Swiss School System

I was recently asked about the Swiss school system. I'll try to cover the highlights.
Overview

• academic year begins in late August and ends in early July
• there are a total of 7-8 weeks of vacation during the school year
• No summer school
• Being held back is not nearly as big a deal in Switzerland as it is in the US
• children come home for lunch for about 2 hours
• at about age 11 children are placed into either a technical track or academic track
• No school on Wednesday afternoons
• Mandatory from grades 1-9
• limited, if any, formal parent teach conference system

Ecole enfantine

• lasts 2 years and if for ages 4 and 5.
• must be 4 by June 30th to attend that fall
• similar to US kindergarten

Ecole premaire

• grades 1-4
• same teacher for two years and then another teacher for the next two years

Secondary education

• students placed into different groups (vocational, general, prégymnasiale) based on test results
• different teachers for different subjects