The 

education system in Switzerland is very diverse, because the constitution of

Switzerland delegates the authority for the school system mainly to the cantons.
The 26  cantons of Switzerland  are the  member states  of the  Swiss Confederation. 
The Swiss constitution sets the foundations, namely that primary school is obligatory for every child
and is free in state schools and that the confederation can run or support universities.

The minimum age for primary school is about six years in all cantons but Obwalden, where it is five
years and three months. After primary schools, the pupils split up according to their abilities and
intentions of career paths. Roughly 25% of all students attend lower and upper secondary schools
leading, normally after 12 school years in total to the federal recognized matura or an
academic Baccalaureate which grants access to all universities.[citation needed] The other students split in
two or more school-types, depending on the canton, differing in the balance between theoretical and
practical education. It is obligatory for all children to attend school for at least 9 years.

The obligatory school system usually includes primary education and secondary education. Before
that, children generally go to Kindergarten, with one or two years is required in most cantons. In the
Canton of Ticino, an optional, third year is available for three-year-old children.
The minimum age for primary school is about six years in all cantons but Obwalden, where it is five
years and three months. The cantons Thurgau and Nidwalden allow five-year-olds to start primary
school in exceptional cases. Primary school continues until grade four, five or six, depending on the
school/canton. Any child can take part in school if they choose to, but pupils are separated
depending on whether they speak French, German or Italian.
At around age 11–12, depending on which canton in Switzerland the child goes to school in,
there could be a screening exam to decide how to separate the students for secondary school.
Some cantons have a system of examination in the second semester of the final year of primary
school, some cantons have an exam in second semester and continuous evaluation in both first and
second semesters. In some cases, parents or legal guardians of the child are also asked for their
recommendations (see Indicator C below) along with a self-evaluation done by the child.

At the end of primary school (or at the beginning of secondary school), pupils are separated
according to their capacities and career-intentions in several (often three) sections for a period of 2–
3 years in either Pre-higher secondary school section, General section, or Basic section. Students
who aspire for an academic career enter Mittelschule (also named Gymnasium, a public school by
the canton/state). Students intending to pursue a trade or vocation complete three to four additional
years before entering Vocational Educations which are regulated by federal law and are based on a
cooperation of private business offering educational job-positions and public schools offering
obligatory school-lessons complementary to the on-the-job education. This so-called "dual system"
splitting academic and vocational training has its continuation in the higher education system. While
the academic training leads to the matura and free admission to universities, successfully completed
vocational education gives access to third level of practical education. In the lower second level,
there are several different teaching and school models that may exist. Some cantons define a
specific model, while others allow the individual municipalities to determine which model to follow.
International education
As of January 2015, the International Schools Consultancy (ISC)[13] listed Switzerland as having 105
international schools.[14] ISC defines an 'international school' in the following terms "ISC includes an
international school if the school delivers a curriculum to any combination of pre-school, primary or
secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country, or if a school in
a country where English is one of the official languages, offers an English-medium curriculum other
than the country’s national curriculum and is international in its orientation."[14] This definition is used
by publications including The Economist
Switzerland was the birthplace of the International Baccalaureate in 1968 and 50 schools in
Switzerland offer one or more of the IB programmes (Primary, Middle Years, Diploma and Career-
related Programmes

The first university in Switzerland was founded in 1460 in Basel, with a faculty of medicine.[1] This
place has a long tradition of chemical and medical research in Switzerland.

Many Nobel prizes have been awarded to Swiss scientists. In total, 113 Nobel Prize winners stand in
relation to Switzerland and the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded nine times to organizations
residing in Switzerland.[4][5] Geneva hosts the world's largest particle physics laboratory, the CERN.
[6]
 Other important research centers are the Empa and Paul Scherrer Institute which belong to the
ETH domain.