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Pre-course German
4th grade

Does your child have gaps in German? Do you perhaps speak another language at home or is German generally a subject that your child finds difficult? We help your child to close such gaps in German grammar and spelling at an early stage and to develop an interest in reading and writing.

Is your child currently in the 4th grade and will be entering the 5th grade after the summer holidays?

Then you will find the suitable essay training courses starting in November.

Is your child currently in the 4th grade and will be entering the 5th grade after the summer holidays?

Then you will find the suitable essay training courses starting in November.

Course overview

Pre-course German in 4th grade
Close gaps in German grammar / spelling, reading and essay training
Saturdays or Wednesdays from March to July 2026
Individual and targeted support in small groups: 3 to max. 6 students
Course location: directly at Stadelhofen train station or Zurich HB
Participation fee: 2450 CHF

» REGISTER NOW

Course Structure

Does your child not speak German as a native language? Has your child lived abroad for a long time and only recently moved to Switzerland? Or does your child have major gaps in German? This course helps your child to recognize and close such gaps at an early stage. In this way, a stable foundation in German can be created at an early stage with regard to a possible Gymnasium entrance exam in the 6th grade.

For this purpose, we work with the official DUDEN teaching materials for 4th grade German. These provide an optimal basis for targeted linguistic training:

Grammar
- Word types:
  - Nouns
  - Pronouns
  - adjectives
  - verbs
- Word structure
- Building blocks of a sentence
- Connecting sentences
Spelling
- Upper and lower case
- Difficult vowels
- Long and short vowel
- Separation and combination
- Punctuation
Essay (writing)
- Narrative
- Picture story
- Stimulus word story
- Describing animals and objects
- Writing reports
- Forming one's own opinion (incl. writing conference)
Reading (train and use strategies)
- Use prior knowledge
- Read purposefully
- Find out action steps
- Writing down keywords
- Compare texts
- Research a topic
- Form your own opinion

Course dates

The pre-course German in 4th grade takes place on Saturdays or Wednesdays on the following dates:

Course A: Saturdays, at Zurich Main Station, 08:45 to 10:15
Course B: Saturdays, at Stadelhofen station, 08:45 to 10:15
Course C: Saturdays, at Stadelhofen station, 13:15 to 14:45

07.03.2026
14.03.2026
21.03.2026
28.03.2026
11.04.2026
18.04.2026
09.05.2026
30.05.2026
06.06.2026
13.06.2026
20.06.2026
27.06.2026
04.07.2026
11.07.2026

Course D: Wednesdays, at Zurich Main Station, 13:45 to 15:15
Course E: Wednesdays, at Stadelhofen station, 15:45 to 17:15

11.03.2026
18.03.2026
25.03.2026
01.04.2026
08.04.2026
15.04.2026
06.05.2026
20.05.2026
27.05.2026
03.06.2026
10.06.2026
17.06.2026
24.06.2026
01.07.2026

Limited seats – enroll now!

REGISTER NOW

Request a free consultation

Quality courses and individual support for your child

Qualified and trained teachers with a high level of professional expertise

We specialize in supporting students on their way to Gymnasium. Our teachers are highly motivated and qualified in the latest teaching materials and curricula. We set high quality standards and we only employ a select group of teachers who fully meet our standards.
Individual support and personal coaching

Personal support and an individual focus is very important to us. Our teachers identify the respective gaps of the individual students and help them to close them through individual coaching. For questions outside of course hours, the teacher can be reached via chat.
Comprehensive training materials

For an optimal training during and outside of the course hours.
Specific essay training

Writing essays is a core component of our courses. We will show your child step by step which types of text he or she needs to master and how to best plan, phrase and revise them. Writing essays is a process that we coach individually and specifically. For that reason, your child will write essays on a regular basis – with the aim of imparting the joy of writing. After class hours, your child is always welcome to write additional essays on a voluntary basis. Naturally, we will provide feedback and valuable suggestions for improvement for those essays as well.

About us

GVZH is an independent and private competence center for Gymnasium preparation.
Only qualified teachers with several years of experience in exam preparation teach at our school.
As a small team of teachers, close support is central to us, which is why we are always there for our students, even outside of course hours.
Structure and organization are crucial for the Gymnasium – we teach this along the way.
We encourage your child's independence and personal responsibility and keep you informed about their progress.
A joyful environment and enthusiasm are important to us.
We not only prepare your child for the exam in terms of the subject matter, but also mentally.

Co-leadership
Founder GVZH
＿

Sandra Zogg

Responsible for course design, teaching materials and student support outside of class hours. As an experienced primary and secondary school teacher with many years of experience in preparing students for the Gymnasium entrance exam (ZAP), she is an expert in her field. Mrs. Zogg is passionate about her work at GVZH and enjoys being able to accompany each child on their way to the Gymnasium exam. At the same time, as a mother of three, she has a great deal of understanding for the concerns of parents.

Co-leadership «Sekundarstufe»
and ZAP examination expert
＿

Chantal Ehrlich

She guides and supports our «Sekundarstufe» students. As an official examiner at the ZAP, she is very familiar with the requirements of the Gymnasium entrance exam and, as a writing expert, is also responsible for correcting essays for us. Thanks to her many years of teaching experience, she is able to use her enthusiasm and wit to help students develop strong writing skills not only for the Gymnasium exam but also in the long term. She also teaches math with a lot of patience and charm, making her our all-round talent.

Co-leadership «Primarstufe»
and teacher
＿

Jens Martin

Together with Mrs. Zogg, he takes care of our «Primarstufe» students. German is his core competence and "High German" is his mother tongue. As a teacher at the Gymnasium, he knows exactly what is required of students after they have successfully passed the exam and prepares them ideally for it. His many years of teaching experience at the primary and secondary levels complete his profile. He also teaches mathematics in a skillfully structured way and with the necessary sensitivity.

Teacher
German and Mathematics
＿

Stefanie Egli

After several years of experience as a classroom teacher at the «Primar» and «Sekundar» level, she supports our students on their way to the Gymnasium entrance exam with a great deal of joy, sensitivity and professional competence. Mental support is also something she cares deeply about. For her, the written word always has something personal about it, and with this affirmative approach, she conveys every piece of feedback in a positive and educational way.

Teacher
German and Mathematics
＿

Sebastian Fritschi

As an experienced classroom teacher and curative education (schulischer Heilpädagoge) at the «Primar» and «Sekundar» level, he has a broad range of experience in all areas. With his drive, but at the same time relaxed manner, he manages to counteract the high pressure of the gymnasium exam. He has a lot of experience in dealing with both disadvantaged and gifted students. His diploma in German as a second Language (DaZ) and his role as a practice teacher round off his profile.

Teacher
German and Mathematics
＿

Rosmarie Thalmann

As an experienced classroom teacher at the «Primar» and «Sekundar» level, she is able to respond to the needs of her students. Thanks to her many years of experience and her keen focus on structure and organization, she quickly recognizes the current level of learning of each student and together they set the most appropriate next learning goals, with her providing full support and enthusiasm for the subject matter.

Teacher
German and Mathematics
＿

Esther Spälti

As a teacher at the «Primar» and «Sekundar» level, as well as a tutor in preparation for the gymnasium, she uses her extensive experience to prepare our students for the gymnasium entrance exam. Her great strength lies in addressing the individual needs of her class. She has a thorough knowledge of the subject matter and always manages to use the teaching materials in a targeted way.

Teacher
German and Mathematics
＿

Amelie Martin

As a qualified gymnasium teacher as well as «Sekundar» and with many years of experience at the «Primar», she knows exactly what expects the students after the transition to the Gymnasium and prepares them optimally in this regard. With a lot of charm and equipped with «High German» as her mother tongue, she always succeeds in awakening hidden talents.

Teacher
Mathematics
＿

Simona Moretti

In addition to her teaching diploma and her many years of experience as a classroom teacher and a math teacher at the «Primar» and «Sekundar» level, she also has a master's degree in biomedicine. She manages to teach our students the rules of the world of numbers with her strict yet warm-hearted manner.

Teacher
Mathematics
＿

Patrick Treisch

He has been teaching mathematics at a Zurich «Sekundar» school for years and, with his wealth of experience, is our absolute expert when it comes to making the logic behind mathematics tangible. He knows exactly which strategies are best used in the exam. In addition, it is always exciting to see how he addresses individual approaches to solutions and optimizes them for the gymnasium entrance exam.

Teacher
German and Mathematics
＿

Sabrina Nielsen

As an experienced classroom teacher and a curative education (schulische Heilpädagogin) at the primary level, she is very familiar with the challenges involved in the transition of 6th graders to the Sek or to the gymnasium. She accompanies each student individually and according to their abilities on this challenging path.

Teacher
Mathematics
＿

Valeria Camat

As an experienced classroom teacher with a focus on mathematics, she has been preparing students for the gymnasium entrance exam in the canton of Zurich for several years. She is adept at communicating clear solution strategies for challenging exam questions and reinforcing the necessary fundamentals. She skillfully encourages accomplished course participants to work at their own pace, without losing sight of a clean solution.

Teacher (online)
German & Mathematics
＿

Daniel Loppacher

With his calm and optimistic manner, the qualified «Gymnasium» and «Sekundar» school teacher counters any stress and pressure during the Gymnasium preparation. He lives in Costa Rica during the winter and is therefore our ideal choice for distance learning lessons.

Our office
and school dog
＿

Yoshi

As a trained school dog, he also has many years of teaching experience at both primary and secondary level. With his fluffy nature, he ensures a pleasant and motivating learning environment. However, since Yoshi is already older and has his paws full at home with three children, he is currently mainly our office dog and only occasionally visits students.

Our course locations

Our course rooms are situated in central locations, which you can easily get to via public transport. Our students can expect modern rooms, equipped with the latest media.

Our course location directly at
Stadelhofen Station

Falkenstrasse 28A
8008 Zurich

Our course location directly at
Zurich Main Station

Lagerstrasse 2
8090 Zurich

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Pre-course German4th grade

Course Structure

Course dates

Pre-course German
4th grade