Children aged three to six, may attend kindergarten. After that, school is compulsory for nine or ten years. Switzerland's secondary education is separated into two parts, lower and upper. Lower-secondary education in Switzerland is meant to teach individuals basic general education and gets them ready to enter upper-secondary education. In the upper secondary level Switzerland has a vast variety of vocational programs. The format of secondary vocational education is put into a way to get individuals to learn high skills for a specific profession.

In order to enter university, students are, as a rule, required to have passed the Abitur examination; since 2009, however, those with a Meisterbrief (master craftsman's diploma) have also been able to apply. If lacking those qualifications, pupils are eligible to enter a university or university of applied sciences if they can present additional proof that they will be able to keep up with their fellow students through a Begabtenprüfung or Hochbegabtenstudium (which is a test confirming excellence and above average intellectual ability).