The Guide
Sat, 16 May 2026

Cities / Zurich / Freies Gymnasium Zürich

Freies Gymnasium Zürich

State-recognised Swiss Matura school in Zurich-Enge (Arbenzstrasse) with bilingual DE/EN option. CHF 27,000-33,000.


Curriculum
Swiss Matura, Bilingual
Fees, annual
CHF 27–33k
Ages
10 to 19
Pupils
~700
Founded
1888

Fee Age Type Amount
Preparatory Class V5 10 Annual CHF 27,000
Preparatory Class V6 11 Annual CHF 27,000
Progymnasium / Lower Gymnasium (mono/bilingual) 12 Annual CHF 29,000
Upper Gymnasium Classes 3-6 (mono/bilingual) 14 Annual CHF 33,000

  • Freies Gymnasium Zürich, the Freigymi, is a private gymnasium founded in 1888 in the Seefeld district. Around 540 pupils, with the rector having stated the school has reached its capacity. The school offers a Swiss bilingual Matura with a long-running German-English programme, and a preparatory year for fifth-graders.
  • The Freigymi's reputation is structurally tied to the Goldküste and to multi-generational family attendance. NZZ coverage describes families where parents and children have both gone through the school; one alumna said "die damalige Zeit hat in unserem Freundeskreis bis heute etwas Verbindendes". For affluent lakeside families it is, in practice, often the default if the public Gymiprüfung route does not work.
  • The polarising read is on selectivity rather than tuition. One commenters called the school "a fucking joke" and said it serves children "who aren't good enough for any of the public highschools and whose parents can afford to buy them a diploma by sending them to Freigymi". A single, sharp voice, but consistent with the public perception that the cantonal Gymnasium remains the academic benchmark.
  • The bilingual middle school strand and individual support are the headline strengths cited by school sources and supportive media coverage. There is essentially no independent parent forum signal beyond what NZZ and Reddit carry.

Head of school

Dr Christoph Wittmer

Dr. Christoph Wittmer is the principal of Freies Gymnasium Zürich, having previously served as the principal of the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz and the Kantonsschule Enge. He is committed to fostering a strong educational environment that promotes lifelong learning and personal development.

Accreditations

  • Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen 01

  • Result In 2025, 66 out of 66 Matura candidates passed the examinations (100% pass rate).

Arbenzstrasse 19, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland

School website