The European Schools, largely intended for the children of personnel working with EU institutions, saw their beginning in October 1953 in Luxembourg on the initiative of the European Coal and Steel Community. They found the support of the community's institutions and that of the Luxembourg government. In April 1957, a protocol was signed which made the Luxembourg School the first official European School.
The first baccalaureate was held there in July 1959. This qualification was recognised as fulfilling the basic entrance requirements held by all the universities of the member states.
The European Schools are controlled jointly by the governments of the member states. Each state provides two school inspectors, one for the nursery and primary, and another for the secondary level so as to ensure quality education for all. Joyce Pullicino represents Malta on the schools' Board of Governors, while Victor Agius and myself sit on the Board of Inspectors of the Secondary, and Nursery and Primary Schools.
At present, Maltese pupils attend the European Schools of Brussels I and Luxembourg I and II. The schools are recognised schools in their respective host countries and have the status of an institution governed by public law
A total of 14 European Schools span across seven countries - Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, UK and Spain. The original goals of the initiators have remained the same for almost 50 years. The words which express the essential aims of the European Schools have been sealed, in parchment, into the foundation stones of all the schools:
"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 compete and consolidate the work of their fathers before them, to bring into being a united and thriving Europe."
The schools' objectives are:
To give pupils confidence in their own cultural identity - the bedrock for their development as European citizens,
To give a broad education of high quality, from nursery level to university entrance,
To develop high standards in the mother tongue and in foreign languages,
To develop mathematical and scientific skills throughout the whole period of schooling,
To encourage a European and global perspective, particularly in the study of the human sciences,
To encourage creativity in music and the plastic arts and an appreciation of all that is best in a common European artistic heritage,
To develop physical skills and instil in pupils an appreciation of the need for healthy living through participation in sporting and recreational activities,
To offer pupils professional guidance on their choice of subjects and on career/university decisions in the later years of the secondary schools,
To foster tolerance, cooperation, communication and concern for others throughout the school community and beyond,
To cultivate pupils' personal, social and academic development and to prepare them for the next stage of education.
Basic instruction is given in the official languages of the EU. Consequently, each school comprises several language sections.
The curricula and syllabi (except in the case of the mother tongue) are the same in all sections. To foster the unity of the school and encourage genuine multi-cultural education, there is a strong emphasis on the learning, understanding and use of foreign languages.
This is developed in a variety of ways. The study of a first foreign language (English, French or German), known as LII, is compulsory throughout the school, from the first primary class.
All pupils must study a second foreign language (LIII), starting in the second year of secondary school. Any language available in the school may be chosen. Pupils may choose to study a third foreign language (LIV) from the fourth class of secondary school. Any language available in the school may be chosen.
Language classes are made composed of mixed nationalities and are taught by native speakers. There are two Maltese teachers at present, one in Brussels and one in Luxembourg. The Maltese language is being taught in these two countries for the first time.
A weekly "European Hour" in the primary school brings together children for cultural, artistic and games activities. In the secondary school, classes in art, music and physical education are always composed of mixed nationalities.
History and geography are studied in the pupil's first foreign language, also called "the working language", in English, French or German. Economics, which may be taken as an option from the fourth class of the secondary school, is also studied in a working language. From the third class, therefore, all social science subjects are taught to groups of mixed nationalities.
Everyday interaction in the playground, the corridors and the recreation rooms enhances the acquisition of other languages and the realisation that using them is not only vital but also natural.
Religious education or education in non-confessional ethics is an integral part of the curriculum.The European Schools fulfil a task that national schools are unable to fulfil: to teach pupils from different countries in their respective mother tongues and to instil in them the cultural values of their home country from a European perspective.
This ambitious goal was first laid down in the 1957 Statute: the various traditional models of "national education" were to flow into a new model of European education, without abandoning their typical characteristics in the process.
In this way, the European Schools' teaching concept combines basic elements of national education systems with a uniform teaching method.
The cultural values of the individual countries and the common values of European civilisation co-exist in harmony. The European perspective is stressed in all areas of the curriculum, in particular in the human sciences. The syllabi, drawn up by an international committee of experts and approved by the Board of Governors of the European Schools, take account of the particular requirements of the individual member states.
Mr Vella Haber, BA(RS), Dip. Educ. (Admin and Mgt), is nursery and primary school inspector for European Schools.