Primary School Wittenbach - created with PUPIL

About the job

Unfortunately, your browser is not supported. Please use Edge 12 or higher, Firefox 54 or higher, Safari 10 or higher, Google Chrome 51 or higher. Thank you very much!

The Primary School Wittenbach should and must continue to develop. This was the majority consensus at the public participatory workshop at the Steig school campus. Around 100 people engaged very actively on Saturday, 6 September 2025, discussing various questions around school, school development, communication, and participation.

The municipal council of Wittenbach had already invited to the event in June. Over 100 interested people registered. The municipal president Peter Bruhin said in his welcoming speech that the council understood it must better involve the citizens. "The school can only function if we have a shared understanding: about what the school should do to best prepare the children for what awaits them in life."

Being heard and involved

For the preparation and execution of the day’s programme, the municipal council commissioned neutral experts from a consulting network in Zurich. At the start of the day, attendees expressed in small groups what they expected from the workshop day and what they themselves wished to contribute to its success. Many wished to be heard and involved and to learn more about Wittenbach’s school development first-hand.

School development – a constant task

In an introductory presentation, representatives of the school management gave an overview of how societal changes affect the school and why the further development of the primary school is a constant task. Answers are needed to existing challenges as well as to the question of what a future-oriented and sustainable school requires. Even children of the same age have very different prerequisites. "The focus is on the claim to support children in their diverse competences according to their individual developmental level," said headteacher José Lorca. For this demanding task, supportive framework conditions are important not only for the pupils but also for the teachers. The vision adopted by the municipal council in 2021 serves as a guiding star for the question of how the school could meet these demands: with multi-age classes, core teams, as well as feedback and close support as support instruments. In their presentations, headteachers Cornelia Bartolini, Claudia van Winden, and Claudia Frei explained these educational considerations. The relationship remains the central element for successful learning.

Educational and political discussions

At eight moderated table islands, citizens then discussed concrete questions – around the school, school development, and political participation. The following questions were discussed:

Primary school should continue to develop

The municipal councillors were also represented at the table islands. From the discussions, they gained a good picture of the different attitudes and views of the citizens. A majority consensus could already be derived on Saturday: most participants agreed that the primary school must not stand still in view of rapid societal changes and should continue to develop.

The written feedback on Post-it notes will be evaluated by the municipal council in the coming weeks. They form part of the basis for deciding on the further course of school development. One thing is already certain: as of 1 August 2026, no mixed-age classes will be introduced. Whether and when the primary school will possibly introduce mixed-age classes is still open. The municipal council will reflect on this question with the education commission and the school management. The municipal council will inform about the feedback from the workshop before the citizens’ assembly in November 2025.