook International School
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- North campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- City campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
- Information
- From our team
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- Main campus
- Annual fees
- Earlier-year reference fee
- Next step
- We ask admissions to confirm
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Information
From the school
From the school
From our team
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Confirmed for your intake
Confirmed for your intake
Earlier-year reference fee
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
We ask admissions to confirm
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Zurich
Switzerland runs education at cantonal level, so Zurich's rules are set by the canton rather than the federal government. State schooling is free and allocated by residence, and the canton decides which class and which year group a newly arrived child joins. Private and international schools operate with cantonal authorisation and set their own curricula, most commonly the IB, an English-language national curriculum, or a bilingual programme.
The state system is free, strong, and in German
Children arriving without German are normally placed in an integration or intensive German class alongside mainstream lessons. It works, and for younger children it works well.
Everyday life outside school runs in Swiss German dialect while lessons are in standard German. Families should expect both, and give a child arriving in secondary a realistic runway.
Placement is the canton's decision
You register with the commune (Gemeinde) after arriving, and the local school authority assigns the school and confirms the year group.
You cannot simply pick a state school across town. If the school matters more than the address, the address must follow the school.
Fees at the top of the European range
Zurich's international schools are among the most expensive in Europe, with registration fees, a one-off enrolment or capital contribution and annual tuition billed in instalments.
Lunch, transport, trips, laptops, ski weeks and examination entries sit outside tuition. Ski and sports camps are a normal, budgeted part of Swiss school life, not an optional extra.
Secondary tracking at the end of primary
In the state system, the transition after primary sorts pupils into Sekundarschule levels, and entry to Gymnasium involves a competitive examination.
A child arriving at 11 or 12 with limited German faces that examination on a short timeline. Many families in that position choose an international school with the IB Diploma instead.
Permits, registration and school
Residence registration with the commune within the required days of arrival is what connects your family to schooling, health insurance and everything else.
Schools ask for previous records, the residence permit or registration confirmation, and health insurance details. Health insurance is compulsory and must be arranged shortly after arrival.
What families get wrong in Zurich
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Signing a lease before choosing a school
State placement follows your address, and international school buses run fixed routes. Both make the address a consequence of the school, not the reverse.
Assuming national rules
Zurich, Zug and Schwyz are separate cantons with separate school rules, holidays and cut-offs.
Budgeting tuition alone
Enrolment contributions, camps, lunch and transport add a meaningful amount to the first year.
Underestimating Swiss German
Lessons are in standard German, the playground is in dialect. Both matter for a child settling in.
Leaving the Gymnasium examination too late
It is competitive and prepared for over months, not weeks.
Forgetting compulsory health insurance
It must be arranged shortly after arrival and schools may ask for proof.
Official Zurich resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Zurich
Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools in Zurich with places, fees and next steps.
- 1
Tell us about your family and Zurich
Your children's ages and year groups, the curriculum you prefer, your budget and when you want to start. One brief covers every child named in it.
- 2
Your adviser researches Zurich
A 30-minute consultation, then research of the schools in Zurich that suit each child, and contact with relevant admissions teams about your start date.
- 3
Receive your recommendations
Three recommended schools plus up to two alternatives where suitable, with written reasoning for each child, a review call and follow-up questions answered for 30 days.
We do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Zurich
Find international schools in Zurich for your children
One conversation, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Go deeper on Zurich
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Zurich compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From telling us what you need to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can search any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.0. Zurich information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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