Relocating to Basel with 11 & 7 year old English Speaking Kids

I only know about BL; which is where the OP is moving to. (Possibly Baselstadt).

There are other factors to consider...at 11, her teenage years are soon upon her and that brings all sorts of issues to the equation. Given how hard it is to get into gymi as a native, it will be even more difficult as a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language.

I wish you the best of luck, but I wouldn’t consider doing that to an academically gifted child, it could stunt her future growth considerably. As important as I think it is for her to go to local school in order to integrate properly, perhaps you can put just her into the international school in order to continue the academic path she is on? The others are young enough to start in the local schools...

French is the second foreign language after English in Uri, too. Italian is optional.

For the Matura a second national language is required, so this can be Italian or French in the German speaking part of Switzerland. English is also compulsory.

If the matura language profile is chosen, then a fourth language is also required, eg this can be Italian (if French is the 2nd national language chosen), Spanish, Russian etc.

Not so in Berne, not sure about Basel. In Bernese Gymi French is compulsory as the first foreign language, English or Italian as the second one. Spanish, Latin, English or Italian as the third (third foreign language is optional).

This may be a valid point for a particularly high-flying academically oriented child whose talents are not in areas of language.

However, if she attends an international school, she runs the risk of not being able to make local friends. At least some of those who go through the international system never really cross the mental bridge into living Here (not back There). It's the children's / teenage version of the expat-bubble, and by the time they're young adults, some still know predominantly English-speaking people, which may still be okay at university, but will end up limiting their employment prospects afterwards, not to mention their sense of ever being at home, or at least settled-in-well-enough.

This could be remedied by joining clubs and societies of sport and other free-time activities near her home. There, she'd have the opportunity to speak German and build local friendships.

I think it's at least in part a question of how hard the child herself is willing to work, to do extra lessons, to catch up, to push forward, etc., possibly by repeating a year (no shame in that). It really is possible to get more or less into the flow of things within a year, and for a bright, disciplined child, it may even be possible to make it into Gymnasium (at the first try, or later).

Since "Do as I say not what I do" can be de-motivating, the child's likelihood of success is increased by how much of an example her parents will be to her, in their dedication to learning German and their determination to settle in, meet local people, embrace the opportuniteis, and make Here the whole family's emotional home.

I've seen families whizz ahead, and do well, once each family member is determined to put in the necessary work.

OP, what does your daughter think that she wants to do, given the options here in Switzerland?

How can she make local friends without speaking the language? It cannot be learned overnight, even as a child.

OP, you can also put her in intensive German lessons while she is in international school. She can interact with her neighbors and join local clubs too. I also disagree about the students not being able to be engaged locally at an international school. I have some friends who are here for life and have put their children into international schools for the same reason as I recommended. Their kids are happy healthy members of the local society. Of course you know your daughter best, but there are issues to consider.

Edit: I have two brilliant Swiss friends who missed out slightly from getting into gymi. They have been unable to obtain a worthy job to match their intelligence throughout their entire careers. I am able to be hired into better roles than they are simply because I obtained a college degree abroad. The Swiss apprenticeship program is very good for many, but there are some downsides to it for those who could and want to do better than the system dictates.

It can happen but usually does not. There are quite a few opportunities to invest into to catch up with the academic path, almost every 2-3yr school cycle. I know many young courrageous people who do that, even if they do not have perfect material/parental/cognitive support...You just have to ask for help soon enough and know where to get it, not relying just on one source of info, either.

And the education system is changing. It's quite different from ten years ago. (Just wait until my daughter is Education minister... )

That's the one who wanted to be a cop?

Law&order is important in edu. ( Although not entirely en vogue)

Yes. But she literally fell at the last hurdle of the physical. With a bad sprain that meant she can't reapply for another year now. Then she found she likes teaching.

Indeed. It baffles me why teachers aren't armed. Especially primary teachers.

I'd reapply in her shoes. It is a good way to succeed instead of having to redefine success.

She could mince it up, do both.

Oh, they are! Just not very conventionally.

She's going to make a go at teaching, then switch career if she feels like it. This is quite normal.

Well wishes to her, it is rewarding work

With 31% BS is the Canton with the 2rd-highest ratio of Gymi-Matura attainment, after GE with 33%. BL is about #6 with 23%. See here for some details (in German but the chart is self-explaining).

Unsurprisingly, these are also the Cantons with the highest ratio of "eternal students" (grade not achieved after double the default duration) and Maturi who don't study.

This thread by SwissCaliGirlmight be of further help:

https://www.englishforum.ch/educatio...rtunities.html

if you need to relocate with children at that age how can you be sure is a permanent move? the level of education in Baseland is of one the lowest in CH... if you go to the public school system be really aware of where you are going to live because that decides wich school you are going to get and some schools in Baseland are for difficult children...

Thanks for the post, I wasn’t aware of this at all and had seen other comments where BL gymnasium figures seemed a lot higher than other areas including BaselStadt which would be one of our other options. So had assumed this would be a sign of good education standards? If we make the move we’d be thinking of areas like Ettingen, Oberwil, Reinach & Therwil. Should we be avoiding any of these?

Thanks this is our concern exactly, that we don’t want to limit academic options but at the same time are concerned about integrating the whole family into Swiss life. As others have mentioned perhaps local after school clubs could help with gaining local friends, not sure how realistic this is without Swiss German skills though. What we had been thinking of was seeing if both children could go into local integration class (at the local schools) and then have bilingual school as an option for the oldest to support education progress, which I think would be iGCSEs and A levels as well as a focus on German language too. We could then keep the younger child in local school where he’d have more time to integrate and get up to speed. Would welcome any thoughts on this as an option?

From the state I've seen BS is 2nd, and BL is 6th in terms of number of kids who go to gymi.

Generally the more urban and prosperous cantons (GE and BS) are at the top, and the Uris and Glaruses are at the bottom. I imagine this says more about the type of kids than the teaching.