Luxembourg

[Cobblersandhogwash]

DH has been offered a role in Luxembourg. We are considering a big move from the U.K. to Luxembourg!

We have 4 dcs. Eldest is about to start GCSEs this September.

Does anyone have insight into international schools in Luxembourg?

I've read about St George's and the American International School. They look great. I need to enquire about waiting lists though!

I'm also curious about the Luxembourg state international schools - if they're any good?

I see this move as a great opportunity for the dcs to really get to grips with European languages but don't want to add to ds1's GCSE stress by enrolling him into a school that he will feel alienated by the language.

Any tips and insights much appreciated.

The ISL and St George's are both good schools but with very different characters. I know kids at both and they are happy and thriving. Both offer the iGCSEs. Both are fee paying and are not the cheap option.
The new Lux state international schools offer the baccalaureate rather than iGCSEs. I know kids at the Michel Lucius and the Junglinster schools and they seem very happy (DE and EN sections). The schools are new so are still smoothing out a few things but so far so good AFAIK. My DS will be starting at one of the Lux state international schools in September.
Happy to answer questions if you have any.

Hello, is it OK for me to join the discussion? I am relocating this Summer with two DCs too. I have obtained a place at St George's for the younger one (starting year 7). Schools are going to lead on our choice of housing, so I would be grateful for any info about areas to go for or avoid - would Hamm or Bonnevoie be OK?

ISL and St George’s are both nice. ISL is exclusively the IB program for their upper school I think? St George’s follows the British model. Michel Lucius is the main state school based on the British system to my knowledge, so your oldest could continue GCSE’s and A-levels there. If you want the IB program (vs the European baccalaureate offered by the state international schools), the Athenee Lycee offers it in English; the only other school that offers it in English in Luxembourg is ISL if I’m not mistaken. Might be worth looking into. There would be entry exams involved I imagine though?

We moved to Lux from the UK a few years ago. Our kids are very young, so we’ve started them out in the local primary school to get a handle on the languages as we plan to stay here long-term. It’s brilliant so far; the school in our area is extremely well-resourced, class sizes are small, loads of field trips and forest outings, and the teachers so far have been good. My youngest is 3 and can function in three languages, which I think is amazing. We’ll move them over to a different school if we ever feel it’s not a good fit anymore, but for now they are thriving. There are a lot of expats in the local system in the city and suburbs, so the children haven’t really ever felt like they are the odd ones out having to learn the languages. Luxembourg is a bit strange in that sense; the whole country feels like one enormous expat bubble.

There are also some good Lux-based Facebook groups you can join to ask questions. Good luck with your decision!

Thank you very much! I am going for the private schools because neither DC speaks or understands German, so they need a bit of learning time. I will be re-learning German too...