VP or VG: understanding the end-of-8P orientation in the canton of Vaud

For many families in Vaud, 8P is the year the word “orientation” enters dinner-table conversations. At the end of that year, every pupil is streamed into one of the two tracks of secondary I: the voie prégymnasiale (VP) or the voie générale (VG). Here is how it works, and above all how to help your child live through that year calmly.

01VP and VG: what are we actually talking about?

The voie prégymnasiale (VP) prepares, as its name suggests, for further studies at the gymnase, in particular towards the maturité. The voie générale (VG) prepares for the end-of-secondary certificate and opens onto vocational training (apprenticeship), general culture and business schools, or, via a raccordement, further studies.

02In VG: level 1 or level 2, what does that actually mean?

This is the point many parents discover, especially those who did not grow up in the Swiss system. In the voie générale, three main subjects (French, mathematics and German) are taught at two levels of demand: level 1 (basic requirements) and level 2 (higher requirements).

The key thing to understand: these levels are set subject by subject. A pupil can be in level 2 in mathematics, their strong point, and level 1 in German. And nothing is fixed: level changes remain possible along the way, depending on results. The levels followed then play a role for what comes next, notably for access to the raccordement and to certain programmes. Concretely: aiming for level 2 in a subject means keeping doors open.

03How the decision is built during 8P

The orientation is not the outcome of a single exam: it is built over the whole 8P year, from school results, with particular weight on French, mathematics and German, and the cantonal reference tests (ECR), which complete the picture. The process involves the school and the parents, with progress reviews during the year.

The practical consequence: what counts is steady work across the whole year, not a third-term sprint. A pupil who works consistently from September approaches the end-of-year milestones with a safety margin, and far less stress.

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“The orientation is not a verdict: it is a snapshot at a given moment, and bridges exist in both directions.”

The SOS teaching team

04Neither path closes doors

This is the most important message for parents, and for pupils too. A pupil oriented into VG is not “condemned” to give up on longer studies: the raccordement allows them, after Year 11, to reach the requirements needed to continue. Track changes also remain possible during secondary I, depending on results.

Conversely, VP is not an end in itself: a pupil who exhausts themselves there without finding their place can succeed brilliantly by another route. The Vaud system is built on bridges; knowing them replaces fear with strategy.

05What if 8P starts with difficulties?

If last year left gaps in French, mathematics or German, 8P is the wrong year to “wait and see”. The first weeks are the right moment to consolidate the basics: the curriculum is still at its beginning, deadline pressure is far away, and every point regained counts double when the orientation comes.

That is exactly the work we do in our centres in Vevey, Lausanne and Montreux: a free educational assessment to identify the gaps precisely, then regular support (private lessons, semi-private lessons or supervised study) with a report to parents after every session.

Official information on the organisation of secondary I in Vaud and the orientation process is published by the Canton of Vaud on vd.ch (Direction générale de l’enseignement obligatoire).