Lower secondary school – a unique bilingual experience

Our lower secondary school in years 7 and 8 (Pre-IGCSE) provides a unique curriculum blending a well-established British international Cambridge curriculum with our highly innovative and unique approach to German. All academic subjects are taught in English. However, a considerable amount of our teaching time is dedicated to German by layering our curriculum with project-based learning. This means that students not only attend German language lessons but also work on projects to reinforce learning in science and humanities, thus building a rich specialised vocabulary in German.

After year 8, students access our IGCSE programme for an additional two years. Afterwards students can continue their studies with us to A Level or start a demanding and highly-regarded apprenticeship in the world of finance, banking, technology amongst other areas. These apprenticeships are combined with formal part time college study and allow access to Universities of Applied Sciences as well as rich career paths throughout Switzerland.

Entry requirements

Students wishing to enter our year 7 programme should demonstrate a solid foundation in their literacy and numeracy skills. While there are no subject specific entry assessments for year 7 we will ask for school reports and meet with interested families to ascertain whether our programme would be suitable for each child.

We assess English on entry. If students can show a strong A2 level, they can access the programme. If they have a lower level, they can access a reduced programme with an increased English focus which must be taken for a whole academic year.

Due to the design of our programme, there are no German specific assessments required on entry.

Both Academia International Schools are centrally located in Basel and Zurich. Should you wish to find out more about our programme, please contact us for a consultation or participate in one of our information evenings.

Core elements of our lower secondary school

  • Unique bilingual curriculum

  • Project based learning

  • In line with the British International Cambridge curriculum and Lehrplan 21

  • Strong focus on sciences and maths

Alternative schooling options with Academia 

In the Basel region, Academia Primar & Sek offers a German speaking secondary school (Years 7 – 9) following the Swiss curriculum Lehrplan 21. Academia Primar & Sek prepares its students for transition to upper secondary schools or an apprenticeship.

In the canton of Zurich, Academia Bilingual School in Winterthur and Terra Nova Bilingual School in Küsnacht offer a German-English lower secondary school according to Lehrplan 21.