Your questions, our answers

FAQs about the Upper Secondary School of formatio Private School

Concept

Why does the Upper Secondary School have a truly excellent school concept?

We prepare our students for the globalized, interconnected and digital world of the 21st century and, in doing so, offer a unique school concept. As an innovative model school, our school development is scientifically supported and academically researched by the Technical University of Darmstadt. We are particularly proud that our pioneering teaching concept has been awarded by the European Union. In 2019 we received the European Language Seal for our concept.

Why does formatio Private School call itself the school of the future?

We combine tried and tested teaching concepts with the conscious promotion of skills needed for the interconnected and digital world. Specifically, this means: We use our established Profil Lingua, in which four foreign languages (English, French, Latin and Spanish) are studied, to promote skills necessary for a successful life in the 21st century with the help of multilingualism. In addition, digital media play an important role in our everyday teaching.

The Upper Secondary School describes itself as a multilingual school. What does that mean in practice?

In addition to subject instruction in a total of four foreign languages, we also focus on the teaching of multilingual and plurilingual skills. This means that selected subjects such as history, ethics or geography are taught in English. Languages are also combined in lessons. Currently, Spanish and Latin as well as French and Latin are taught together in one lesson per week.

How are digital media integrated into everyday school life?

Finding your way in the digital world means more than “just” being able to use digital media. Our computer science lessons therefore focus on understanding and reflecting on the digital world. This is done by learning programming languages, but also by teaching algorithmic thinking and structured problem-solving strategies.
Furthermore, at formatio Private School, working and learning with digital media is part of everyday life. In the Upper Secondary School we rely on a BYOD concept, which means that students bring their own tools such as laptops to work with. Many of the materials are provided by our teaching staff on a digital learning platform and are completed online by the students.

Which role does personality development play at the upper school of the formatio Private School?

“Strengthening strengths” is an old motto of formatio Private School. We use various concepts and tools from positive psychology to specifically promote the abilities of our students. For example, we offer the subject “Personal Challenge” and, at the end of the year, we award special honors for outstanding achievements in which a certain strength of character (e.g. creativity, social intelligence, leadership, etc.) has been excellently expressed. In addition, we offer the two-lesson subject “Happiness” in the Matura class, in which the young adults are allowed to take a deeper look at their own personality and reflect on all those things that make life worth living.

Lessons

When do the lessons start and end?

Learning needs structure. That is why we give our students a daily routine for when teaching and learning takes place at the Upper Secondary School. Lessons usually begin at 08:30 and end at 16:25. Lunch break is from 12:00 to 13:00. In addition, our team of teachers is available to students before and after lessons for individual questions by appointment.

Which curriculum does the Upper Secondary School follow?

As a minimum standard we teach the Liechtenstein curriculum, Profil Lingua, with Spanish instead of Italian. Thanks to a focus on mathematics as well as selected specializations in several subjects, we also fulfill the Austrian curriculum in addition to the Liechtenstein curriculum and are therefore entitled to offer the standardized Matura as an Austrian International School.

What is the formatio Campus?

During the periodic formatio Campus weeks, students organize their own learning autonomously and with the help of a digital learning environment. In the Campus units students can decide for themselves which assignments they want to complete at what time. The tasks are assigned on a digital platform. The teachers accompany the learning individually, provide differentiated support in case of queries and carefully review the learning process. The format of the assignments not only encourages individual learning, but also consciously sets team tasks to foster social skills and cooperative learning. The alternation between tasks that have to be completed digitally and in analogue is consciously taken into account.

What is the special characteristic of the formatio Masterclasses?

School is more than lessons on a timetable. The formatio Masterclasses take this into account. Twice a school year, the lessons in the upper school are dissolved for one week each. Students choose one of the four interdisciplinary modules, the so-called Masterclasses, which they spend a week focusing on. The inputs and workshops during this week are designed and accompanied by the true “masters”, i.e. experts from science, business, art and culture. The focus is on interconnected thinking, interdisciplinary work in multi-age teams and project-oriented learning.

What is the subject “Personal Challenge” about?

In the subject “Personal Challenge”, each pupil is invited to find his or her own personal challenge and then devote several months to this task. The timetable includes two lessons for this purpose, but there is no general obligation to attend. In this way we deliberately give the students the freedom to pursue and realize projects outside the school building.

Structure

The Upper Secondary School of formatio is a private school with public rights. What does that mean?

After corresponding examinations, we have been granted the right by the government of the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Austrian Ministry of Education to issue legally valid, worldwide recognized certificates – just like public schools. The EDK (Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education) also confirmed and recognized our teaching standards as equivalent in spring 2015. Our teachers are all certified and approved by the Liechtenstein School Board.

Why is the Upper Secondary School listed as an Austrian International School?

As an Austrian International School we can offer our students more opportunities and additional international scope. This is of central importance for a school with a language focus. The possibility of membership in international associations and participation in European and international projects is another advantage that we enjoy as an Austrian International School. Furthermore, we are a member of the Austrian International School system with partner schools in Istanbul, Prague or Guatemala City, to name but a few. The Austrian national school-leaving certificate also guarantees direct access to Swiss universities and various others worldwide.

Certificates and Graduation

What kind of report card do the pupils receive?

Our students receive both a half-yearly and a yearly report card with grades in all subjects. In addition, all students also receive a written report twice a year about their social and work conduct. The end-of-year report contains a separate, integral document that individually identifies all the special achievements of each pupil during the school year. As a school with public rights, our reports have exactly the same status as the performance records of public schools.

What are the advantages of the Austrian Matura at formatio Private School?

Since the school year 2015/16, graduates of the Upper Secondary School have been completing their studies with the standardised Austrian Matura. The Matura certificate of the formatio Private School is approved by the Liechtenstein School Board, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Austria and the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK). This gives students direct access to European universities. Due to the wide range of subjects offered and the high number of hours per week at the Upper Secondary School, it is also possible, depending on the circumstances, for subjects completed at formatio Private School to be recognized for university studies.

Why do you offer the standardized Austrian Matura (centralized school leaving certificate)?

Participation in this standardized, centralized final examination provides much more objective opportunities for comparison with other schools and students, which in turn can be used to improve quality. In addition – and this is the most important point for us – teachers also receive feedback on the quality of their work through the results of the Matura, as they prepare students for the standardized exams.

Where do the graduates of the Upper Secondary School go to?

Our alumni generally study at both German and English speaking universities. Our graduates most frequently enroll at the Universities of Zurich, Vienna and Innsbruck, although the trend towards English-speaking universities is increasing. Highly renowned universities such as the HSG in St. Gallen or the ETH in Zurich or Lausanne are also attended by our graduates.

Admission

How does a transfer from another school to the upper secondary of formatio Private School work?

The school principal or his or her deputy will conduct a personal interview with each candidate as well as with the parents and check the previous certificates. After at least one orientation day and competence checks in selected subjects, the principal decides to which school level and under which conditions a transfer is possible. We lay particular emphasis on the behavior and social interaction of our students. In order to be able to support our students in the best possible way, it is important to us that they can integrate well into the respective class community.

Could someone interested visit you for a day?

Yes, interested young people are of course very welcome to come and spend one or two days at the Upper Secondary School without any obligation and free of charge. Please contact us at any time by phone (00423 392 20 88) or by e-mail at lernen@formatio.li. You are also welcome to use our contact form.

What are the costs involved in attending formatio Private School?

As a private institution, we charge school fees for our extensive and outstanding educational services. We will gladly send you our cost breakdown and other documents. Please contact our secretary’s office at lernen@formatio.li.

Is there a possibility for a scholarship?

Under certain circumstances, it is possible to apply for a scholarship. Please send a mail to lernen@formatio.li.