International School Parent Magazine - Autumn 2021

is hard for parents to get objective views
on each school without league tables or
inspection reports available in Switzerland.
So we use our knowledge and network to
fill this gap to help parents find the right
school for their children. One hour with
one of our expert consultants can save days
of research and school visits.
What is the first thing parents should do
in their search for the best school?
First, break down all the information you
collect via websites and brochures and
reduce it to the facts that can be compared
between schools. Then, keep track of all
the information on a spreadsheet or a
notebook, so you can easily refer to it and
avoid information overload. Then make a
shortlist and visit each school on it.
Talk to everyone you know, face to face
and via your social networks, about the
schools you are considering. Just be careful
to avoid putting too much weight on one
person’s opinion. Your child might have
very different needs, so what doesn’t work
well for one student could be the perfect
approach. Also, keep in mind that the
most vocal critics on social media are
the unhappy parents, while those who
are satisfied tend not to engage in online
discussion. In our experience, each school
has both dissatisfied and satisfied parents.
Indeed, some negative comments should
not lead you to rule out a school entirely.
This research process can be
complicated, and sometimes families aren’t
able to visit schools easily, particularly
when there are many restrictions on travel.
Increasingly we see that parents have to
choose schools without actually setting foot
in them.
This makes the decision hard, as it is
by observing a lesson, seeing how the kids
interact while walking down the corridors,
and chatting to teachers that gives parents a
sense of whether the culture, the ethos and
the school’s philosophy will fit with their
family and their children.
What do you suggest parents look at first
in their school search?
The practical logistics - Dropping off and
collecting your kids from school need to
fit with the work-life of your family. It
sounds obvious, but it requires some careful
consideration to avoid parents turning
into taxi drivers. Can all the children in
your family be at one school? If not, how
can the various pick-up and drop off times
work? Can the kids take public transport
or a school bus? Often pick up times are
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different for children of different ages.
We recommend securing the school
places first then choosing accommodation,
but know that this is often impossible.
In Switzerland, many schools are bilingual.
So how do parents decide if this
is the right choice for their child?
Parents can reflect on the languages spoken
at home and other languages the child has
already acquired and decide if they will
quickly acquire the new language. Ask
yourself; will there be additional barriers to
that child’s learning by introducing another
language? Having a bilingual child or a
child fluent in many languages is a great
asset. Still, you also want to ensure that
a new language of instruction does not
inhibit their academic success.
Parents should think carefully before
changing their child’s language of
instruction, particularly in secondary
school. They need to time the school move
to allow the student to adapt to the new
language ahead of critical exams. Studying
a whole new language can negatively
impact academic success, especially in the
short to medium term. It is impossible to
say with certainty how quickly a student
will acquire the new language.
We recommend that parents allow
several years of study (at least two) in the
new language before a student must do
external exams. This is just a rough rule, as
it will also depend on the rate of language
acquisition for that specific student.
How do parents make sense of the
choice of curricula?
It can be challenging for parents to
understand the difference between