European School Bergen

The European School Bergen seeks to promote high academic standards in an atmosphere of mutual respect and tolerance, to give pupils confidence in their own cultural identity as a basis for their development as European citizens, to encourage a European and a global perspective and to develop high standards in speaking and writing two or more foreign languages. The school expects its pupils to live up to these ideals of tolerance, understanding, trustworthiness and good behaviour. The school also asks the parents to co-operate in the creation and maintenance of the best possible conditions for their children’s education.

Several languages of instruction
The European School Bergen teaches most of the subjects in three languages: English, French and Dutch. Pupils will normally follow most of their subjects in the language of the language section they have been assigned to on enrolment. For many of the official languages of the European Union, mother tongue teaching may be available subject to status and forms part of a pupil’s curriculum. Where mother tongue teachers are not available, courses can be provided through the medium of distance learning.

Special emphasis on language learning
To foster the unity of the school and encourage a genuine multicultural education, there is a special emphasis on the learning of foreign languages. Before graduating, pupils have the opportunity to study up to four modern languages and Latin. All pupils are taught a foreign language from year 1 of primary school up to the Baccalaureate (Language II). There is a choice between English, French or German. Pupils are required to take a second foreign language from year 2 in the secondary school (Language III); a wider choice among the official languages of the European Union is available then. Pupils may choose to study a third foreign language from year 4 of secondary school (Lanauge IV) and even a fourth foreign language (Language V) from year 6. To fulfill one of the main aims of the European Schools system, history and geography are taught in Language II (French, German or English) from year 3 of secondary school. In almost all cases, subjects are taught by teachers using their mother tongue.

A multicultural and multilingual environment
To encourage closer ties between the pupils of the various language groups and to help them to acquire language skills in the first foreign language, all children in the Kindergarten and in years 3-5 of the primary school meet once a week for “European Hours”.

In secondary school, art, music, physical education and computing (ICT) classes are taught to mixed language groups. In addition, some optional courses are offered in only one language.

General education
The European Schools consider it very important for pupils to have a thorough grounding in mathematics and the natural sciences. Mathematics is a compulsory subject in all years. Biology, chemistry and physics are compulsory up to the end of year 5 of the secondary school. In years 6 and 7, pupils must study at least one natural science subject. Pupils are introduced to ICT in the primary school. ICT lessons are compulsory in years 1 and 2 of the secondary school and remain available as an option in the following years. To promote an all-round education, the schools also aim to encourage the creativity of pupils through music and art. Physical education is also compulsory. To encourage tolerance and an interest in different philosophies the beliefs of the individual pupils are particularly respected. Religion/ethics (one of which must be studied by each pupil) is an integral part of the syllabus.

Contact

Phone: +31 (0)72 589 01 09
Fax: +31 (0)72 589 68 62
Email: info.esbergen@eursc.org
Website : www.eursc.org