The pre-gymnasium track (VP) explained to parents in Vaud

Three letters keep coming up from the end of Year 8 (8P) in the canton of Vaud: VP. Many parents hear 'pre-gymnasium track' without knowing exactly what it covers, how their child gets in, or what happens if they are not oriented there straight away.

This article answers those questions from the canton's official texts, without drama. Understanding the VP means making the right decisions at the right time, rather than simply enduring orientation.

01What exactly is the VP?

From Year 9, Vaud pupils are split into two tracks within lower secondary. The pre-gymnasium track (VP), in the official wording, 'welcomes pupils who will be able to access gymnasium maturity studies directly if they obtain their lower-secondary leaving certificate'.

In other words, the VP is the gymnasium track. A pupil who follows it and obtains the certificate at the end of Year 11 can enter gymnasium to prepare a maturity, with no additional entrance exam. That is why parents pay it so much attention.

02VP or VG: the difference in one sentence

The general track (VG) welcomes pupils who are mainly heading for general-culture and commerce schools, vocational maturity, or vocational training, that is, an apprenticeship. These are not dead ends: they are other paths, which also lead to demanding qualifications.

The VG also works with levels, in French, mathematics and German: level 1 corresponds to basic requirements, level 2 to higher requirements. That is a topic in itself, covered in another article. Keep the simple line here: VP, aimed at the gymnasium; VG, a broader range toward general culture and apprenticeship.

03How a pupil enters the VP

Orientation is decided at the end of Year 8. It is the school's management council that promotes the pupil, then orients them into a track and, in the VG, places them into levels, based on the year's results.

These annual results include the cantonal reference tests (ECR), which count for 30% of the orientation averages in 8P. That is why Year 8 matters: it is not the ECR alone that decide, but a whole steady year, ECR included, that opens the door to the VP or not.

04You can move from VG to VP: the bridges

A crucial and often overlooked point: the end-of-Year-8 orientation is not final. The system provides bridges. A VG pupil who is up to it can first follow pre-gymnasium teaching in certain subjects, in French, mathematics, German or English.

And a full move from one track to the other can happen at the end of the first semester of Year 9, then at the end of Years 9 and 10, depending on results. In practice: a child oriented into VG who progresses strongly can join the VP; a child in VP with lasting difficulties can be reoriented. The Year 9 track does not lock in a destiny.

05What the VP demands, and how to support your child

The VP implies a faster pace and a more regular workload than the VG. It is not a matter of superior intelligence, but of autonomy, method and consistency: handing in work, revising regularly, not letting a gap settle in.

This is where steady support makes sense, at two moments above all: in the final stretch of Year 8, to aim for VP orientation; and at the start of lower secondary, to keep the pace once in the VP, or to build the progress that will allow a bridge from the VG. The goal is never to cram, but to strengthen the foundations so the chosen track is manageable calmly.

In our centres in Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux, and at home across the canton, this is the work we favour: spot weak points early, fill them over time, and let the pupil approach orientation, then lower secondary, with the means to match their ambitions.