English Education in Luxembourg
There are a myriad of educational choices for parents in Luxembourg but these may be limited by the age of the child concerned, where they are already in their studies, whether they can speak or write in a language foreign to their mother tongue, the preferred language of education and/or whether the parents are able or willing to pay for their child’s education.
For parents wanting their child to receive an education in English these choices are more limited. In this section we will provide a summary of Pre-school, Primary and Secondary schools that offer an education in English.
However with the demand being increasingly high, there does seem a conscious and deliberate effort on the part of the Luxembourgish government to address this issue. The announcement of several new establishments and expansions of existing schools (in both primary and secondary sections) is just the start. The following graphic shows the current schools in Luxembourg offering the English curriculum education.
To view the same file as a downloadable document, please click below:
Lux-English-School-Offers.pdf (1271 downloads)
Pre-School English Education Choices:
Sunflower Montessori Crèche
Address: 13 rte de Trèves, L-2632 Findel, Luxembourg
Telephone: (+352) 26 35 10
Website: www.sunflower.lu
Email: info@sunflower.lu
Cost: Fee Paying
English-language Crèche (0-4 years)
Foyer de Jour – after-school care (4-6 years)
Saturday School (from 4 years)
Sunflower Montessori Crèche uses a Montessori Education methodology that understands that children have sensitive periods for absorbing information. Thus enabling the child to take in knowledge effortlessly. The materials that Maria Montessori devised are self-directed and provide the children with an aim for purposeful activity perfectly adapted to each stage of their development. You can learn more about this approach to learning from the Sunflowers website and in our Resources section.
What influenced your choice – A parent’s view
“To find the right and perfect daycare is an important step for parents. Especially for your first one! We found it at Sunflower Montessori Crèche (Galileo Findel). The building and the place is thought for children and their development. From the small hook to hang their coat, the shelf for their shoes, as well as very good security material for their safety. But most important is the staff. They are simply amazing. They listen to the children’s needs and understand their differences. They guide them in their development. I have been amazed a lot of time to see what my daughter was capable of doing at the daycare, how well she behaves and listens to what the teacher says. Every day you receive a verbal report about what your child has done during the day. It is an important exchange between the parents and the staff and helps to work together for the children’s education and development.”
“How I know it is a good place for my children? The answer is in my kids! Every day, they put their coat on and wait next to the entrance door to go. As soon as we are there, they run and wave at everyone to say hello. They always have a big smile on their faces.”
There are other Pre-school facilities where English is spoken as a language. As these establishments are changing all the time and it often depends on the staff you will need to speak directly with establishment. For more information see our Pre-school Education section.
Primary Level English Education Choices:
(all these education choices offer some kind of Pre-school education)
International School of Luxembourg (ISL)
St. George’s International School
The European Schools (Kirchberg EE1 & Mamer EE2)
Sunflower Montessori – Saturday School
Secondary Level Education Choices:
International School of Luxembourg (ISL)
St. George’s International School
The European Schools (Kirchberg EE1 & Mamer EE2)
International School of Luxembourg (ISL)
Address: 36 boulevard Pierre Dupong, L-1430 Luxembourg
Telephone: (+352) 26 04 40
Fax: (+352) 26 04 47 04
Website: www.islux.lu
Cost: Fee Paying
The International School of Luxembourg (ISL) is a private funded international pre-school to grade 12 (age 18) with a two year International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme in grade 11-12. The School also offers an IGCSE programme. It is located in central Ville de Luxemburg. The school considers the following attributes to be of great importance to lifelong learners:
- Inquiry
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Open-mindedness
- Risk-taking
- Creativity
- Reflection
There are many characteristics that lead to the definition of an international school. Most agree that the best international schools base this definition on several key factors:
- the multi-national and multi-lingual nature of the school’s staff and students
- the international transportability of the school’s educational outcomes
- the global consciousness of the school’s curriculum
- the transcendence of national borders with regards to academic programmes and accreditation
What influenced your choice – A parent’s view
“There are many positive aspects about the ISL. Our son experiences that the teachers are very competent and that the school buildings are spacious, fresh and nice. He very much enjoys the international atmosphere at the school. Moreover, there are small classes where all students can be seen and heard and there is great support for those students who need more help and for those who need more challenges. There are also very varied and integrated extra-curriculum activities. Finally, the school has developed a very structured follow-up, feedback and formation system, which is important for parents and emphasizes the importance of security, safety and bullying preventive measures. On the whole, ISL has a very professional approach from pre-school to last grade.”
“We were recommended to apply to ISL when my wife got an expat contract for her company in Luxemburg. Today there is no question we would choose ISL.”
St George’s International School
Address: 11 rue des Peupliers, L-2328 Luxembourg
Telephone: (+352) 42 32 24
Fax: (+352) 42 32 34
Website: www.st-georges.lu
E-mail: reception@st-georges.lu
Cost: Fee Paying
St George’s International School takes children from 3 years to 18+ years on the same campus site. With approximately 700 students from over 50 different nationalities the school provides an inclusive and diverse learning environment. The school uses the International Primary Curriculum based on the British National Curriculum preparing children for IGCSE examinations at 16 years with the opportunity to continue towards A’ Levels examinations at 18 years. These qualifications are internationally recognized and many of the students at St George’s go on to study at the University of their choice.
What influenced your choice – a parent’s view
“We chose St George’s because the school offers continuity of care from Primary through to Secondary level education on the same campus. It felt more like a community school with parental involvement and school wide activities. Although this has been more of a challenge since the schools have expanded. In their recent report from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) the school was described as ‘excellent’ in terms of the quality of pupils’ achievements and their learning, attitudes and skills; and in the contribution of teaching; the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils.”
“As parents we were also familiar with the British National Curriculum and GCSE/A’Level qualifications, which in our opinion offers a more holistic education and allows students to work to their strengths. The school has offered our child excellent pastoral care that has allowed him to thrive in this environment.”
The European Schools – Kirchberg EE1 & Mamer EE2
Children can start Maternelle (Nursery) the September after their 4th Birthday and education continues to be provided through Primary and Secondary school up to 18+ years of age. There are also Crèche and Garderie (pre-school Nursery) facilities on site available for children of employees of EU institutions. It is important to note that generally parents do not have the choice whether their child attends Kirchberg (EE1) or Mamer (EE2) this is organized by catchment.
What system do they teach – towards what qualifications?
The first ever European school was founded, here in Luxembourg, in 1953. There are now 14 European schools teaching children across the European Union, including 2 school sites here in Luxembourg. The school teaches towards the European Baccalaureate (EB).
As the school teaches in a range of European languages, children are taught in ‘Language streams’ with children’s first language generally being their mother tongue and a second language being formally introduced at the first year of Primary. There is an emphasis on multiculturalism and acquisition of other European languages.
Costs: Where fees apply
The school is a fee paying school. However, as the school was initially set up to educate children of employees of the European institutions, these children have first priority in terms of admission (classed as Category I students). The fees of The Categories are defined by the school as follows:
- Category I: Pupils whose parents are members of the staff of or seconded to a European Institution or an assimilated organization. The employer must certify that the duration of the contract lasts for a minimum period of one year. These pupils are exempted from school fees.
- Category II: Pupils whose parents are members of the staff of a company or an organization which has concluded a special agreement with the European schools and certifies that it will pay the school fees for the enrolled pupil.
- Category III: Pupils whose parents do not belong to categories I or II and pay the requested school fee themselves. These pupils can be admitted if places are available and if they fulfill other conditions as defined by the school.
The European School – Kirchberg EE1
Address: 23 bvd Konrad Adenauer, Kirchberg, Luxembourg
Telephone: (+352) 43 20 821
Website: www.euroschool.lu/luxschool/home.php
Cost: Fee paying (but employer pays in some circumstances)
What influenced your choice – A parent’s view
“We made the decision that we would be in Luxembourg for the medium to long-term, and because of this it became important to find a school with strong language teaching. The European School has a reputation for producing school leavers who are at a minimum trilingual. In addition, the close proximity of the school to the Kirchberg business area, where I work is very convenient.”
The European School – Mamer EE2
Address: 6 rue Gaston Thorn, L-8268 Bertrange, Luxembourg
Telephone: (+352) 27 32 24
Website: www.eursc-mamer.lu
Cost :Fee Paying (but employer pays in some circumstances)
What influenced your choice – A parent’s view
“We chose the European School because my husband works for one of the EU Institutions, therefore our fees were paid. This is our first experience living in a foreign country and we were also excited by the focus on learning languages & multiculturalism that the European school offers. The Mamer site is very new, with fabulous facilities for the pupils including great ITC, cooking and art facilities and a swimming pool and gym complex.”
“With space for over 3000 pupils across Maternelle, Primary and Secondary and 8 language streams at EE2 it is undoubtedly a large school and at the start this can seem daunting. However, I must say, we’ve had a great experience with our class teachers helping the children to settle in. Parent class representatives also often organise social activities to help parents get to know each other and there is a monthly coffee morning organised by the APEEE2 parents association.”
Sunflower Montessori – Saturday School
(for children attending non English-speaking schools)
Address: 13 rte de Trèves, L-2632 Findel, Luxembourg
Telephone: (+352) 26 35 10
Website: www.sunflower.lu/saturday-school/
Cost: Fee Paying
Sunflower Montessori Saturday School offer reading and writing classes in English. They welcome children from 4 years. Each child is taught individually according to a specific programme which is designed for both their level and to meet their needs. They teach the letters phonetically so reading is an easy transition. A light snack is provided, with a special time for story telling and poetry.
What influenced your choice – A parent’s view
“We are a British family who speak English at home as a first language with our 3 children under 7 years. Like many people here in the expat community, we don’t know how long we will be here. This being the case we felt it was important that our children should be educated in a way that will not only facilitate a successful and seamless integration into the local Luxembourgish community, in the longer term, but would also work well for them if we head back to the UK at any point during their education. For this reason we have chosen to have our children educated primarily in the French system initially at Les Poussins followed by the Ecole Francaise de Luxembourg (EFL) and to send them to English reading and writing lessons at the Sunflower Montessori on Saturdays.”
“Our 5 and 6 year old daughters started their classes at the Sunflower when in the Grande Section and Cours Préparatoire (CP) respectively. Initial concerns were that it would be confusing for them to learn to read in two different languages at the same time, particularly given that the same letters of the alphabet in French sound very different in English.”
“However, after just one and half terms of English lessons, our 6 year old is now reading simple sentences (and some more complex ones!) equally confidently in both English and French, and is extremely proud of her progress in both languages. And conversely “English Club”, as our 5 year old calls it, is the activity she looks forward to most all week.”
Lycée International School Michel Lucius
Address: 157 avenue Pasteur, L-2311 Luxembourg
Telephone: (+352) 47 33 05 – 50
Fax : (+352) 46 39 28
Website: www.lml.lu
Email: secretariat@lml.lu
Cost : Non-fee paying (state school)
As the demand for secondary education in English has grown in Luxembourg, the Lycée Technique Michel Lucius (LTML) has created an English section with a curriculum for students with English as a first or second language. The section now accepts students from 11 years (year 7 equivalent British system) and prepares them for the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education). Students can then go on to do preparation classes for the AS and A-level exams (year 12 equivalent British system). Children need to pass an exam in English to be accepted onto either programme. It is possible to enter the AS/A’ Level programme with English qualifications from other schools.
What influenced your choice – A parent’s view
“There were only two options for us (Athénée or Michel Lucius) as we were not receiving subsidies for the international schools and they were massively unaffordable. We pretty much left the choice to the children. Because we were from an English-speaking background and our teenaged children (aged 16 to 18) had absolutely no French or German skills, they felt that it would put too much pressure on them to be able to meet the Athénée language entrance standards in the few months that they had (before the beginning of the school year) and at the same time, adapt to living in a totally different country and culture. So Lycée Michel Lucius offered an easier transition (for students with good English skills) to acquire local language skills and education.”
“We also have noted that, although the English side of Michel Lucius is relatively new and inevitably experiences challenges as it grows and matures, we have received very intuitive feedback and some exceptional support from the staff who do recognise that school may not be the only challenge that the child or young adult faces when relocating to Luxembourg.”
Athénée de Luxembourg
Address: 24 boulevard Pierre Dupong, L-1430 Luxembourg
Telephone: (+352) 44 02 49-1
Website: www.al.lu
Cost: Non fee paying (state school)
What influenced your choice – A parent’s view
“The International Baccalaureate Programme at the Athénée is not for the faint -hearted. It is a highly academic course and it is only worth applying for if your child is highly motivated and is prepared to study and work autonomously and spend many hours after school studying and reading. Just the English reading list alone is quite daunting and if your child is not a reader then this is not the course for them.”
“I choose Athénée for just one of my children. My child is bright and a free thinker. I wanted her to go to Athénée because I felt she could reach her full potential as she enjoys writing English. She also enjoys studying and is keen to do well.”
“The route to being accepted on the course is also difficult and the entrance exam requires many months of preparation, in particular Maths. I would recommend a Maths tutor who is familiar with the exam as they expect the children to know much more than they are currently studying in 5ieme. The English also needs to be worked on. I would recommend practicing essay writing and producing coherent arguments on paper. If your child has been in Luxembourgish school this needs to be worked on before the exam. The French is easy for kids coming from the local system. There is also an intensive difficult oral English interview to be passed.”
“When you apply for the entrance exam you are sent a list of recommended books to use to study and some sample past tests. I have not known any one pass this exam without studying beforehand.”
“All in all it is a fantastic opportunity for native English-speakers to be able to study in English but still under the umbrella of the Luxembourgish system.”
Last updated: Monday 8th May, 2017