We asked parents in Luxembourg City which school they opted for and what their reasons were when deciding between the local and the international system.
Local schools follow the Luxembourg curriculum and early-year lessons start in Luxembourgish before changing to German in primary and then to French in many subjects in secondary school.
Luxembourg schools help children fully integrate and speak the national language to native level, parents cited as some of the key reasons for choosing the local school system for their children.
In the past decade the education ministry has increased the number of fee-free international schools, offering the European curriculum in one main language.
There are now six public international schools dotted around the country and another three are set to open over the next five years. Applications have consistently outpaced the number of places available and in 2023 only 10% of parents who tried to enrol their child in one of the capital’s international schools were successful.
One parent told the Luxembourg Times he sent his child to the local school and later switched to the European system when the patchwork of languages became overwhelming. Another chose the European curriculum for two of her children and the local school for the youngest.