Schooling for foreign children Integration also happens at school
The Grand Duchy has welcomed thousands of families from all over the world: indeed almost half the population does not have Luxembourg nationality. Each family has its own linguistic and cultural origins, but there is one thing they all need: quality education for their children. That's why the Grand Duchy offers a number of services to help foreigners' children to integrate fully in the Luxembourg school system, because a good education is one of the most important foundations for good social cohesion.
Languages in the Grand Duchy's schools
Communication of any kind within Luxembourg society calls for a good knowledge of languages. So language teaching is a central feature of the Luxembourg education system, the aim being not only to facilitate communication between the different language communities in the Grand Duchy, but also to overcome cultural barriers. That is why all schools in the Grand Duchy teach a large number of languages as part of the official curriculum:
- Creches in the Grand Duchy apply a plurilingual education programme suitable for young children;
- German and French are among the languages taught during fundamental education;
- English is added at secondary school. Pupils have the possibility of adding other languages, including Italian, Spanish and Latin, for example.
A large number of initiatives exist to help the children of families recently arrived in the Grand Duchy integrate more quickly, including integrated classes in the child's mother tongue, if the child is Portuguese, reception classes for German-, French- and English-speaking children, and the possibility of following classes leading to the international baccalaureate in either French or English.
Specialised services for foreign children
Dedicated services within the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth will be happy to answer any questions you may have:
Department of Schooling for Foreign Children (Service de la Scolarisation des Enfants Etrangers - SECAM)
The SECAM offers a number of possibilities for obtaining information. Its website brings together all kinds of information on the various offers and different services. It also has a list of intercultural mediators who can be called upon to assist foreign pupils and their parents.
School reception unit for newly arrived pupils (Cellule d'Accueil Scolaire pour Elèves Nouveaux Arrivants - CASNA)
The school reception unit for newly arrived pupils provides information on the Luxembourg school system and the assistance provided for children who speak a foreign language. CASNA works with children and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 24 who have just arrived in the Grand Duchy and wish to continue their studies in post-primary education.
Intercultural mediators
Parents, teachers and school authorities can request the free help of an intercultural mediator who speaks other foreign languages in addition to the languages spoken in Luxembourg. Mediators assist foreign pupils and parents of foreign pupils at the first reception, translate information about previous schooling in the country of origin, provide oral translations during parent/teacher interviews, for example, assist punctually or regularly in class, etc.
Last update