Bilingual education from grade 1 – this is a unique model in Germany. The goal of the Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin (SESB) is the integrated education of bilingual learning groups in a continuous bilingual instruction.
Social experiences and cultural activities are linked to the acquisition of the partner language. The children gain insight into the cultures of the respective partner language. With their first language, all children retain their cultural and national identity.
Equal access to the Europa-Schule Berlin is characteristic: deliberately, no school fees are charged. If the demand is greater than the supply, the decision is made by lot and not by the parents’ purse or their influence.
Two teaching languages
The SESB is a school of special educational character and is open to all children whose parents wish to focus their education on learning two languages of instruction on an equal footing.
In 1992, the Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin started with 160 students in six elementary schools with three different language combinations: German-English, German-French and German-Russian. Today, more than 6000 students attend the 18 elementary schools and 15 secondary school locations with a total of nine language combinations.
This range of schools prepares children and young people for the working world of the future. For the youth of a primarily export-oriented country that is increasingly assuming a bridging function between Western and Eastern Europe, multilingualism is a great advantage and thus one of the most important skills that schools can provide for life.
Learning from each other
At the same time, the Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin makes an important contribution against any form of xenophobia with its concept of bicultural education: In each class, students from different nations with different mother tongues grow up.
They learn not only with each other, but also from each other. There is no room for prejudice. This cross-cultural education, while preserving one’s own cultural identity, is an important guiding principle of the Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin.
