For secondary school, von Speyr attended a coeducational gymnasium, where she excelled, particularly in Latin and Greek. At her mother's insistence, she also spent a year at a girls' school in La Chaux-de-Fonds, since the gymnasium was thought to give her too much exposure to boys. Here, she met fellow student Madeleine Gallet, who became a close companion and helped her mold her sense of Christian discipleship. After a year, von Speyr's father allowed her to return to the gymnasium, where her classmates greeted her with wild applause when she entered. She was popular for her sense of humor and strong ethical judgment.