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64-403: The European Baccalaureate is a bilingual diploma taken at the end of the seventh year of secondary education. Students must study a minimum of ten subjects and are examined by means of written and oral examinations and by continuous assessment. The EB may only be awarded to students who have completed their secondary school education within either one of the thirteen European Schools, established by

128-845: 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

192-498: 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 number of students enrolled across all European Schools. Each School receives an equal vote weighting for matters concerning

256-545: A further five schools engaged in the accreditation process. 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

320-556: A good degree at university than students who achieved 280-300 UCAS points (BBC, BCC, CCC). Kelly and Kelly remarked that students undertaking the EB received unrealistic offers when applying to UK universities, with admissions offices failing to understand how seldom an EB score of 90+% is awarded. They found that the UK National Recognition Information Centre had incorrectly assumed that a fail mark in

384-522: A maximum score of 625 points since 2012 with the introduction of the extra 25 points awarded to those who sit the honours mathematics exam and pass). If a student has sat the Leaving Certificate examination on more than one occasion, their points are calculated according to their best year's performance. Students' points are used as a queuing system for over-subscribed courses, with the available places offered to those students ranked highest by

448-536: A place through the points system. Applications for most of these are routed through the CAO, but processed manually by the individual institutions rather than automatically via the points system. The CAO awards points to students based on their achievements in the Leaving Certificate examination. A student's points are calculated according to these tables, counting their best six subjects only (resulting in

512-561: A representative of the European Commission on behalf of the EU and Euratom, a representative of the Staff Committee, a representative of the federated Parents' Associations and a representative of the federated Pupils' Committees. As of September 2017, the organisation is directly responsible for thirteen schools located in six EU member states, and as of September 2021, has accredited twenty schools located in thirteen EU countries, with

576-571: A representative of the European Commission and the European Patent Office. It examines proposals concerning the organisation, curricula of the schools and all other pedagogical matters. 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

640-545: A result, the Europa School's accredited status expired on 31 August 2021, with the school no longer able to offer the European Baccalaureate. The historical significance of the first European School, founded a mere 8 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

704-421: A small group of multilingual international schools , bearing the title " European School ", which exist primarily to offer an education to the children of European Union (EU) staff; offers accreditation to other schools, bearing the title " Accredited European School ", under national jurisdiction within EU member states to provide its curriculum; and oversees the provision of the secondary school leaving diploma,

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768-488: Is a core of compulsory subjects which include language 1 (mother tongue), language 2 (first foreign language), mathematics, history, geography, philosophy, religion/ethics and sport. In addition, if no science subject is taken as an elective subject, a science subject must be taken as a compulsory subject. Students must take a minimum of ten courses. They have the choice of two elective subjects of four lessons per week and may take as many as four additional subjects in addition to

832-476: Is a heavy workload for the students; the system enforces not only a rounded knowledge of all subjects but also allows students to specialise in individual fields. Students are obliged to have a strong skills in one foreign language (in years 2-5 of secondary school a 2nd foreign language is also compulsory). The final pass-rate is very high (almost always over 98%), in part due to the practice of 'weeding out' candidates who are not academically strong enough to complete

896-754: Is comparable to the German 'Mittlere Reife' or British GCSEs. However, the pluridisciplinarity the EB offers is advantageous to students wishing to go on to university studies, in France and Germany especially. Most of the English section students and a significant minority of students from the other language sections apply to British universities. Recent experience (2011–2012 and beyond) has shown that students applying to British universities are encountering growing difficulties, sometimes serious, in having their Baccalaureate qualifications adequately recognised. This reflects

960-419: Is marked in percentages out of 100, and, in contrast to many national systems (e.g. British A-Levels), comprises a wide range of compulsory subjects and 3–5 elective subjects. Compulsory studies include mother tongue, 1st foreign language, mathematics (5 hours/week or 3 hours/week course), philosophy, one science subject, history and geography (both taught in the 1st foreign language), and gym. These also depend on

1024-587: 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

1088-526: 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 EB 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 EB were made in 1959. The EB

1152-431: 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 and at the Board of Governors. CoSup possesses a common fund, able to financially support represented Pupils' Committees, when necessary. Amongst other duties, CoSup is responsible for organising the annual Euronight (formerly Europarty), held in

1216-722: Is to centrally process applications in a fair and efficient manner. The colleges and universities delegate the administration of admissions to the Central Applications Office; colleges and universities retain full control of admissions. The Postgraduate Applications Centre is a related organisation that oversees some taught postgraduate courses. The Central Applications Office was founded in January 1976 based in Galway, with nine colleges and universities participating initially. The first students processed through

1280-510: The CAO/CAS . The common points scale came into operation the next year, with the best six results from one sitting of the Leaving Certificate becoming the standard; previous to that there had been some allowance to accumulate points by sitting the Leaving Certificate more than once. Also the combined system was taken as an opportunity to reduce non-standard applications such as interviews for selection and portfolios of work - and overall to simplify

1344-553: 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, a representative of the parents designated by the federated Parent's Associations are also members of

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1408-668: The European Baccalaureate . The organisation was first established as the "European School" in 1957 by the Inner Six states, which transformed into an intergovernmental venture what was formerly a private initiative, started in 1953, by staff of the institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) to provide schooling for their children. It was spurred on by one of the architects of post- war European integration and reconciliation, Jean Monnet . In

1472-618: 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 21 June 1994 the Convention Defining the Statute of the European Schools, which repealed and replaced the 1957 Statute of the European School and its accompanying 1962 Protocol, was signed by all 12 then EU member states. On 1 October 2002 it came into effect, following ratification by all signatories. Following

1536-521: 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 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,

1600-587: 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. Following the foundation of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957 and

1664-553: The Annex of the Statute of the European School and in the Regulations for the EB, available from the schools. The EB 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

1728-417: The Baccalaureate. This process starts from an early age whereby many pupils either leave, are asked to leave or fall foul of the 'three strikes' rule (fail a year 3 times and the student will be asked to leave). Failing the same year twice also means leaving the school. Failing and repeating a year is a fairly common occurrence from age 10 upwards; roughly up to 5% of pupils will fail in each year. The 5th year

1792-647: The Board of Governors, with limited voting rights. A representative of the federated Pupils' Committees (CoSup) is also present, as an observer without voting rights. Matters to be discussed by the Board of Governors first make their way through a range of preparatory committees, the most 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, pupils and

1856-415: The Board of Governors. While some full-time teachers are seconded by their national governments for a period up to nine years, others are hired locally within the member states in which the schools reside. Due to recruitment issues within the member states, these teachers are increasingly used as the primary category of teachers within the schools. Each European School elects, annually, two representatives of

1920-528: The CAO makes offers to those applicants with the highest score in the CAO points system. If students do not accepts offers, or later decline them because they receive an offer for another course, the CAO makes further offers until all of the places have been filled or until the offer season closes. The points system is designed for young people leaving secondary education . Many institutions reserve places in some courses for older adults , people from disadvantaged backgrounds , or other groups unlikely to achieve

1984-692: The EB (below 60%) was equivalent to a fail mark within the A-level qualification, (2 E grades or below 40%). Similarly, Kelly and Kelly concluded that the Irish Central Applications Office had also compiled an incorrect table of equivalencies for the EB with the Irish Leaving Certificate . European Schools The European Schools ( Latin : Schola Europaea ) is an intergovernmental organisation , which has established, financed, and administered

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2048-429: The EB with the performances of students who had undertaken the dominant UK equivalent qualification, A-levels . This showed that in terms of the probability of getting a good degree, an EB score of: The study concluded that EB participants were disadvantaged by the then current official equivalency system for converting their mark into UCAS points, with even students with a bare pass at the EB (60-64) more likely to get

2112-596: 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

2176-566: The European Communities saw the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland join, who all likewise acceded 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

2240-552: The European Communities to include Greece , Spain and Portugal and their ratification of the Statute, the Schools were obliged to provide an education to the students of officials originating from the 12 EC member states. Finland acceded to the Statute in 1995 after its accession to the European Union. Pursuant to the incorporation of the European Communities into the European Union in 1993, and envisioning

2304-649: The European Schools. The UK's formal exit from the European Schools occurred at 00:00 CET on 31 August 2021, which represented, as per the terms established within the Withdrawal Agreement , the end of the school year that was ongoing at the end of the transition period. However, the UK has committed itself in the Withdrawal Agreement to maintain the legal rights, as laid out in Article 5(2) of

2368-399: The European Union, and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) as contracting parties. Since 2005, the European Schools has offered accreditation to other schools under national jurisdiction to offer its curriculum and the European Baccalaureate. The organisation's executive is the Board of Governors, composed of the ministers of education of the member state contracting parties,

2432-562: The applications process. Eventually the CAS was subsumed into the CAO. Students applying for admission to third level education courses in Ireland apply to the CAO rather than to individual educational institutions such as colleges and universities . The CAO then offers places to students who meet the minimum requirements for a course for which they have applied. If for a particular course there are more qualified applicants than available places,

2496-573: The budgets of individual schools and of the General Secretariat in Brussels. 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 27 EU member states sits on each Board. Each European School has an Administrative Board responsible for the day-to-day administration and functioning of

2560-421: 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

2624-531: The convention, of any former pupils, as well as those who are enrolled in a cycle of secondary studies in a European School before 31 August 2021 and acquire a European Baccalaureate after that date. Brexit posed substantial challenges for the Europa School UK — an Oxfordshire based Accredited European School formed by stakeholders of the former European School, Culham , as accredited status may only be awarded to schools within an EU member state. As

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2688-632: 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

2752-686: The demanding nature of the examination process and the fact that students need to perform very well across a very broad range of subjects and be fully bilingual. The bilingual demands of the course work and concomitant examinations entail that monolingual students cannot pass. The ten compulsory courses include a mother tongue and a second language. Students are also obliged to take a third language in years 1 to 5 upon entry into secondary level education. Students must be highly skilled in two languages. They must take literature classes in both their first language and their second. Although some obligatory classes such as philosophy, biology and mathematics are taught in

2816-475: 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

2880-554: 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. Students have two elected representatives present as observers for

2944-718: The establishment of the school in Luxembourg, other European Schools were set up in Brussels and then in 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 1974. 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

3008-403: The first two years of the secondary school began to operate. On 12 April 1957, the governments of the six ECSC member states signed the Statute of the European School, which took the form of an international treaty . Following ratification, the agreement entered into force on 22 February 1960. Under Article 6 of the Statute, the European School was to have the status of a public institution in

3072-414: The following decades, the organisation set up other schools mainly near the locations of other European Communities (EC) — later, European Union — institutions and bodies. To reflect this, in 2002, the organisation was officially renamed the "European Schools" following the entry into force of its current legal basis, which as of 2013 — following the accession of Croatia — includes all 27 EU member states,

3136-484: The functioning of CoSup, such as its presidential elections, which occur at the last meeting of each academic year. Central Applications Office The Central Applications Office ( CAO ) ( Irish : An LárOifig Iontrála ) is the organisation responsible for overseeing undergraduate applications to colleges and universities in the Republic of Ireland . The primary mission of the Central Applications Office

3200-470: 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. Regulations agreed by the Board of Governors of the European Schools recognise the right of

3264-522: The interests of LRTs vis-a-vis the School. In the European Schools system, the Complaints Board, an independent administrative court, represents the judiciary, owing to the Schools' unique intergovernmental legal basis. 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

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3328-484: The intergovernmental organisation, "The European Schools ", or one of the fourteen schools under national jurisdiction which have received the status of an Accredited European School by the Board of Governors of the European Schools. The EB should be distinguished from the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the baccalaureates of various national systems. Details of the examination are set out in

3392-410: 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

3456-478: The majority of the meeting. 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. Each director is appointed by the Board of Governors for nine years. There are generally two deputy-directors teachers, one for the secondary section and one for the primary and nursery sections. They are also appointed for nine years. Directors and deputy-directors are appointed directly by

3520-420: The orientation that the pupil has chosen at the end of year 5. The choice of elective subjects is large (see the list below), although the subject may not be available if the class size is too small. A minimum of 31 periods a week must be taken, with a maximum of 35 periods, although this is sometimes extended to 36 or even 37 periods. At least 2 Column 3 subjects must be chosen; a maximum of 4 can be taken. There

3584-416: The points scale. Points can also be scored for results in other examinations, such as UK A levels . A level points for Universities, associated colleges and DIT are scored on the basis of the best four A levels or three A levels and an AS level in a different subject from the same or preceding year. From 2016 CAO point allocation for these exams is: A* (180), A (150), B (130), C (100), D (65) and E (45) for

3648-680: 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 led by a democratically elected president. The composition of the Pupils Committee's (PC) and internal procedures vary from school to school, depending on the local PC statute. The Pupils' Committees of the European Schools are federated via CoSup, an acronym formed from its French title, Co nseil Sup érieur des Elèves . Each Pupils' Committee elects two representatives to send to meetings of CoSup. As of 2006, CoSup

3712-466: The students' mother tongue, other compulsory courses such as history and geography are taught in the second language ensuring students are fully bilingual. This insistence on bilingual course work and examination makes it difficult for non-bilingual new entrants to succeed. In a 2006 study based on a sample of over 500 former European School pupils, Kelly and Kelly compared the performances at British and Irish universities of students who had participated in

3776-404: The subsequent enlargements of the EU, the acceding states have also acceded to the 1994 Convention, which, as of September 2021, includes amongst its contracting parties all 27 EU member states, as well as the EU itself, and Euratom. As part of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, better known as Brexit , the UK government notified its intention to withdraw from the Convention Defining the Statute of

3840-632: The system commenced courses in 1978. The Central Admissions Service (CAS) was introduced independently by the Dublin Institute of Technology and the Regional Technical Colleges , both of whom were outside the initial Central Applications Office. Commencing in the 1991 intake the Central Applications Office and Central Admissions Service decided to combine their admissions procedures so that students would have to complete only one joint application form for both systems -

3904-528: 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. In 2016, these roles were enlarged to include Locally Recruited Teachers (LRT) and two further representatives are elected annually. These representatives do not have voting rights, however they are able to attend meetings and represent

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3968-532: The ten compulsory subjects. These subjects may include each of the separate sciences, social sciences, Latin, art, music, philosophy and languages 3 and 4. Mathematics can be taken as a 3-lesson or 5-lesson per week course. Additional advanced courses of three lessons per week may be taken in mathematics, language 1 and language 2. Students may also choose complementary courses of two lessons per week such as practical science, introductory economics, art, music and theatre. The total mark consists of: Consequently, there

4032-555: 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

4096-407: The work of their fathers before them, to bring into being a united and thriving Europe. 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. The governing board is composed of the ministers of education of each of

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