European Schools

European School
École Européenne
Schola Europaea
Location
European Union European Union
Information
Type Private-authority schools, recognised as public bodies, established by international treaty
Established
  • 4 October 1953, Luxembourg by employees of the ECSC (initial establishment)
  • 22 February 1960 (entry into force of international legal basis, signed in 1957 by the "Inner Six" countries)
Category Nursery, Primary and Secondary Education
Board of Governors
Gender Mixed
Enrolment 26,691 (2016-2017)
Accreditation European Baccalaureate
Main Regulatory Text 1994 Convention Defining the Statute of the European Schools
European Schools
Website http://www.eursc.eu

The European Schools (Latin: Schola Europaea) are private-authority schools, which emphasise a multilingual and multicultural pedagogical approach to the teaching of nursery, primary and secondary students, leading to the European Baccalaureate as their secondary leaving qualification.

The first European School, founded in Luxembourg, in 1953, had the objective of providing an education to the children of employees of the institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community - a forerunner of today's European Union. Originally, a private initiative of employees of the ECSC, the concept attracted the attention of EU founding father, Jean Monnet as capturing the spirit of the post-war effort to reconcile and integrate Europe.

As of 2017, there are 14 European Schools located in 7 EU member states in close proximity to European institutions. Nonetheless, the Schools are neither EU bodies, nor under the full jurisdiction of the individual member states of the European Union. They are instead administered and financed through the international organisation "The European Schools", established by means of an intergovernmental treaty, the 1957 Statue of the European School, since repealed and replaced by the 1994 Convention Defining the Statute of the European Schools. All EU member states, as well as the EU itself, and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) are party to this agreement. The Schools are legally recognised in all participating jurisdictions as public bodies.

Since 2005, upon a recommendation of the European Parliament, the title of an "Accredited European School" has been available for schools under national jurisdiction, which have been approved, by the Board of Governors of the European Schools, to offer the European Schools' curriculum and the European Baccalaureate. As of 2017, there are 13 Accredited European Schools located in 11 EU countries.

History

Foundation: An intergovernmental enterprise

Following the establishment of the institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in Luxembourg, in 1952, it became apparent that it was necessary to provide an education to the children of the officials of those institutions in their mother tongues. The lack of such provisions posed challenges in building an administration that reflected the diverse makeup of the ECSC's six founding member states, discouraging potential employees who heralded from outside the jurisdiction in which the institutions were based from relocating with their families. In 1953, employees of the ECSC established an association, financed by the High Authority of the ECSC, for the purpose of founding a school in Luxembourg providing nursery and primary education to the children of the institutions' officials. The school begun to operate on 4 October 1953, with teachers recruited and paid by the association.

However, by the spring of 1954, it was apparent that the solution was inadequate, with the school unable to provide a secondary education to its enrolees. The President of the High Authority of the ECSC, Jean Monnet, invited representatives of the education ministers of the six founding member states of the ECSC to Luxembourg for discussions on a school with intergovernmental status. The member state representatives transformed themselves into a Board of Governors, who would oversee the establishment of a such a school. It was agreed that teaching staff would be seconded from the member states, who would continue to pay their salary, and that salaries would be harmonised by means of an additional supplement. On 12 October 1954, the first two years of the secondary school began to operate.

On 12 April 1957, the governments of the six ECSC member states signed, and later subsequently ratified, the Statute of the European School, which took the form of an international treaty. Under Article 6 of the Statute, the European School was to have the status of a public institution in the law of each of the contracting parties and was to have legal personality to the extent requisite for the attainment of its objectives. The organs of the school were to be a Board of Governors, which would have executive authority over the School, a Boards of Inspectors, an Administrative Board and a Head teacher. Article 8 provided that the Board of Governors of the European School was to consist of the "Minister or Ministers of each contracting party whose responsibilities include national education and/or external cultural relations", with the Board able to confer a position to a representative of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community, as per Article 27.

The spread of the European Schools

Following the foundation of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957 and the establishment of the institutions of those Communities in various places, other European Schools were set up in Brussels and Mol, Belgium in 1958, in Varese, Italy in 1960, Karlsruhe, Germany in 1962, in Bergen, the Netherlands in 1963, and a second school in Brussels in 1976. In order to facilitate the setting-up of those new schools and to provide them with a legal basis, the governments of the member states signed on 13 April 1962 in Luxembourg a Protocol on the setting-up of European Schools with reference to the 1957 Statute of the European School.

In 1967, the institutions of the EEC, ECSC and Euratom were merged to form the European Communities. Consequently, the three organisations were represented on the Board of Governors by the European Commission of the European Communities, the successor institution to the High Authority of the ECSC. Taking advantage of the powers conferred to it by the 1957 Statute, the Board of Governors signed an agreement with the European Patent Organisation - a separate intergovernmental organisation - in December 1975 allowing for the creation, in 1977, of a European School in Munich, Germany for the education and instruction together of children of its staff. In 1973, the first enlargement of the European Communities saw the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland accede to the 1957 Statute. In 1978, a European School was established at Culham, UK in order to serve the children of the staff posted to the Joint European Torus Joint Undertaking (JET), supervised by Euratom, for the development of a common nuclear fusion programme. By 1986, following the enlargement of the European Communities to include Greece, Spain and Portugal, the Schools were obliged to provide an education to the students of officials originating from the 12 EC member states.

Coping with EU enlargement

Pursuant to the incorporation of the European Communities into the European Union in 1993, and envisioning the enlargement in membership of the EU following the end of the Cold War, it was decided that the legal and organisational framework of the Schools needed an overhaul. On 1 October 2002, the Convention Defining the Statute of the European Schools, originally signed in 1994, came into effect repealing and replacing the 1957 Statute of the European School and its accompanying 1962 Protocol. Following the accession of Croatia to the EU in 2013, the 1994 Convention includes amongst its contracting parties all 28 EU member states, as well as the EU itself, and Euratom.

Principles and Objectives

The historical significance of the first European School, founded a mere 12 years after the end of World War II, was not lost on its architects. Children, whose parents had fought on opposite sides of the conflict, would not only be taught together, but, as per the curriculum of the School, learn history and geography in a foreign language and from a foreign point of view. "May the Europe of the European schools definitively take the place of the Europe of the war cemeteries," René Mayer, head of the ECSC proclaimed upon the opening of a new custom building for the School on Boulevard de la Foire in Luxembourg, on 11 December 1957. This sentiment is echoed in the words inscribed in Latin on parchment and sealed in each of the European Schools' foundation stones. Translated into English, it reads:

Educated side by side, untroubled from infancy by divisive prejudices, acquainted with all that is great and good in the different cultures, it will be borne in upon them as they mature that they belong together. Without ceasing to look to their own lands with love and pride, they will become in mind Europeans, schooled and ready to complete and consolidate the work of their fathers before them, to bring into being a united and thriving Europe.
— Marcel Decombis, member of the cabinet of Jean Monnet and Head of the European School, Luxembourg between 1953 and 1960

Curriculum

Age/Year equivalency table
Primary School
Age Name Abbreviation
6–7 First Year P1
7–8 Second Year P2
8–9 Third Year P3
9–10 Fourth Year P4
10–11 Fifth Year P5
Secondary School
Age Name Abbreviation
11-12 First Year S1
12-13 Second Year S2
13-14 Third Year S3
14-15 Fourth Year S4
15-16 Fifth Year S5
16-17 Sixth Year S6
17-18 Seventh Year S7

The curriculum is common to all fourteen schools and is centrally controlled by the Board of Inspectors and the Board of Governors.

Secondary level

Compulsory subjects for Years 1–7 of the secondary school:

Compulsory for Years 1–3 of the secondary school:

Compulsory subjects for Years 1–5 of the secondary school:

Compulsory subjects for Years 6–7 of the secondary school:

Optional subjects:

Foreign language education

All modern foreign languages offered are taught using the direct method where the lessons are taught in the language being learned, and the use of the student's native tongue is discouraged. These foreign languages lessons are shared with pupils from other language streams. The idea is to encourage the pupils to use the language they are learning as a means of crossing the communication barrier between themselves and pupils from other language streams. From Year 3 onwards of the secondary school, History and Geography as well as other secondary subjects such as Music are taught in each student's second language. Many of the pupils find themselves in a foreign country, so are surrounded by a foreign language. Some pick it up through language immersion, hence some lessons are taught in the national language of the host country.[1]

The European Baccalaureate

The European Baccalaureate is the leaving certification of the European Schools, and should be distinguished from the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the baccalaureates of various national systems. It is a two-year course assessing the performance of students in the subjects taught in Years 6–7, and culminating in a final series exams taken at the end of Year 7. As per the multilingual ethos of the Schools, certain subjects are instructed and assessed in each student's respectvie second language. Details of the examinations are set out in the Annex of the Statute of the European School and in the regulations for the European Baccalaureate.

Those students undertaking the European Baccalaureate are required to study at least 8 and up to a maximum of 11 academic subjects, in addition to physical education and moral/religion, with different weightings according to the course choices made when commencing the Baccaluareate.[2] The final mark is calculated as a percentage, where 60% is the minimum for a pass.

The European Baccalaureate is administered and directly supervised by an external examining board appointed annually by the Board of Governors. The examining board consists of up to three representatives of each member state, who must satisfy the conditions governing the appointment of equivalent examining boards in their respective countries. It is presided over by a senior university educator appointed by each member state in turn, assisted by a member of the Board of Inspectors of the Schools.

Article 5 (2) of the Statute provides that holders of the Baccalaureate shall:

The first awards of the European Baccalaureate were made in 1959.

Common extra-curricula activities and events

Sports teams of the European Schools compete in the biennial Eurosport event, with the Schools alternating as hosts.[3] In addition, students of the Schools have the opportunity to take part in the annual European Schools Science Composium, the winners of which represent the European Schools in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists.[4]

The European Schools also cooperate to take advantage of their unique relationship to EU institutions, to provide students on an annual basis with the opportunity to take part in political simulations of EU meetings, held on the premises of the institutions themselves. Students get the opportunity to role-play as delegates of EU member state governments in a Model European Council, MEPs in a Model European Parliament, or international journalists covering the meetings.

The federation of student representatives of the Schools, CoSup, organises a "Europarty", held in a different European city each academic year, and open to any student of the European Schools over 16 years of age to attend.

Organs

The Board of Governors

The Board of Governors is the common executive body of the European Schools, determining educational, administrative and financial matters. When it is not in session, its powers are exercised by its officially appointed Secretary-General.

Membership

The governing board is composed of the ministers of education of each of the EU member states, normally represented by senior civil servants from the ministries of education or foreign affairs, together with the representative of the European Commission, representing the EU and Euratom, and the representative of the European Patent Office. A representative designated by the Staff Committee and a representative of the parents designated by the Parents’ Associations are also members of the Board of Governors.

Preparatory Committees

Matters to be discussed by the Board of Governors first make their way through a range of preparatory committees, the most of important of which are the Joint Teaching Committee and the Budgetary Committee. The Joint Teaching Committee gathers Inspectors and directors, together with representatives of teachers, parents and pupils and a representative of the European Commission and the European Patent Office. It examines proposals concerning the organisation and curricula of the schools. The Budgetary Committee, likewise, gathers finance officials from the EU member states, together with representatives of the European Commission and European Patent Office to examine the financial implications of educational proposals and the budgets of individual schools and of the General Secretariat in Brussels.

The Boards of Inspectors

Supervision of the education provided by the European Schools is conducted by two Boards of Inspectors, one for the primary and nursery sections and one for the secondary section. One Inspector from each of the 28 EU member states sits on each Board.

The Administrative Boards

Each European School has an Administrative Board responsible for the day-to-day administration and functioning of the each respective School. Chaired by the Secretary-General of the European Schools. Its other members are the director of the School, a representative of the European Commission, two elected representatives of the teachers, two representatives of the Parents’ Association, a representative of the administrative and socially staff and, at the European School of Munich, a representative of the European Patent Office. Bodies which have signed an agreement with a school and have at least 20 pupils on roll also have the right to be represented on the Administrative Board.

The Directors (Head teachers) and the teachers

Each head teacher is appointed by the Board of Governors for nine years. There are generally two deputy-head teachers, one for the secondary section and one for the primary and nursery sections. They are also appointed for nine years. Head and deputy-head teachers are appointed directly by the Board of Governors. All full time teachers are seconded by their national governments for a period up to nine years.

The Staff Committee

Each European School elects, annually, two representatives of the teaching staff (one primary, one secondary) to form a European School Staff Committee which is represented on the Board of Governors, in the Preparatory Committees and on the Administrative Board of each School.

The Complaints Board

In the European Schools system, the Complaints Board, an independent administrative court, represents the judiciary, owing to the Schools' unique intergovernmental legal basis.

Parents' Associations

Common to each European School, the respective Parents' Associations are responsible for overseeing the provision of school transportation, the running of canteen services and extra-curricula activities. Each Parents' Association is open to any parent or legal guardian who has a child enrolled in the Schools, and possesses a place on the Administrative Board of their respective European School. Via a body which federates all the Parents' Associations of the European Schools, INTERPARENTS, they participate in meetings of the Board of Governors of the European Schools, enabling them a voice in intergovernmental meetings which set the future direction of the organisation as a whole. Each Parents' Association is also a member of the Groupe Unitaire pour la Défense des Ecoles Européennes (GUDEE), which groups Parents’ Associations, Trades-Unions and other organisations possessing an interest in the future of the European Schools together.

The Pupils' Committees and CoSup

Regulations agreed by the Board of Governors of the European Schools recognise the right of the students of each School to organise and represent themselves in the administration and functioning of the Schools via a Pupils' Committee. Each European Schools' Pupils' Committee is democratically elected at the start of each academic year, headed by a president.

The Pupils' Committees of the European Schools are federated via CoSup, an acronym formed from its French title, Conseil Supérieur des Elèves. Each Pupils' Committee elects two representatives to send to meetings of CoSup. Accredited European Schools may also send representatives. As of 2006, CoSup is recognised by the Board of Governors of the European Schools as an official body. It is able to represent common student interests on the European Schools' Joint Teaching Committee. CoSup possesses a common fund, able to financially support represented Pupils' Committees, when necessary. Amongst other duties, CoSup is responsible for organising the annual Europarty, held in a different European city each year, and open to any student of the European Schools over the age of 16 to attend. CoSup meets four times per academic year and utilises a Qualified Majority Voting system, endowing each European School represented a number of votes proportional to its share of the total amount of students enrolled across all European Schools. Each School receives an equal vote weighting for matters concerning the functioning of CoSup, such as its presidential elections, which occur at the last meeting of each academic year.

Locations

European Schools

There are fourteen European Schools, found in eight municipalities, across seven EU countries, in close proximity to EU institutions, or in the case of the European School, Munich, the European Patent Organisation. There are already five European Schools in Belgium (four in Brussels and one in Mol) and discussions are currently being held about building a fifth school in Brussels at an undetermined future date. The European School, Culham is scheduled to close on 31 August 2017.

School Country Founded/Opened in Official website
European School, Luxembourg I (Kirchberg) Luxembourg 1953 www.euroschool.lu
European School of Brussels I (Uccle/Ukkel) Belgium 1958 www.eeb1.com
European School, Mol Belgium 1960 www.esmol.net
European School, Varese Italy 1960 www.eurscva.eu
European School, Karlsruhe Germany 1962 www.eskar.org
European School, Bergen Netherlands 1963 esbergen.eu
European School of Brussels II (Woluwe) Belgium 1974 www.eeb2.eu
European School, Munich Germany 1977 esmunich.de
European School, Culham United Kingdom 1978 (confirmed closure in 2017)[5] www.esculham.eu
European School, Brussels III (Ixelles/Elsene) Belgium 2000 www.eeb3.eu
European School, Frankfurt am Main Germany 2002 www.esffm.org
European School, Alicante Spain 2002 www.escuelaeuropea.org
European School, Luxembourg II (Bertrange/Mamer) Luxembourg 2004 (moved to new campus in 2012) www.eursc-mamer.lu
European School Brussels IV (Laeken/Laken) Belgium 2006 www.eeb4.be

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "European Schools Principles and objectives"
  2. ↑ https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-Euro_Baccalaureate.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.euroschool.lu/eses2015/Documents/Eurosport-handbook/2014-09-D-49-en-2.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.euroschool.lu/esss/
  5. ↑ http://www.esculham.eu/support-transition-and-closure/
  6. ↑ http://first.aster.it/_aster_/viewNews?ID=10277
  7. ↑ http://www.cheriefm.fr/musique-104/biographie-d-artistes-35/artiste/fiche/2078-viktor-lazlo.html#bioElement_1
  8. ↑ http://www.mffashion.com/it/archivio/2006/04/12/nei-profumi-vince-la-griffe
  9. ↑ http://www.fashionunited.it/News/Leads/Missoni_pensa_a_una_linea_low_cost_201211168203/
  10. ↑ http://www.madajazzcar.mg/jazz/biographie/index.php?shw=DIEDRICK_WISSELS
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