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Public-sector schools
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Most children, by a large margin, attend state-sector schools. These have undergone in the ninities fundamental reforms to ensure that they are able to meet the particular requirements of Basel's mobile and international population, and to provide all children with equal educational opportunities. The main language spoken at school is German; however, a wide range of special support classes are provided for children who have recently arrived from abroad, in order to integrate them rapidly into the school community.
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Equipped for the future
All levels of the Basel school system have recently seen reforms. These have been designed in particular with the requirements of Basel's mobile and international population in mind, and aim to ensure that all children enjoy equal educational opportunities. The principal language is German; however, for foreign children who have recently arrived in Basel, a variety of special language courses are provided. This means they can be integrated more quickly at school. Children can pick and choose from a variety of optional and intensive curricula at all levels.
The school system is made up of a number of stages, and consequently enables pupils to specialise relatively late. Orientation school (OS) for children aged 10 to 13 is a key component of the public-sector school sysem. Schools in Basel also have to meet the exacting requirements of the local economy, as high economic output calls for a well-qualified workforce. For this reason, the Basel school system has a partnership role that actively involves parents and also maintains close contacts with commerce and industry.
School holidays
Pupils have about twelve weeks of vacation spread over the whole year; six weeks in the summer, from July to mid August, two weeks during the first half of October, one to two weeks around the Christmas and new year period, and one to two weeks in the spring around Easter. In addition, depending upon the particular school year, one-week school trips and ski trips are also organised.
Kindergarten
The kindergarten is obligatory. Designed as a play, experience and learning environment, it is open to children who have completed their fourth year by 1 May of the year of admission. Kindergarten lasts for two years. If little or no German is spoken at home, a key function of the kindergarten is language acquisition and social integration. With 162 kindergartens within the Canton of Basel-Stadt, there is one in every neighbourhood.
Primary school
Reading, writing and arithmetic - the basic skills required for life-long learning - are taught at the four-year "Primarschule" (Primary school). At the same time, plenty of time is also set aside for fun and games. The maximum class size is 25 children. In view of the great variety of languages spoken amongst this age group - 38% of these schoolchildren do not hold Swiss passports - this makes good sense. In addition to extra German lessons, courses are also offered in the mother tongues of the main immigrant groups. School grades are not used in primary school. Parents are kept informed through annual assessment meetings, and from the 3rd grade onwards by means of school reports, about the learning, working and social behaviour as well as the academic performance of their children. The primary school system has 29 school premises.
Orientation school
The 'Orientierungsschule', OS (Orientation school) is the most important innovation of the school reforms of the nineties. Originally, children would decide their future educational careers while in their 10th year. Today, by contrast, children (and parents) have much more time to decide. In the three important years between the 5th and 7th school year, the inclinations and abilities of children are closely analysed in order to ascertain the right educational direction for each individual pupil. The central subjects are German, French (official languages) and mathematics; subjects such as sport, music and history are also compulsory. The final year of the OS also offers a large number of optional language (English), science and music subjects. Children are allocated to the next level of schools on the basis of their performance in the third year of OS: to the A-stream of the secondary school, the E-stream of the secondary school or the grammar school. The OS system has a total of 17 school premises.
School of Further Education
Two different objectives may be pursued through attendance of one of the two two-year secondary school streams (WBS): the A-stream (general level) prepares pupils of medium and weak ability for apprenticeships and vocational certificate training, while the E-stream (higher level) prepares pupils of greater ability for demanding apprenticeships and schools of further education, and opens the door to universities of applied sciences via vocational and specialist baccalaureates. The core subjects remain German, French and mathematics. Additional optional subjects include English (obligatory for the E-stream), Italian, technology, IT and design. The performance of pupils is graded, and a final examination is held.
Secondary education
Following the ninth school year, a variety of schools of secondary education are available: the "Diplommittelschule/specialist baccalaureate school" DMS/FMS (Diploma middle school), the "Handelsmittelschule" HMS (Commercial middle school), the IT middle school (IMS) as well as the "Verkehrsschule" (School of transportation).
The three-year DMS is designed to prepare pupils for further training in the four professional fields of education and social services, art and music, health or the services sector. There is a choice of about 35 specialist subjects. DMS graduates are awarded a specialist middle school certificate. From 2007 onwards, it will also be possible for students to acquire a specialist baccalaureate. This entitles the holder, inter alia, to study at certain universities of applied science, thus leaving the door open to university.
The commercial middle school (HMS) also takes three years to complete. This offers a solid general education with a federally-recognised commercial vocational diploma. Following HMS, pupils can also take the vocational baccalaureate, after which they may enrol at universities of applied sciences.
The IT middle school (IMS) comprises a three-year full-time course, followed by one year of practical training. Successful graduates are awarded a Certificate of Capacity for IT, majoring in application development, in conjunction with a commercial baccalaureate.
It takes two years to complete the School of transportation, which opens up a career at the railway, post office, customs service or similar institutions.
Vocational training
Apprenticeships comprise a mixture of schooling and practical experience, and enable pupils to enter a vocation directly. Such apprenticeships can begin after the 9th year of schooling. Depending upon the particular vocation, they last between two and four years. One or two days each week are dedicated to schoolwork, with teaching provided at a variety of schools which specialise in different subjects. Apprentices spend the remainder of their time acquiring work experience in commercial enterprises. A Swiss Certificate of Competence is awarded at the end of the apprenticeship. This is recognised throughout Switzerland. Following completion of this training, students can improve their vocational qualifications at higher schools. Alternatively, if they pass the vocational baccalaureate exam, students can even go on to university or to studies at a university of applied sciences university.
Grammar school
The Gymnasium (Grammar school) lasts five years, from the 8th to the 12th school year. Pupils can advance to grammar school after completing orientation school. Pupils from other secondary schools can also take the admission examination. The full range of compulsory basic subjects is designed to provide a broader and deeper general education. Pupils are also taught how to learn independently, which is a good preparation for university. The five grammar schools in Basel offer a wide range of specialist and additional subjects: from business and law, through ancient languages and science, to modern languages (above all English) and music. Upon successful completion of grammar school, pupils are awarded the recognised Swiss baccalaureate certificate, which entitles them to attend university. The grammar school has a very important role in Basel as a springboard for university.
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