Preparation for Probezeit 2026

Optimal preparation begins one year before the exam. In 5th grade, it is important that students immerse themselves in essay writing in German and consolidate their basic knowledge in mathematics.

This is followed by preparatory courses 1 and 2, in which they are taught the specific tasks required at secondary school. Finally, the intensive course during the sports holidays serves as exam training.

Our courses cover the entire entrance exam preparation program. A second preparation session is not recommended. Those who wish to invest more time beyond the required homework can delve deeper into the school material to achieve the best possible preliminary grade, or review the material covered using course materials or other suitable resources. Students can also book individual tutoring to address specific gaps in their knowledge.

Our exam preparation covers entrance exams for long-term and short-term secondary schools, HMS, FMS, IMS, and BMS.

What if it is foreseeable that a student will not pass the entrance exam?

Our students are assessed in a personal interview and an evaluation of their current level. If it turns out that the student is not ready for a preparatory course for high school, he or she can be guided toward their goal with the help of individual lessons. Alternative educational paths can also be explored.

Adicum Tutors believes it is important to create a positive learning environment so that every student feels supported. If a student's performance nevertheless declines, we contact the parents and work together to find a way to help the student regain confidence and motivation.

It is important to Adicum to create a good learning environment so that every student feels supported. Should there be a drop in performance, the parents will be contacted and together we will find a way for the student to regain courage and motivation.

Adicum builds the courses in a practical way. Through constant monitoring, the student's learning progress becomes visible. If this learning progress does not show to the desired extent, contact is made with the parents and a joint way to overcome these difficulties is sought. Our goal is to provide the best possible preparation for the entrance examination. Nevertheless, other aspects play a central role in the examination itself, such as form on the day, luck, disruptions during the examination, which cannot be influenced by Adicum, so that we cannot give a success guarantee.

In order to find a suitable Matura school, I recommend collecting information about different schools. The Matura schools also offer information evenings and possibly a visit day around November 2023. You can find information about this on the homepage https://www.zh.ch/de/bildung.html and at the respective schools.

You can register your daughter/son online via the website of the relevant school at www.zh.ch. For the Gymnasien, HMS, FMS and BMS, the registration deadline is between mid-November and the beginning of February. For the IMS, whose examination takes place in the autumn of the last school year, the registration deadline is the end of September of the examination year.

If your son/daughter is ill on the day of the exam, sign out at the secretary's office of the school where he/she is writing the exam and submit a doctor's certificate afterwards. The learner will then be invited to a re-examination, which usually takes place a few weeks later. An examination that has been written is deemed to have been written; poor health cannot be claimed retrospectively.

If your son/daughter attends a public school, half of the grade is based on the report card grades from the first semester of 6th grade or the 2nd or 3rd year of secondary school. In 6th grade, the subjects are mathematics and German; in secondary school, the subjects are mathematics, German, French, English, and science and technology. The other half is the average grade from the entrance exam. Half of this grade is based on the math exam and the other half on the two German grades (language exam and essay), with both being weighted equally. The exam is considered passed if a grade of 4.75 is achieved. 

If your daughter/son comes from a private school, only the exam grades count, half of which are for mathematics and half for the two German grades (language exam and essay). The average must be 4.5 for the exam to be passed. 

There is no oral exam.

In general, tutoring is good when it is good for the learner - which means something different for everyone. It is important that the chemistry between learner and teacher is right and that the latter speaks a language that the learner understands. Our teachers are trained for this and Adicum focuses on finding the right teacher for the learner.

If tutoring is good, it can achieve a great deal. First and foremost, good tutoring ensures that problems someone has with the school material are solved. When dealing with the material, one feels more confident, when writing an exam, one feels better, when receiving the school report, one is more joyful. Good tutoring always leads to good grades.

Learning counselling serves as a comprehensive analysis of the school situation. In case of a drop in performance, personal or family crises, frequent changes of teachers, unstable performance and lack of motivation or concentration, it is advisable to consider the school situation as a whole with the relationship environment. Often, just becoming aware of the situation has a calming effect.