European School of Luxembourg I

European School of Luxembourg
Schola Europaea
Location
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg Luxembourg
Information
Type International
Established 1953
Founder European Coal and Steel Community
Number of students 3 802
Website www.euroschool.lu

The European School of Luxembourg was the first of the European Schools. It was founded in October 1953 on the initiative of officials of the European Coal and Steel Community, with the support of the Community's institutions and the government of Luxembourg. In April 1957, it formally became the first of the European Schools. Today it is located on the Kirchberg-Plateau in Luxembourg City.[1]

In October 2003, the student population of the European School was 3 802 — of which 440 were in the nursery school, 1 414 were in the primary school and 1 948 were in the secondary school. It is currently the largest school in Luxembourg and the largest of the 14 European Schools.

In September 2012, Luxembourg II opened.

History of the campus

Primary School buildings on the far side of Kirchberg Lake

Boulevard de la Foire

When the school was founded it was located on the premises of a former furniture shop in the Limpertsberg quarter of Luxembourg city. In 1956 construction began on a new building on Boulevard de la Foire, just outside the city centre. The building was opened on 11 December 1957. At a later date, the school moved to a new site on the Kirchberg plateau, another quarter of Luxembourg city. During the late 80s, the school re-used the building at Boulevard de la Foire, as an overflow school for three age groups of the primary school. Since the end of the 1990s, the old building at Boulevard de la Foire has no longer been used by the European School.

Kirchberg

At the end of the 1990s, the campus on Kirchberg was completely redesigned. Old buildings were demolished and new ones (e.g. a new primary school building, an extension of the secondary school building and a new theatre building) were erected, though three blocks of the old Secondary school (the current A, B and C blocks) were left standing. More recently, as proof of the school's struggle to keep up with high demand, several temporary steel-framed structures were erected and will remain in use until the completion of Luxembourg II (the planned second European School in Luxembourg).

Luxembourg II

A second European School was built on the border of the neighbouring communes of Bertrange and Mamer. Before the school opened in 2012, the primary department of Luxembourg II was located in temporary buildings next to Luxembourg I on the Kirchberg Plateau (in the "Village Pédagogique"). This school opened officially in September 2012 with around 2000 students and 250 teachers. It was designed for 3000 students.[2]

Reputation

Academically, ESL maintains a reputation as one of the strongest schools in Luxembourg. Many of its students go on to study at leading European universities; most of the English section students and a significant minority of students from the other language sections apply to British institutions. Typically, two or three students in each year will acquire places at Oxbridge colleges, although recent figures suggest this is likely to increase.[3]

The school is known for high standards in languages; the European Baccalaureate requires students to study many subjects in their second or third languages. Students also benefit from the international environment provided by the school's segregation into English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish and Polish language sections. Participation in the Model European Parliament, the European Schools Science Symposium and the Eurosport Championship, as well as a number of other recreational projects, allows students to excel in other areas.

According to the 2006 OECD PISA academic study, ESL surpassed the score attained by the leading participant countries (i.e. Taiwan, Korea, Finland).

The Pupils' Committee

The Pupils' Committee seeks to represent the interests of the students and aims to improve student welfare within the schools. The committee's latest projects include "the Smoker's issue", the "Green-School issue" and the "School Journal".

Current Headmistress

The current head of the European School of Luxembourg is Panayota Vassilacou, previously head of the European School, Brussels III.[1]

Notable former students

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Schola Europaea". EURSC. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  2. ↑ "Schola Europaea". EURSC. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  3. ↑ "Report on the European Baccalaureate" (PDF). University of Cambridge. 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-21.

External links

Coordinates: 49°37′39″N 6°9′19″E / 49.62750°N 6.15528°E