Accredited European School comes to Vienna

Good news for Vienna: according to a press release from the City of Vienna, the city is set to get its very own “Accredited European School” (AES) – the second of its kind in the country, after Innsbruck. Currently, Vienna has 11 private international schools which cater to the flourishing expat community, many of which offer the International Baccalaureate as well as other foreign national secondary-school equivalent diplomas. The city also offers bilingual public schooling for children from English-speaking households. Now, that offer will expand – creating an additional incentive for European talents and institutions looking to make Vienna their home. 

This announcement has been widely celebrated among local media and internationals themselves, with City Mayor Michael Ludwig noting that Vienna was ‘predestined’ to have such a school, given the multiple international organisations and companies already established here. 

What are European Schools?

The very first European School was first founded in Luxembourg in 1953, according to online sources, to serve families working in institutions of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). As demand grew, multiple locations were established and the offer was extended to children of families employed by any EU institution. Nowadays, they are open to anyone. 

What sets them apart from many other schools is their emphasis on multilingualism: each child has the opportunity to be taught in their mother tongue and will then go on to learn at least one further foreign language. The aims of the European Schools are best summed up by Marcel Decombis, Head of European School Luxembourg from 1953-1960. He hoped that the schools would help pupils ‘become in mind Europeans… to bring into being a united and thriving Europe.’ 

These values are, quite literally, built into the fabric of the schools; they are sealed, in parchment, into the foundation stones. Students are encouraged to develop and solidify their own cultural identity as well as foster a European way of thinking and being, and graduate with a European Baccalaureate. According to the Office of the Secretary-General of the European Schools, there are currently 13 European Schools and 23 Accredited European Schools within the EU, not yet including Vienna’s school. 

The new institution in Vienna will be an Accredited European School, which follows a European education and the teaching model of the European schools (Office of the Secretary General of the European Schools). The difference is that the accredited European school will not be directly financed by EU authorities and will be legally, administratively and financially tied to the Austrian national education system.