Aims objectives principles
he aims, objectives and principles of the European Schools
Aims: “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.”
The Objectives of European Schools are as follows
- to give pupils confidence in their own cultural identity – the bedrock for their development as European citizens
- to provide 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 overall and 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 school
- to foster tolerance, co-operation, 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
Principles
In light of the above objectives, education in schools is organized on the basis of the following principles:
- Basic instruction is given in the official languages of the European Union. This principle allows the primacy of the pupil’s mother tongue (LI) to be safeguarded.
- Consequently, each school comprises several language sections. The curricula and syllabuses (except in the case of mother tongue) are the same in all sections.
- In the schools where the creation of a separate language section is not justified, they are governed by an intergovernmental Protocol. The Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools, which replaces the earlier agreements dating back to 1957 and 1984, entered into force in October 2002 after ratification by the fifteen Member States of the European Union.
- Following enlargement on 1 May 2004, the accession to the Convention of the ten new Member States is under way.
- 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.
