Type Public School Status Active | Founder Bernard Roy | |
Sister school European School of Alicante European School of Bergen European School of Brussels I European School of Brussels II European School of Brussels III European School of Brussels IV European School of Culham European School of Frankfurt am Main European School of Karlsruhe European School of Luxembourg I European School of Luxembourg II European School of Mol European School of MunichEuropean School of Varese Category Primary and Secondary Education |
The European Schools (Latin: Schola Europaea) are private-authority sponsored schools controlled jointly by the governments of the Member States of the European Union. In all these countries they are legally regarded as public institutions. The mission of the European Schools is to provide a multilingual and multicultural education for nursery, primary and secondary level pupils.
Contents
- History
- Curriculum
- Foreign language education
- The European Baccalaureate
- Parents Associations
- The Pupils Committees
- Students CoSup
- Famous alumni
- Schools
- Activities
- References
The Mission Statement of the European Schools, and philosophy to which its members are actively encouraged to adhere, was stated by Jean Monnet as follows: "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."
They are established to provide education solely for children of the employees of the European Institutions and leading to the European Baccalaureate. Based on the recommendation of the European Parliament however, the European Schools have opened up their curricula and European Baccalaureate since 2005 for national Schools. Other children may therefore be admitted subject to the availability of places and must pay fees. All full-time teachers are appointed by their national governments, after completing a selection procedure.
There are currently 14 European Schools (Alicante, Brussels I (Uccle), Brussels II (Woluwé), Brussels III (Ixelles), Brussels IV (Laeken), Frankfurt am Main, Mol, Bergen, Karlsruhe, Munich, Varese, Culham, Luxembourg I & Luxembourg II), in seven countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain and Luxembourg), with a total of approximately 26,000 pupils on roll.
History
The European Schools project began in October 1953 in Luxembourg, on the initiative of officials of the European Coal and Steel Community, with the support of the Community's institutions and the Luxembourg Government. The first European school was established in a suburb of Luxembourg in that year, for the children of the officials of the European Coal and Steel Community.
It was an experiment to standardize teaching standards among countries. Different governments and Ministries of Education co-operated in matters of curricula, appointment of teachers, inspection and recognition of levels attained. The success of this educational experiment encouraged the European Economic Community and Euratom to press for the establishment of other European Schools at their various centres.
In April 1957 the future of this and later European schools was secured by the Statute of the European School, a treaty signed by the Member States of the Community. The signing of Protocol made the Luxembourg School the first official European School. The first European Baccalaureate was held there in July 1959 and the qualification was recognised as fulfilling basic entrance requirements by all universities of the member states. The United Kingdom acceded to the Statute in 1972. The present Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools dates from 1994. The schools are thus established by intergovernmental decree.
Curriculum
The curriculum is common to all fourteen schools and is centrally controlled by the Board of Inspectors and the Board of Governors. There is a strong common core throughout the secondary school.
Children may choose to do one of either Latin or ICT in year 3 (They may also choose to take neither.)
Foreign language education
All modern foreign languages offered are taught using the direct method where the lessons are taught in the language being learned. 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 (although in practice, the pupils often communicate using the national language of the host country of the European School or some other widespread language, nearly always English). In the later years of the secondary school, History and Geography as well as other secondary subjects such as Music are taught in the first foreign 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.
The European Baccalaureate
The European Baccalaureate is taken at the end of the seventh year of secondary education. It is awarded only by the current European Schools and should be distinguished from the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the baccalaureate of various national systems. Details of this examination are set out in the Annex of the Statute of the European School and in the Regulations for the European Baccalaureate, available from the schools.
The European Baccalaureate requires students to study at least 8 and up to a maximum of 11 academic subjects (with gym plus religion/ethics in addition), with differing weightings according to the course choices made when commencing with the Baccaluareate. (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 Baccalaureate is a two-year course and assesses the performance of students in the subjects taught in secondary Years 6–7.
The first awards of the European Baccalaureate were made in 1959.
Parents' Associations
Parents' Associations play a specific role in the institutional arrangements. They defend and promote the interests of parents and pupils in the Board of each School. Via a body which federates all Associations, INTERPARENTS, they participate in the Board of Governors, the supreme body of the institution. They are also part of the GUDEE Groupe Unitaire pour la Défense des Ecoles Européennes, which groups Parents’ Associations, Trades-Unions and other organisations possessing an interest in the system.
The Parents’ Associations also operate three services on behalf of the School Community: Transport (School bus), Canteen (School restaurant) and After-School Activities (Sports and cultural activities).
The Pupils' Committees
Many European Schools have Pupils' Committees. The Pupils' Committees seek to represent the interests of the students of their European School whilst operating in accordance with the aims of the European Schools as expressed in the words of Jean Monnet. They are democratically elected non-profit organisations, independent and recognized by the school community and the different official bodies of the European Schools, such as the Board of Governors. A president is elected by the secondary pupils who will represent the pupil interests throughout the year and a committee is formed with a vice-president, treasurer and secretary, among other roles.
Students' CoSup
CoSup stands for "Conseil Supérieur des Elèves" and represents all the Pupils Committees (PCs) of the European Schools. Each Pupils' Committee has two members representing its ideas in the CoSup meetings, and thus CoSup is the sole representative body of the pupils in all global committees of the European School system. CoSup represents the common aims, policies and visions of the Pupils' Committees. These common interests are mainly concerned with decisions taken by the Board of Governors, which influence school life. CoSup supports the PCs in every possible way including co-operation and integration between the various Pupils Committees and acts as a link to the Joint Teaching Committee, where it can voice the opinions and ideas on behalf of the PCs. CoSup also aims to unify the European Schools by creating activities for all the schools; most famously, the annual Europarty, which is held each year in a different European city and can be attended by any European School student over the age of 16. The financial section of the CoSup, FoCom (Fonds Common) can furthermore aid the PCs financially if such a need is required.
CoSup became officially recognised by the European Schools Board of Governors on the 31 January 2006. CoSup members were anticipating this moment for at least two years. In fact, the whole project was created and adopted during the 2004–2005 school year during a special meeting with all the presidents of all the Pupils Committee. After its recognition all directors were given guidelines on how Pupils' Representatives should be elected, hence providing pupils with a unique way to exercise voting rights. The only other similar European School political simulation is the Model European Council, although CoSup involves real decision making, and decisions may even affect actual proposals.
CoSup at the moment has 37 members: 28 members representing Type I schools, six members representing the Accredited Schools of Helsinki, Strasbourg and Rhein-Main and the Presidency, made up of one president and two vice-presidents. All members are elected by their respective Pupils' Committees, to which they are under the obligation to report back on the progress of all matters and subjects. Voting during CoSup meetings is carried out using a Qualified Majority Voting System, whereby each school has a number of votes which is proportional to its student population. For votes concerning the functioning of CoSup, such as its presidential elections, each member is given a vote which carries equal weight.
Famous alumni
Schools
European Schools are usually built in close proximity to a European Institution. There are now 14 European Schools. There are already five European Schools in Belgium (4 in Brussels and one in Mol) and discussions are currently being held about building a fifth school in Brussels at an undetermined future date.
As of the 15 of October 2015, the student population of the European Schools stands at 25,903.
Activities
To encourage a sense of community within the European School system, regular events are held including the biennial Eurosport event, a Model European Parliament, and the annual European Schools Science Symposium (the winners of which represent the Europeans Schools at the EUCYS).