Bilingual education is shaped by quality and innovation. As early as 1997, Freies Gymnasium Zürich provided English lessons to the first classes of the Gymnasium and Progymnasium. Three years later, the FGZ, in collaboration with Lakeside School, was the first school in the canton to offer bilingual lessons at Progymnasium level. In addition, our school pioneered bilingualism by enabling students to choose a German-English course of study in the upper school of the Gymnasium.
Lessons are taught by subject teachers and in most profiles are divided equally between German and English. Very good knowledge of English and German is required for admission, as German and English lessons are taught at native speaker level. This makes our bilingual programme very different from other schools.
Our pupils have set themselves the goal of obtaining their Matura. The Swiss Matura Regulations govern the Gymnasium programmes; the Progymnasium is governed by Curriculum 21. The bilingual education at the Gymnasium concludes with the bilingual Matura, which is federally recognised. This enables access to universities in Switzerland and abroad.
Progymnasium
The bilingual Progymnasium provides high-level preparation for the upper school of the Gymnasium.
