We are thinking about moving closer to where my husband work as he just started
a new job in Wollerau SZ. We are right know living in Uster ZH and like life here but have some problems with school.
So I just wonder if anyone is living in Wollerau and having your kids in the public schools there?
Do you like it, are the teachers good and is it a good "feeling" at the school.
And how is life in general with kids in Wollerau?
Best Regards,
Anna
What age are the children?
My kids went to the primary school at Wilen Bei Wollerau, but secondary school in Zürich.
Generally an ok experience - it was later that there were issues.
I have a number of friends who can give advice about secondary schools in Riedmatt,Freienbach & Pfäffikon if your kids are older.
Having spent a fair bit of time in Wollerau before having children, I wouldn't want to live there now I do have them. There really isn't much to do.
I have family who live in Wollerau and send their children to the local school. I don't value their opinion regarding whether the schools are good or not.
Even Federer is moving out now he has a family.
All activities are based in the community. So no football team for school, need to join the gemeinde team. Same with music, tennis, choir, chess club, karate etc.. but I think that is normal in Switzerland (?) There are a number of those things around and my kids joined them successfully.
As far as making friends, I can only comment for Wilen Bei Wollerau. The German integration programme was fine. As far as School, my son made a few good friends who he still is in contact with but in general experienced racism and bullying, that the school did not cope with very well. My daughter was more physically mature ( big bust, early periods etc) than the locals so basically struggled throughout to make friends. There is a lot of social housing in Wilen and hence a lot of anti (rich) foreigner prejudice ( pushing them out of reasonably priced accomodation) as well as the usual anti poor "taker" foreign prejudice. I have some good friends though despite.
Wilen and Wollerau are spending more on amenities than other areas such as Schindellegi and Einsedlin.
However, it is a long way for your kids to commute to any of the International schools - or participate in their activities.
My kids are 7 and 5 (and 1,5 years old twins) and are in 1th grade and 1th kindergarten.
What kind of issues was it?
We are now living in Uster ZH and having a lot of problems with school. We are living in a "good" area but share school with a "not so good" area and it its so mouch problem. Not just the fact that it feels like they put all foreign kids in one class, its just a not so nice feeling and a lot of fights an bullying im the school yard.
My kids would not go to international schools, we are swedish and they speak german and swiss german so I will wait with english.
It feels like its the same problem as everywhere in Switzerland with the hate of foreigns.
And it the same system here in Uster with football and aswell in Sweden so I am used to that
Its just the thing as I just answered in another place here that we are having problems with the school now. I have friends in Wilen and they like the school there a lot but the dont know anything about it in Wollerau. Its 2 diffrent gemeinden as I understands it.
And if we move, I would really need it to be to a good place, and a good school.
Do you think the problems your kids had was beacause of Wollerau or just the fact that swiss people can be a little bit "strange" sometimes?
As someone commented, Wollerau and Wilen are 2 different communities but as part of March Höfe they share things like school psychiatrist and educational advisers.
There is the same issue as in Uster. Some locals feel that rich foreigners are pushing them out of their communities by making rental prices higher. There is a lot of social housing ( owned by monastry at Einsidlen) so lots of different people mixing together. SVP is big here.
The school and german access programme is good and when we had a problem, the aforementioned educational advisers definitely went in to bat for us, although it did feel a little bit that we/ our kids were being used as a test case to force changes.
There was some bullying of my son which the school claimed that nothing could be done about as he would just be bullied on the way home anyway (yes really) . How much our situation was complicated by the fact that it was the son of the local SVP bigwig that was doing the bullying, we do not know.
I think given the ages, your kids stand every chance. I have compared notes before with friends whose kids went to Wollerau and seems similiar.
Thats why I would love to know more about schools in Wollerau.