Switzerland · Zugerberg
A day-and-boarding house on the Zugerberg above Zug, not a Zurich hub card. Swiss bilingual and IB paths share the hill. The fee page prints ranges, not a year-by-year PDF. Ask which paper, and which bed.
Dieses Porträt steht noch auf Englisch. Die anderen Sprachen kommen Schule für Schule.
Curriculum laut Schule:Swiss Lehrplan 21 (bilingual primary) · Swiss Secondary School Certificate · Swiss Matura (German or bilingual German–English) · Cambridge Lower Secondary · IGCSE · IB Diploma Programme · High School Diploma
Unterrichtssprachen:German, English
Institut Montana Zugerberg is a co-educational day-and-boarding school on the Zugerberg above Zug. Official site montana-zug.ch. The about page says the house was founded in 1926, educates children from age 6 to 19, welcomes boarders from 10, and currently names 380 students, 55 nationalities, a 4:1 student–teacher ratio and an average class of 10. Treat those figures as the school’s own snapshot, not a census we counted.
It is not Zurich International School in Wädenswil and Adliswil, and not the International School of Zug and Luzern in Baar and Hünenberg. Three official doors in the same canton conversation. Montana is the hill with a funicular and beds. It is not a Zurich city-hub card.
Franziska Welti is named as Director of Education, Care and Boarding. Alexander Biner is named as Chairman of the Board. Admissions: Heidi Hadorn and Joaquin Rodriguez, Heads of Admissions; coordinators the process page also names are Saskia Schmid, Yuliia Jakob and Mairi Koumpourou. Inquiry line on the process page: +41 41 729 11 99. Fees page switchboard: +41 41 729 11 77. admission@montana-zug.ch / admissions@montana-zug.ch as the live page prints it. Confirm the mailbox on the visit.
The useful questions are: Do you want a Swiss Matura, an IB Diploma, or the high-school diploma the international path also names? Is this child a day pupil on the Zugerbergbahn, or a boarder from 10? And have you asked what sits outside the printed range — because language and learning support are calculated after the school has assessed the child.
Families who want a small hill school with two official climates on one campus: a Swiss bilingual path toward the Matura, or an English-medium international path toward IGCSE and then the IB Diploma or a high-school diploma.
Bilingual primary is for children from six who have spent at least two years at kindergarten. Lehrplan 21, adapted for an English–German classroom. Knowledge of both languages is not required at the start; the school names in-class support and extra language classes.
Bilingual secondary, years 7–9, wants German and English at B1 or better, and a child ready to start French. Completing it leads to a Swiss Secondary School Certificate, then an apprenticeship or one of the school’s high-school paths.
Swiss Gymnasium from about 12: monolingual German Matura (fluent German required) or bilingual German–English. The bilingual path, the school says, can also carry an IB English Certificate. The Matura page names direct access to Swiss universities including ETH, EPFL, St. Gallen and EHL. That is the school’s sentence about the paper, not a placement promise we made.
International school after elementary: Cambridge Lower Secondary, IGCSE, then IB Diploma or a high-school diploma. English is the main language. By year 9 the school wants English at B1; younger children below that sit EAL. First-language courses named: German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese; other first languages may be self-taught with a tutor.
It will not suit a family who needs a Zurich lakeside day campus with no boarding conversation, or an IB-only house in Baar. Walk ZIS or ISZL if that is the climate.
Institut Montana Zugerberg AG, Schönfels 5, 6300 Zug. Pre-alpine, forest and meadow, above the city. The campus page is almost a timetable: Zug station, bus 603 from Metalli West to Schönegg, then the Zugerbergbahn — eight minutes, every 30 minutes in the day. Day pupils, the Gymnasium page says, take that panoramic ride; the campus sits just above the funicular.
By car, enter Schönfels 5, Zug. In winter the steep road from Schönegg can close; the school says leave the car and take the funicular, or drive via Blasenbergstrasse. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 08:00–18:00, the campus can only be reached via Blasenberg or Allenwinden. The about page adds a practical mercy: do not confuse this hill with Hotel Montana in Lucerne.
Time the funicular on a January Tuesday, then Wädenswil, then Baar. They are not one gate.
A free trial day is part of admissions. There is a virtual tour if you cannot climb the hill first.
Rolling admissions through the year. The school prefers a semester start and will discuss other dates.
We will not invent a CAT4 cutoff, a closing date, or a waitlist.
These are general fees. The page says full possible costs are calculated after the school has assessed extra language or learning support. We will not invent those extras. Tuition is charged in two instalments, at the beginning of each semester. The personal account and deposit are balanced when the student leaves; remaining credit is refunded.
One-off
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Admission (includes capital fee) | CHF 5,500 |
| Deposit, boarding | CHF 5,000 |
| Deposit, day | CHF 3,000 |
The deposit is “refunded in most cases, except where there are untoward reasons for leaving.” Ask what that sentence means in writing.
Annual tuition — ranges, not a grade table
| Path | Who | Range the page prints |
|---|---|---|
| Boarding | Years 5–12, boarding from age 10 | CHF 70,400–72,800 per year |
| Day | Years 1–12 | CHF 32,900–36,800 per year |
| Flexi-boarding | Week or weekend, on request | Upon request |
We will not invent the year-by-year line inside those ranges. Ask which number applies to this child, this path, this year.
Boarding fees, the page says, include a twin room, supervision, five meals a day, mandatory class instruction, study-hall supervision, media centre and copying, weekday study supervision, short-term on-campus sick care, the activities programme, and sports facilities.
Day fees include mandatory class instruction, study-hall supervision, media centre and copying, and meals — cocoa break, lunch and tea break.
Flexi-boarding is the overflow valve: a day pupil who needs a week or a weekend on the hill. Price on request. Ask for it in francs before you treat it as a kindness.
We are not ranking Montana against ZIS or ISZL. We are not putting this house on the Zurich city hub. We are not inventing a grade-by-grade fee, a flexi-boarding franc, or a support-lesson total. We are not treating 380 students or a 4:1 ratio as a league table. We are not calling Hotel Montana in Lucerne a campus.
Ask which paper this child will hold — German Matura, bilingual Matura, IB, or the high-school diploma. Ask whether boarding starts at 10 for this child, or whether the week is the funicular. Ask what the printed range becomes after language support is assessed. Ask how Swiss-German the corridor is after lunch.
Time Schönegg and the Zugerbergbahn on a wet Tuesday. Then walk Baar, then Wädenswil, in the same week. Zug is not Zurich.
The Switzerland country page is the wider map. Montana sits on the boarding page, not on the Zurich hub.
Offizielle Seiten und Dokumente, die wir gelesen haben. Wenn eine Zahl für Budget oder Bewerbung zählt, öffnet den Link und prüft, ob er noch gilt.
Freundliche Orientierung, kein Antrag. Termine, Gebühren und Programme ändern sich. Alles bei der Schule prüfen.
Manche Kinder blühen an einem Flur aus Koffern und Kakao. Manche brauchen das eigene Zimmer und den Hund. Beides ist erlaubt. Der Schulweg ist auch eine Art Internat.
16 minDie Buchstaben auf dem Abschlusszeugnis zählen. Sie sind nicht das ganze Kind. So unterscheidet ihr sie ohne Kopfschmerz — und ohne so zu tun, als bliebe jede Tür offen.
16 minIhr braucht keinen perfekten Algorithmus. Nur ein paar wahre Dinge über euer Kind, eine langweilige Liste am Kühlschrank — und den Mut, einen schönen Campus zu ignorieren, der nicht passt.
15 minDas Schulgeld ist die Zahl auf der Startseite. Das PDF ist die Zahl, die im März kommt. Hier steht, wie ihr die zweite lest, ohne einen Euro, eine Krone oder eine Frist zu erfinden.