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Language Structure

The European Schools curriculum focuses on applied language learning. In addition to studying their European mother tongue, students also study in one of the vehicular languages of the European Union, and have the option to study a third or fourth language. Partway through their journey at ESH Secondary, students switch to learning humanities subjects in their second language, meaning they are truly bilingual upon graduation.

Language Sections

ESH Secondary has four language sections:

  • English
  • Dutch
  • French
  • German

Students are grouped into classes based on their language section. Students also take lessons in their mother tongue language (L1), which could be the same, or different to their language section.

It is a mandatory requirement in the European Schools curriculum that all students choose one of the official languages of the European Union - either English, French or German - to study as their Language 2 (L2).

Studying a Language 3 (L3) is also mandatory, and the L3 cannot be the same as the student's L1 or L2.

If desired, students can choose to study a Language 4 (L4), as an optional subject from S4.