Children First

A small bilingual Montessori-inspired preschool and early primary in Zurich, founded and led by Monica Shah, suited to families wanting a calm, hands-on early years setting in English and German.

Children First runs from age 2 to 8 across two Zurich sites, with teachers who are native English or German speakers and a curriculum the school describes as a British and Montessori hybrid. The day blends Montessori practical work with structured literacy, numeracy, forest, art and movement sessions. Meals are cooked on site to a nutritionist-designed menu.

Parents who land here often stay through the upper kindergarten and lower primary years, and praise the founder-led atmosphere and the coaching the school offers families newly arrived in Zurich. The setting is small by design, so families wanting a large peer group or extensive specialist facilities will find it limited. As a feeder, it points naturally toward the bilingual privates and the larger international primaries when children move on around age 8.

• The pool of public parent comment is small and almost uniformly positive, drawn from kindergarten alumni rather than school-age families.
• One parent said their daughter still calls it the best time of her life and credited the Montessori approach for independence and confidence.
• Forest mornings on the Dolder cogwheel route are repeatedly singled out as a defining feature.
• Communication with parents is praised: detailed six-month reports and an app-based meeting flow.
• Demand outpaces supply, with families flagging waitlists tied to low staff-to-child ratios.