Cities / Barcelona / Schweizerschule Barcelona
Schweizerschule Barcelona
The Swiss school in Sant Gervasi, founded 1919 and at its current Carrer Alfons XII campus since 1924. Teaches in German with Spanish, Catalan, English and French alongside, and offers the rare double of Swiss Matura plus Spanish Selectividad.
In brief
The Swiss school in Sant Gervasi, founded 1919 and at its current Carrer Alfons XII campus since 1924. Teaches in German with Spanish, Catalan, English and French alongside, and offers the rare double of Swiss Matura plus Spanish Selectividad.
The hook for German-speaking families and for any household planning a future move to Switzerland is real: the Matura keeps the Swiss university door open in a way few schools in Spain can match. For non-German-speaking families, entry is harder and the language demands are serious from early years.
Reputation locally is strong, family-feel rather than corporate, with parents praising principal Pascal Affolter and the pedagogical seriousness behind a small school. Fees sit lower than the British and IB names in the same neighbourhood. Best fit for families with German in the home or a clear Switzerland-bound horizon, less obvious as a default international option for English-speaking newcomers.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Parvulario 3, 4, 5 | 3 | €7,296 |
| Grades 1-6 | 6 | €7,783 |
| Grades 7-8 | 12 | €8,271 |
| Grades 9-11 | 14 | €10,047 |
| Grade 12 | 17 | €10,588 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Entry to Gymnasium (current students) | €1,100 | |
| Entry to Gymnasium (new students) | €1,300 | |
| Entry (Grade 7 or 8) | €1,500 | |
| Entry (Parvulario-Grade 6) | €2,390 |
Reviews
A small, demanding Swiss school in the Eixample, on Plaça Molina since the 1920s, leaning hard on its dual Matura plus Catalan Batxillerat exit and on five-language exposure (German, Spanish, Catalan, English, French). Parents who stay the course tend to speak warmly of the teachers, the family feel, and where the children end up at the other end. The flip side is a pretty selective culture: academic pace is brisk, the academic fit is appraised early, and families who don't keep up sometimes describe being gently steered elsewhere. A multi-year campus rebuild on the Plaça Molina site is mid-stream, with the new block due to open in 2026.
Positives
- Languages. Five-language exposure is the headline draw and the thing parents come back to. German is the working language from kindergarten, with Spanish, Catalan, English and French layered in. Children pick up workable German faster than visiting relatives expect.
- Academic outcomes. Sixth-form pupils leave with both the Swiss Matura and the Catalan Batxillerat, which keeps Swiss, Spanish and most foreign universities open. Strong-finishing cohorts are a consistent thread in parent commentary.
- Teachers and atmosphere. Parents describe a familial feel, polite student body and competent direction under Pascal Affolter. Cohorts are small and the place reads as a community rather than a corporate operation.
- Swiss backing and stability. The school is subsidised by the Swiss Confederation (more than two million euros a year) and backed by Swiss-linked corporates in Barcelona. Reserves are healthy, accounts are in the black, and Swiss-passport pupils pay a reduced rate.
Considerations
- Academic selectivity and fit. The pace is brisk and the school is open about that. Families whose children don't track the academic line describe being advised, politely, to look elsewhere. It is not a soft landing for children who are struggling, and admission turns on an entrance exam, prior grades and a director interview.
- Catalan. A recurring complaint from Catalan-speaking families is that Catalan sits well behind German and Spanish in day-to-day school life. The school teaches it and exits pupils through the Batxillerat, but the working register feels German-first.
- Campus works. The Plaça Molina site is in the middle of a major rebuild: the Brusi block, courtyard and sports facility have been demolished and a new block with fifteen classrooms, labs and a rooftop play deck is going up, due to open in 2026. Twenty per cent more floor area and double the sports space are promised, with the usual disruption while it lands.
- Technology and communications. The day-to-day parent platform is described as dated, and operationally the school can feel less modernised than the curriculum suggests. Drop-off on the Plaça Molina streets is tight.