High Schools in Europe that teach lessons in english

[GenevievePelli]

Hi, My family is relocating to Europe from the US for work. My husband can work in any EU country so this gives us flexibility to choose the location. However, our kids are in high school and only speak english unfortunately. My youngest already struggles academically. My oldest will be a senior next year. It seems a little late to expect my kids to suddenly pick up a foreign language at this age - enough to comprehend the lessons and graduate anyway.
To make the transition as easy as possible, does anyone know of high schools that teach in English that are free or affordable? I found American boarding schools but $30K plus per year per child is no where close to anything we can afford. Thanks for your help.

Nyskool in Barcelona is taught in English and is much cheaper than other international schools.

Most big cities have an international non-boarding private high school. They'll teach international baccalaureate, or the English or American system depending on set-up. A lot of countries also have bilingual public schools in cities, but they might be harder to get into and less support for new kids with more expectation that they understand the local culture. Can you afford international school?

When you say he can work in any EU country, does he need access to an office/major city/international airport to travel to other countries?

It doesn’t sound like your husband is getting any sort of relocation package? Worth being aware that it is very difficult and expensive to find a home to rent in Ireland, and very expensive in large parts of the Netherlands, to name two of the places suggested.

TTO isn't really the same as international school though. It assumes that the kids speak Dutch too, although many have foreign parents, and normally assumes that they've been through quite a lot of years of Dutch education system. I don't think it would be easy to walk in half way through high school.

Plus a company that doesn't pay school allowance isn't going to pay enough for you to live well in a Dutch city with bilingual schools. NL is really expensive. You need to go back and renegotiate your relocation package. No school allowance is not normal. Quality of life in Europe is higher in some ways (cheaper health, more holidays, cheap flights within Europe etc) but you're going to get a shock with the tiny house you could afford in an average salary, that it only stretches to 1 car in NL, eating out is insane, and regular flights home will cripple you for a family.

TTO schools in TheNetherlands are NOT for English speaking kids: all the final, end of school exams are in Dutch!! It's for Dutch kids to have a few years of immersive English. In order to be able to do those exams, your Dutch grammar and spelling has to be PERFECT. That cannot be picked up whilst studying the exam curricula.

There is an American School in Wassenaar, the British School of the Netherlands and the British School of Amsterdam. There is an International School of The Hague. There's a school called something like Anglican in Rotterdam. Eindhoven and Utrecht have them too. All these schools are in English. All are fee paying. Actually Dutch schools, even the ones with good English programmes, unsurprisingly teach to Dutch exams in the national language.

Well yes & no. It's not as easy as that. It's his existing employment moving overseas with option to move. They will pay some expenses to move, not all, not school. So it's a take it or leave it situation. On one hand, its an awesome opportunity to get to Europe. We get job security in that he has one, but little other help. It's still risky. If he passes, it's a new job here. Also risky as he hasn't found anything in the many months leading up to this decision. If we cannot figure out this important education piece it could be a no go but it seems it can be figured out. I just need help. Hence, the post.

Cross post there! 🤣
Absolutely agree with stampotandgravy about fees being paid by company and cost of living. There is a housing crisis in NL and finding a place, any place, all budgets, is incredibly stressful, unless you get lucky.

Why doesn't he go first and see how it goes? Moving the whole family without a totally certain job situation when you have no real idea where you want your be in "Europe". The countries are very, very different. Cities within the countries are also very different (if I said I was considering California or Oklahoma you'd likely wonder what the choice was as they're so very different, but they're both "USA"). "Moving to Europe" is a phrase that Americans use and it tends to indicate they don't really know it that well (which is fine btw), because no way you'd move to Italy and confuse it with moving to Poland or Norway.

Look for COBIS and BSO accredited schools and you'll know they teach in English.

Lads that's not set in stone. The circular says they may be entitled to an exemption not guaranteed. Remember most children pick up a language in secondary, age 12/13 so it's not an unreasonable expectation.

There is significant work ongoing in increasing participation so I would urge caution.

Also it may restrict careers or college options, e.g. school teacher etc

You could look at Luxembourg. This school is free and has three separate language streams in which it teaches.
International School Junglinster.

To clarify, his job is certain, they just do not offer education expense as part of his package. So we know his income and he likes his work. They have offered the flexibility to work anywhere in the EU because he is an EU citizen. We travel to various countries every year. The reason we are so widely flexible to all of Europe is we love it all over. For all its many differences everywhere. We really do not have a much preference of one area/country/city over another right now, therefore I am more focused on where we might best educate the kids. If I can narrow down countries that may be more accomodating to our situation, then I can pick & choose a city or town from there. Top priority for me is my kids and making the transition easier for them while still getting a quality education. They will soon be off to uni and we will have more flexibility to go anywhere then.

Maybe look at Berlin? It’s a fabulous place to live and there are lots of international schools. I have a relative at one - it’s a few-paying school but the fees are laughably low, something like EUR 500 per term;
all the lessons are taught in English in that particular school and the class sizes are small (<20).

Travelling on HOLIDAY to various countries in absolutely no way, at all, represents the realities of living in any of them though. I've lived in a few EU countries. I've also holidayed in those same ones beforehand.

And there are so many other considerations. Tax being a biggie. How does the country you choose require tax by residents who earn from abroad to be paid? In some countries, NL for example, it's not so straightforward to live there and be paid from a company outside the country (more so for the company if it doesn't have an office in that country). Maybe your company is paying tax on your behalf and this isn't an issue, but most companies who do that don't have it as an indefinite offer. So ultimately, how much tax do you want to be paying? Presuming you're on an "expat" style income, in NL you could lose more than 50% to tax + medical + water taxes. Of course, you get things for that, but looking at your income and school fees really isn't the calculation to start off with.

Then there's the medical side. Do you speak any European languages? How much time are you willing to invest in learning one? Do you expect that you can get medical treatment in English? Do you expect that when you're living, not holidaying, that you'll be able to integrate locally without language? If not, then which language is going to be impossible (Hungarian and Finnish I'd start that list with), and which will be easier? Or will you really not want to learn another language, in which case Ireland and maybe Malta are places you should start the search.

Most people don't have the "luxury" of choosing anywhere. They have to deal with the country they are put in for work. But when you have the choice, there really are considerations to make.

And another one not to overlook is your marriage contract (assuming you're married - if not it's a whole other issue). Worst case scenario, would that country's family law support you moving back to the USA with the kids, if your marriage breaks down? This isn't a joke btw. I know plenty of foreign women (also with EU nationalities) stuck in EU countries because of divorce. They can't get a job, spousal maintenance isn't much/long and they're seriously struggling.

I'm not a Debbie Downer here. Plenty of people move to "Europe" and like it. But I've also met many, many others who are shocked by the difference with the US. And I've met, sadly, a great many mothers (in particular) who have not loved it and are stuck here. None of them had any idea of the possibility of what happened to them happening.

You really need to look into this a bit more and make an informed decision. Or you'd may as well save your energy and just stick a pin in the map and go to that country, then make it work, whether it's Latvia or Portugal. After all, no European country has really bad education and they all have private schools offering English language education.

When we were looking at Berlin, fees were around 10k and JFK is an American school so maybe worth checking www.international-schools-database.com/in/berlin?filter=on&language=English&ages=&currency=EUR

Would you be prepared say how much his company will pay? That might be a good place to start. I wouldn't go to Paris, the Netherlands, Berlin or Munich as an expat with older children on a family income of less than €150kpa. I suspect Dublin and Denmark would similar. Switzerland, Luxembourg or Norway would need significantly more. You'll need less in second tier city like Lyon or Hamburg, which are still big enough to have international schools. It will get you much further and more private education in Portugal, Spain or Italy, but possibly a lot more tax and general bureaucratic hassle.

Have you considered Northern Ireland with your DH commuting across the border? Lots of people up north work in ROI and the kids can stay in the same school system and is free! Presumably its only your DH that has to be in the EU for work not you?

Sorry i misread you were coming from US - Northern ireland could
Still have advantages over ROI but not as many as if moving from UK!

Northern Ireland is UK so not in the EU.

The Netherlands is a great country for children and very family-orientated. You don't need to speak Dutch to live or work here either.

You do need to speak Dutch actually. Just for day-to-day stuff, food shopping etc. or if you need a plumber/electrician, just to understand the Dutch words for boiler for instance.

But, like PPs have said, impossible to get housing, same for Eire.

Irish students can certainly go to US universities. 2 of mine went from Irish state schools to Ivy leagues.
They would also have access to all the EU institutions that teach through English. I know quite a few Irish students in Dutch and polish universities.
Also if your EU passport happens to be Irish you don’t need a visa to study in the U.K. and you pay home fees rather than international fees/

Honestly this seems like a very bizarre choice given that your eldest is going into senior year at high school. Can your husband go alone until your child graduates? How old is your younger child? I wouldn't want to jeopardise my children's education at such a critical stage just for a vague dream of living in "Europe".

I think it's highly unlikely they'd get visas to live in the UK in those circumstances.

The one in Lyon I quoted above is a state school - I.e. free of charge (although I believe there is a very small charge for the Anglophone section as, guess what, the UK is the only country whose government doesn’t support participation in the international teacher exchange programme). It was established by the French government in order to attract the Interpol HQ to be based in the city.

There are similar schools in Paris I believe.

I think you've got the wrong school. Lyon International School is definitely fee paying (but only 5k) and completely international. There may be another bilingual Lyceum, but they're French schools, similar to Dutch TTO where really you need some French and a decent understanding of French culture (eg French teachers are very strict compared to US or UK). They're normally really over subscribed so the chances of getting in later are low.

The private international school is not very good though, because Lyon doesn't have enough of an expat community to attract a wide pool of teachers and the school can't pay to bring people in. They're trailing spouses from the universities and Interpol. The kids often don't speak English or French when they arrive and it's not big enough to stream and provide really good support. It's a school that's a continuity patch if you have to move to Lyon for 2 years, not a 7 year best education for my kid choice.

Given what you've said about your kids, I think you need to take a step back.

For the senior, this is possibly the worst time to move - what country does he plan to study in, if US, he'll be starting from scratch with teaching support for essays and references. Also, if he's a senior he'll be possibly joining a school midway through whatever system they teach (IB, Bac), or you need an American system then they are likely high fee-paying.

For the youngest, you say they struggle academically - international moves are unsettling for many kids; for some, I go as far as traumatic. Only you know your kid and know how this may be a factor in them struggling further or having to start again to get support in an academic setting.

I understand the appeal of an existing job and an international move but the timing is really off.