The first nine years of school are compulsory for all children in Switzerland. The higher schools after compulsory education are called secondary schools - these include the cantonal school as well as the intermediate business school, the intermediate technical school or the intermediate health school. In order to attend a secondary school, good grades are a prerequisite, and in some cases an entrance examination must also be taken. The cantonal school is completed with the federal Matura, the business, technical and health secondary school with the federal technical or vocational Matura. This is required in order to be able to complete an academic education later, for example at a university or college.

In the canton of Obwalden, the Cantonal school Sarnen. The nearest Business School, Secondary technical school or Middle School of Health is located in Lucerne.

More information about different types of middle schools can be found at here.

Students who have graduated from a secondary school with a federal Matura can attend a University, a Swiss Federal Institute of Technology or at a University of Applied Sciences complete a course of study.

If the secondary school is completed with a federal vocational baccalaureate, studies can then be taken up at a university of applied sciences. Furthermore, the Passarelle be attended and then also studied at a university or a federal institute of technology

An overview of universities, federal institutes of technology and universities of applied sciences can be found at here.