Where our Switzerland families are
Smartious Switzerland families concentrate across Geneva (the UN, WHO, WTO, ICRC and CERN community, beside the world's oldest international school), Zurich (banking, insurance, and the technology workforce), Basel (Roche, Novartis, and the canton whose case settled Swiss home-education law), Zug and Lucerne (commodity trading and Crypto Valley, in two cantons at opposite ends of the spectrum), Lausanne and Vaud (EPFL, the Olympic capital, and historically Switzerland's largest home-education canton), and the Alpine resort belt (Verbier, Zermatt, St Moritz, Davos, Gstaad). Twenty-six cantonal rulebooks, one supplementary default, and the largest fee gap in our entire coverage.
The international capital — UN, WHO, WTO, ILO, ICRC and CERN · private banking · Ecolint, the world's oldest international school and the IB's birthplace
The financial capital · global banking, insurance, and the largest tech engineering base in continental Europe · ZIS and a strong international tier · a canton with its own diploma rule
The pharmaceutical capital — Roche and Novartis · a tri-national city where Switzerland, Germany and France meet · and a canton where home education is effectively unavailable
Commodity trading and Crypto Valley · Europe's densest concentration of corporate headquarters per resident · two cantons at opposite ends of the home-education spectrum
EPFL, the IOC and the Olympic capital · the Lake Geneva arc's research and hospitality economy · historically the canton with the most home-educated children in Switzerland
Verbier, Zermatt, St Moritz, Davos, Gstaad · a seasonal international economy · the world's most expensive boarding schools · cantons requiring a teaching diploma
How Smartious compares to top Switzerland schools
Switzerland is the most expensive school market on earth, and its institutions have earned their reputations: Ecolint in Geneva is the world's oldest international school and the birthplace of the IB Diploma, and the Alpine boarding tier is unmatched anywhere. We do not position against them. The open space is different and specific — the supplementary track for families whose campus does not carry a subject or board, the alternative for households whose allowances or packages do not stretch to CHF 25,000-45,000 a year, the bridge while a place is found, and coverage for the valleys and regions no campus reaches.
| School | Curriculum | Fees (CHF/year) | Status / Rating | Reality check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
International School of Geneva (Ecolint) Geneva | IB continuum | Premium tier | 4.7 | The world's oldest international school and the IB's birthplace |
Zurich International School (ZIS) Zurich | IB + American | Premium tier | 4.6 | The German-Switzerland anchor |
International School Basel / ISZL Zug Basel / Zug | IB continuum | Premium tier | 4.5 | The corporate-community campuses |
Alpine boarding tier (Le Rosey, Rosenberg, Aiglon, Beau Soleil) Vaud, St Gallen, Valais | IB / A-Level / national | The world's most expensive | 4.8 | Genuinely without equal — and priced accordingly |
Swiss public schools Nationwide | Cantonal curricula | — | 4.4 | Excellent and free — taught in the cantonal language, with an apprenticeship-oriented upper secondary |
The Alpine valleys and the regions Valais, Graubünden, Oberland | — | — | 0 | No campus in reach for many mountain families |
Wolsey Hall Oxford / King's InterHigh / bina (online) Online | Cambridge self-paced / UK online / own to 15 | Varies | 4.2 | Self-paced, priced far above Smartious, or stopping at 15 — and none states the cantonal position or the 2019 ruling |
Smartious Homeschool (Switzerland via online delivery) Delivered to all Switzerland | Cambridge IGCSE, A-Level, IB DP, AP | ~CHF 1,900-5,700/year | 4.8 | Every class live through A-Level + the largest fee gap in our coverage + the cantonal picture stated honestly + the valleys and regions served identically |
Fee ranges reflect published 2026 tuition for Year 7-13 across the school's tier structure. Specific fees vary by year group and additional school charges (registration, capital fee, books, transport, uniforms). Smartious USD pricing translates to fixed CHF via the peg.
Homeschool laws & regulatory framework in the Switzerland
Switzerland is twenty-six school systems in a trench coat, and the federal answer to the home-education question is unusually blunt. Here is the framework exactly — starting with the ruling that governs all of it.
The 2019 ruling: no constitutional right, anywhere
In 2019 the Federal Supreme Court decided a case brought by a mother in Basel-Stadt whose application to teach her son at home had been refused. The Court held that the Federal Constitution's provisions on primary education confer no entitlement to private home tuition; that the fundamental right to respect for private and family life creates no such entitlement either; and that no right to home education can be derived from Article 8 of the European Convention or its First Protocol. The consequence is decisive: even very restrictive cantonal rules are lawful, and it is for each canton to decide whether, and to what extent, home education is permitted at all. Any page describing a Swiss "right to homeschool" is describing something that does not exist.
Twenty-six rulebooks, spanning the entire spectrum
What the cantons then do with that freedom varies as much as anything in Swiss federalism. A few have historically worked on notification rather than authorisation — Vaud and Neuchâtel among them, with Vaud consistently reported as having the most home-educated children in the country. Most require authorisation, Bern and Geneva included. A substantial group requires the teaching person to hold a recognised teaching diploma — Valais, Fribourg, Graubünden, and Lucerne among them — while canton Zurich permits teaching by someone without a diploma for roughly a year only, after which a recognised diploma is required. And in several cantons, including Basel-Stadt, Zug, and St Gallen, home education is effectively unavailable in practice. Wherever it is permitted, compliance with the cantonal curriculum is expected.
What an authorisation actually involves
Lucerne illustrates the demanding end well. Private tuition must be authorised by the education department; the teaching person needs an appropriate teaching diploma and is limited to about four learners; the Lucerne curriculum applies; teaching must cover all subjects of the level and run to at least half the regular weekly lesson hours, spread across at least three half-days on two weekdays; the learner is assessed twice yearly; social integration must be assured; the application is due around the end of April with roughly eight school weeks of processing; and neither canton nor commune covers any cost. This is not a formality — it is a licensing regime, and it is worth understanding before assuming any online provider can slot into it.
The trend: tightening, not liberalising
Numbers roughly doubled over six years to more than four thousand children nationally — still only around 0.2 percent of pupils — and cantons responded, including cantons previously regarded as liberal, with the growth since reported as broken. We say this plainly because the opposite impression is easy to form from older articles: Switzerland is not on a path toward easier home education, and a family planning around a canton's historic reputation rather than its current rules is planning on out-of-date information.
Where that leaves an overseas online school — stated plainly
It leaves us alongside, not instead of. Where a canton requires a recognised Swiss teaching diploma and cantonal curriculum compliance, an internationally accredited online school in Nairobi cannot satisfy the requirement, and we will not suggest otherwise. Our clean default across Switzerland is supplementary: the family's school enrolment — public, private, or international — carries the Schulpflicht, while Smartious teaches the Cambridge or IB track live alongside it, building toward external examinations that any university reads. Families in a canton that permits home education, and who have or are seeking an authorisation, use us as the academic spine within that arrangement — with the canton, not us, as the authority on what it requires.
After compulsory schooling
Compulsory schooling in Switzerland comprises eleven years — two kindergarten years, six primary, and three lower-secondary — ending around the age of fifteen. Upper-secondary education, whether Gymnasium or an apprenticeship, is not compulsory, so the A-Level years sit outside the Schulpflicht. We state that as a measured planning fact rather than a marketing wedge: the compulsory years remain strictly governed canton by canton, and that is where careful planning actually matters. What the post-compulsory phase does offer is a clean run at A-Levels for students aiming at UCAS, the Common Application, or European universities — with Swiss university admission on foreign qualifications assessed per institution and programme.
Why Switzerland families choose Smartious
Reasons grounded in the realities of Switzerland education — local school capacity constraints, corporate transfer and diplomatic timing, commute and logistics, currency stability, and the curriculum portability that mobile expat and dual-nationality families need.
The federal position stated before anything is sold
No constitutional right to home education, cantons decide, restrictive rules are lawful — on the page, in plain language. Trust in a country this varied starts there.
The largest fee gap in our entire coverage
Swiss day schools commonly run CHF 25,000-45,000 and the Alpine boarding tier reaches six figures; Smartious runs USD 2,160-6,480 a year, live and in small groups.
Honest about what we cannot be
Where a canton requires a recognised Swiss teaching diploma, we cannot substitute for compulsory schooling — so we teach alongside your enrolment and send you to your canton for the rest.
Built for international mobility
Geneva missions, pharma rotations, and corporate postings all move; the curriculum, teachers, and examination board stay constant across every one.
The valleys and regions served identically
The Alpine belt's options have been boarding or a long descent. Live small-group teaching reaches every valley the same way.
CET/CEST timezone alignment
Only 1-2 hours behind Nairobi EAT, so live teaching lands naturally inside the Swiss school day.
What you can verify about Smartious
We publish only facts we can substantiate — operational history, curriculum coverage, teacher base, and infrastructure. No invented testimonials or pass-rate claims.
Founder-led education company
Founded 2019 by Alfred Ouko (BEd Mathematics & Physics). Smartious operates a full teaching team of 11 with two international-standard operational centres established 2022 and 2023. Not a marketplace, not a freelance network.
Two operational centres
Live teaching is delivered to Switzerland families from two international-standard operational centres, established 2022 and 2023. Teachers work from professional academic facilities with accountability and infrastructure beyond marketplace or freelance models.
Cambridge-trained PGCE specialists
Teachers are PGCE-qualified subject specialists with Cambridge International training. Subject specialism means a Chemistry teacher teaches only Chemistry — not generalist primary-style teaching.
120+ countries served
Active students in Switzerland and 13 other markets across Africa, the Gulf, Europe and Asia. Verifiable through cross-country cohort interaction in live classes.
Ontario Diploma (OSSD) partnership
Smartious students can earn the Ontario Secondary School Diploma through our partnership with Canadian Cross International School (Ontario-inspected private school). The OSSD is recognised by Canadian universities (OUAC), US universities (Common Application), UK universities (UCAS) and globally — particularly valuable for Canadian U15 applications.
5 international curricula
Cambridge IGCSE & A-Level (primary offering), Pearson Edexcel International GCSE & A-Level, IB Diploma Programme, American Curriculum with AP, Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) via Canadian Cross International School partnership. Multiple credential pathways per family.
Live class transparency
Every class is live with recorded sessions for review. Parents can audit class quality directly. This is materially different from pre-recorded video courses with light tutor support.
4.9 from 123+ verified Google reviews
“Smartious Homeschooling delivers genuinely effective one-on-one instruction. The teachers are patient, consistent, and skilled at identifying and addressing each learner's specific academic gaps. Since enrolling, our child has become more confident, enjoys lessons, and is now performing above grade level. For families in Nairobi seeking a dependable, academically rigorous homeschooling programme with personalised support, Smartious is a standout choice.”
“What I love most about Smartious is how they make learning enjoyable. The tutors use engaging methods that keep children interested throughout the lesson. My child now looks forward to studying instead of avoiding it.”
“I have peace of mind as a Smartious Homeschool parent. No more traffic and early morning rush to school. Smartious are the most organized homeschool providers.”
Reviews above are from our verified Google Business Profile. For Switzerland-specific parent references during your decision-making, request these during your free assessment — we can introduce you to current Switzerland families happy to share their experience directly.
Accreditation, Recognition & University Pathways
Smartious students earn qualifications administered by independent international examination boards. Recognition flows from the board itself — not from the school that delivered the curriculum. Below is the accreditation, examination and verification framework that connects Swiss Smartious students to universities worldwide.
Cambridge International
Cambridge Assessment International Education · University of Cambridge
Smartious's primary offer for Switzerland families. Cambridge IGCSE (Years 10-11) and Cambridge A-Level (Years 12-13) delivered as live online classes landing inside the Swiss school day on the 1-2 hour offset — run supplementary alongside a school enrolment during the compulsory years, since Swiss cantons commonly require a recognised teaching diploma and cantonal curriculum compliance for home education. Examinations at authorised centres confirmed per session. Pathway read natively by UK universities via UCAS, assessed by Swiss universities per programme, and accepted in 160+ countries.
Pearson Edexcel International
Pearson · UK Edexcel curriculum adapted for international delivery
International GCSE and International A-Level qualifications, administered by Pearson. Three examination series annually (January, May/June, October/November) providing additional flexibility versus the Cambridge twice-yearly schedule.
International Baccalaureate Organisation
IB Diploma Programme · IBO Geneva
IB Diploma administered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation in Geneva. Recognised by leading universities globally with particularly strong weighting at US Ivy League, US selective liberal arts colleges, Canadian U15 and top European universities.
College Board
American Curriculum with Advanced Placement (AP)
AP courses and examinations administered by the College Board, the US non-profit responsible for the SAT and AP programmes. AP scores are widely recognised by US universities for university credit, plus by Canadian, UK, Australian and many universities worldwide.
Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)
Canadian Cross International School · Ontario Ministry of Education
OSSD earned through Smartious's partnership with Canadian Cross International School, an Ontario-inspected private school. Smartious students enrol concurrently with CCIS to complete the OSSD curriculum and credit requirements alongside Cambridge or other pathways. OSSD is one of the most recognised secondary credentials worldwide — particularly strong for Canadian U15 admissions via OUAC, US universities via Common Application, and UK universities via UCAS.
Examination centre arrangements in Switzerland
International examinations require attendance at authorised examination centres on specific dates. In Switzerland, established examination centres serve Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel and other major international qualifications.
Smartious manages examination registration logistics including centre selection, registration paperwork and deadline compliance. Cambridge International and Pearson Edexcel examinations for Switzerland-based students sit as external candidates at authorised centres, with capacity confirmed per family per session. Zurich, Geneva, and Basel-area provision is checked first; Basel families can often use Swiss, German, or French centres interchangeably given the tri-national geography, and Alpine families plan valley travel into each exam window. Note what does not apply: a Smartious supplementary arrangement carries no Swiss examination obligation of its own — the school enrolment carries the Schulpflicht and its cantonal assessment, while the Cambridge calendar runs alongside. For families in an authorised cantonal home-education arrangement, that canton's own assessment requirements apply in addition, and their form is set by the canton — Lucerne, for instance, requires twice-yearly assessment of the learner.
University recognition worldwide
Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma and American AP qualifications are recognised across the major university systems globally.
ETH Zurich and EPFL — consistently among the world's leading technical universities — alongside the universities of Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern, Lausanne, St Gallen (HSG), Lugano (USI), and the applied-sciences and hospitality institutions that made Swiss training a global standard.
Cambridge · Oxford · Imperial College London · UCL · LSE · King's College London · Edinburgh · Manchester · Bristol · Birmingham · Warwick · Durham · the Russell Group · the broader UK system via UCAS
Harvard · Yale · Princeton · Columbia · Penn · Brown · Dartmouth · Cornell · Amherst · Williams · Pomona · UC Berkeley · UCLA · Michigan · Virginia · top liberal arts and public research universities via the Common Application
Toronto · McGill · UBC · McMaster · Waterloo · Western · Queen's · the U15 research universities · OUAC for Ontario applications
Melbourne · Sydney · ANU · Monash · Queensland · UWA · Adelaide · UNSW · the Group of Eight via UAC
NYU Abu Dhabi · Sorbonne Abu Dhabi · Khalifa · AUS · AUD · UAE branch campuses · KFUPM · KAUST · KSU · KAU · Saudi national universities · Education City Doha (Georgetown · Northwestern · CMU · Cornell · Texas A&M · HEC Paris · UCL)
Berlin Humboldt · Munich LMU · Heidelberg · RWTH Aachen · TU Munich · French Grandes Écoles · Amsterdam · Leiden · Utrecht · Bologna · Sapienza · ETH Zurich · EPFL
How universities verify qualifications
Universities verify Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma and American AP qualifications directly with the issuing examination boards through standard verification services — Cambridge International Verification of Awards, Pearson's Verification of Results, the IB Organisation's verification service, and the College Board AP Score Reporting service. The qualification's credibility comes from the examination board itself, which is why these qualifications are equally valid whether earned at a physical school or through Smartious.
Curriculum approaches we offer Swiss families
British Curriculum
Cambridge IGCSE & A-Level · Pearson Edexcel
Cambridge IGCSE: Years 10-11, eight to ten subjects. Cambridge A-Level: Years 12-13, three or four subjects in depth. Pearson Edexcel as British alternative with three examination series annually.
Switzerland families targeting the Cambridge pathway. Best fit for: (1) international-organisation and NGO households outside the top allowance bands, (2) corporate families facing CHF 25,000-45,000 day-school fees, (3) families whose campus does not carry a subject or an examination board they need, (4) internationally mobile families needing curriculum continuity across postings, (5) Alpine and regional families far from any campus, (6) students past compulsory schooling running the full A-Level phase.
Live online classes landing inside the Swiss school day, small groups 4-6 students, every session recorded. Cambridge examinations at authorised centres, confirmed per session.
IB Diploma Programme
International Baccalaureate Organisation
Grades 11-12. Six subjects (three Higher Level, three Standard Level), plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay (4,000-word independent research paper), and Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS).
Switzerland families wanting IB Diploma support or an alternative to the campus tier — in the country where the Diploma was invented.
Live online IB DP classes across all six subject groups plus Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay supervision.
American Curriculum
College Board · AP · SAT & ACT
US high school curriculum through Grade 12. Advanced Placement courses Grades 9-12 with college-level subject specialisation. SAT or ACT preparation integrated alongside curriculum delivery.
Switzerland families targeting US universities via Common Application.
American Curriculum with AP courses Grades 9-12, SAT/ACT preparation, Common App essay coaching.
Ontario Secondary School Diploma
OSSD · via Canadian Cross International School partnership
Grades 9-12 Ontario curriculum delivered through Smartious's partnership with Canadian Cross International School (Ontario-inspected private secondary school). Students complete the 30 credits required for OSSD including the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) and 40 community involvement hours.
Swiss families targeting Canadian U15 universities (Toronto, McGill, UBC, McMaster, Waterloo, Western, Queen's) via OUAC, US universities via the Common Application, UK universities via UCAS, and Australian universities. The OSSD is particularly strong for direct Canadian university applications because students apply as Ontario secondary graduates rather than international students.
Live online instruction by qualified subject teachers, concurrent enrolment with Canadian Cross International School for official OSSD transcripting, Ontario course codes (ENG4U, MHF4U, SCH4U etc.) recorded against each student. CCIS issues the official Ontario diploma and transcript on successful completion of the OSSD requirements.
Primary, Secondary & Sixth Form
Primary Programmes
Ages 5-11 · Years 1-6 · Grades 1-5 · IB PYP
Cambridge Primary, Common Core or IB Primary Years Programme. Live classes are age-appropriate in length (40-50 minutes), scheduled in your local CET/CEST time zone to suit Primary-age attention spans. Small group sizes support individual attention. Weekly parent dashboards and monthly written reports cover academic and developmental progress.
Secondary Programmes
Years 7-11 · Grades 6-11
Lower Secondary (Years 7-9) builds the foundations for IGCSE entry. IGCSE Years (10-11) cover eight to ten subjects with examination registration at Authorised centres — Zurich, Geneva, Basel area. One-on-one subject choice consultation at IGCSE entry aligns subjects with university targets. Mid-year arrivals accepted with academic catch-up support.
Sixth Form & University Preparation
Years 12-13 · Grades 11-12
Swiss university admission for holders of foreign qualifications is assessed against recognition standards and varies by institution and programme — Cambridge A-Levels and the IB Diploma are established international qualifications, with subject combinations, grade thresholds, and language requirements confirmed with the university and swissuniversities per case rather than assumed. Internationally, Cambridge A-Levels are read natively by UK universities via UCAS and accepted in 160+ countries; the IB Diploma is recognised globally; the Common Application serves US plans; and neighbouring French, German, Italian, and Austrian universities assess both routinely — which matters in a country where international families rarely stay put. Smartious provides personalised university guidance across UK (UCAS), US (Common Application), Swiss, and wider European destinations.
Eight reasons Swiss families choose Smartious
Each reason is grounded in something verifiable — not in marketing claims.
Experienced international educators
Subject-specific degree-qualified teaching staff with cumulative experience across Cambridge International, Pearson Edexcel, IB Diploma and American Curriculum. Many hold advanced teaching credentials including PGCE, Cambridge PDT certification, or national teaching registration in their home jurisdiction.
Personalised learning plans
Every student begins with an initial assessment. The learning plan that follows is tailored to academic level, subject preferences, target universities and family situation — not a one-size-fits-all schedule.
Academic assessments
Initial diagnostic assessment. Weekly informal assessment within classes. Monthly formal assessments. Mock examinations under timed conditions during IGCSE and A-Level years. Results inform teaching adjustments.
Small class sizes
Online tier classes have four to six students. Online Plus has smaller groups. Premium is one-on-one. Class size affects individual attention, question response time, and student speaking time during class.
Progress monitoring
Weekly parent dashboards showing attendance and assessment results. Monthly written subject reports from each teacher. Termly comprehensive reports covering academic progress, study habits and university preparation.
Parent communication
Direct communication with subject teachers and form tutors via the parent portal. Email for admissions and pastoral matters, with response within one business day. Scheduled parent-teacher meetings each term.
Global student community
Live classes bring together students from across 14 countries. Wednesday afternoon enrichment programmes — coding, robotics, debate, Model UN, chess, journalism, leadership — develop collaborative learning across geographies.
University admissions guidance
Progressive guidance from Year 10 onwards. UCAS, Common Application, OUAC, UAC and direct university application support. Personal statement coaching, interview preparation and offer-management guidance.
Alfred Ouko
Founder, Smartious Homeschool & eSchool
Alfred Ouko is the founder of Smartious Homeschool & eSchool, established in 2019 while studying at the University of Nairobi. He has grown the organisation from a tuition support service into an international online school serving families across 14 countries, including Alfred Ouko founded Smartious in 2019 to make international qualifications (Cambridge, IB, American) accessible to families across emerging markets and international communities at online-delivery fees. Switzerland families join students in 39 other countries — from Geneva's international quarter to Nairobi's own Diamond Plaza HQ, the Engadin to the Gold Coast..
Bachelor of Education (Science) — Mathematics and Physics, University of Nairobi (2022)
- Over six years supporting students through international curriculum pathways — Cambridge International (IGCSE and A-Level), Pearson Edexcel International, IB Diploma Programme, American Curriculum with AP, and homeschooling pathways.
- Direct teaching experience in secondary-level Mathematics and Physics across multiple international curriculum boards.
- Leadership of curriculum development, teacher recruitment and academic standards across Smartious's two international-standard operational centres and online programmes serving Switzerland families.
- Specialism in supporting students through university admissions to Alfred holds a BEd in Mathematics and Physics — Smartious's Cambridge A-Level and IB Diploma STEM subjects are led personally when needed, suiting Basel's life-sciences families, Zurich's quantitative households, and every EPFL-bound student. Head of Academics supervises curriculum delivery and university placement strategy per family..
“International curriculum mastery is achievable for students from any background when subject specialists, small class sizes, and individual academic plans are combined with the discipline and structure good schools provide.”
Common questions from Switzerland families
Is homeschooling legal in Switzerland?+
There is no Swiss right to it. The Federal Supreme Court held in 2019 that neither the Constitution's education provisions, nor the right to private and family life, nor the European Convention confers an entitlement to home education — and that even very restrictive cantonal rules are lawful. Each canton decides: a few work on notification, most require authorisation, several require a recognised teaching diploma, and in cantons such as Basel-Stadt, Zug, and St Gallen it is effectively unavailable.
Which cantons are most and least permissive?+
Vaud and Neuchâtel have historically been at the open end, with Vaud reporting the most home-educated children; Bern and Geneva require authorisation; Valais, Fribourg, Graubünden, and Lucerne are among those requiring a teaching diploma; Zurich allows teaching without a diploma for roughly a year only; and Basel-Stadt, Zug, and St Gallen are effectively closed. Rules have been tightening nationally, so confirm your own canton's current position with its education department.
Can Smartious replace school in Switzerland?+
No, and we do not claim it. Where a canton requires a recognised Swiss teaching diploma and cantonal curriculum compliance, an overseas online school cannot satisfy it. Our clean default is supplementary: your school enrolment carries the Schulpflicht while we teach the Cambridge or IB track live alongside it.
What does the supplementary configuration look like in practice?+
Your child stays enrolled — public, private, or international — and takes Cambridge or IB subjects with us live, typically in the after-school slot given the 1-2 hour offset, building toward external examinations at authorised centres. It is the cleanest arrangement in a country this strictly governed.
How do the fees compare with Swiss international schools?+
Day international schools commonly run CHF 25,000-45,000 a year and the Alpine boarding tier reaches six figures. Smartious runs USD 2,160-6,480. We do not position against those institutions — they are outstanding — but for families outside those budgets, or supplementing them, the gap is the largest in our coverage.
What happens after compulsory schooling?+
Compulsory schooling comprises eleven years and ends around fifteen; upper-secondary — Gymnasium or apprenticeship — is not compulsory, so the A-Level years sit outside the Schulpflicht. We treat that as a planning fact rather than a marketing claim, because the compulsory years remain strictly governed canton by canton.
Will Swiss universities accept Cambridge A-Levels or the IB?+
Both are established international qualifications, and Swiss admission for foreign qualifications is assessed per institution and programme — subject combinations, grade thresholds, and language requirements are confirmed with the university and swissuniversities rather than assumed. UCAS reads A-Levels natively, the Common Application serves US plans, and neighbouring European universities assess both routinely.
Where do Swiss students sit Cambridge examinations?+
At authorised centres confirmed per family per session — Zurich, Geneva, and Basel-area provision first, with cross-border and regional options where capacity is limited and Alpine families planning valley travel per series.
How does live class scheduling work given the Switzerland-Nairobi time difference?+
Switzerland runs CET (UTC+1) in winter and CEST (UTC+2) in summer — only 1-2 hours behind Nairobi EAT — so live teaching lands naturally inside the Swiss school day and afternoon, with every session recorded.
Which parts of Switzerland does Smartious cover?+
Geneva, Zurich, Basel, Zug and Lucerne, Lausanne and Vaud, and the Alpine resort belt have dedicated pages with local market and cantonal context. Live online delivery works identically anywhere in the country — which in the valleys is precisely the point.
Swiss students join a 14+ country global cohort
Live classes bring together students from across Africa, the Gulf, Europe and Asia. A Switzerland student in our Year 11 IGCSE Mathematics class will be alongside peers in Cairo, Dubai, Bangkok, Seoul, Casablanca and Kigali. The Wednesday enrichment programmes (debate, Model UN, robotics, journalism) operate as one global classroom rather than thirteen separate national ones.