The European School Munich (ESM) was founded in 1977 at the request of the European Patent Office and teaches children from nursery to the European Baccalaureate, which is equivalent to the highest school leaving certificates of the EU countries. In the 2026-2027 school year enrolment will exceed 2200 for the first time. It is a public-law institution jointly overseen by the governments of the EU member states and the only school in Munich where the official languages of all EU countries are taught by native speakers. Children learn in language sections according to their dominant language; the website shows German, English, French, Italian and Dutch sections. A second language (German, English or French) is added in primary, a third from secondary year 1, and a fourth and fifth are optional; in upper grades some subjects are taught in the second language. Secondary is comparable to a Gymnasium: up to eight hours of mathematics a week, labs, ICT and programming, and complementary courses from economics to chess and knitting. The nursery and primary school are in Fasangarten, the secondary school in Neuperlach. In 2027 the school celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 036–9 443 a year
4 457.8–8 358.46 EUR
Programmes
European Baccalaureate
Admits from
4 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
German, English, French, Italian, Dutch
Languages taught
Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Greek
About the fees Fees for category III students from the 2026-2027 school year, per year: nursery 4457.80 EUR, primary 6129.55 EUR, secondary 8358.46 EUR. The full fee applies to the most advanced child, 80% for the second and 60% for the third and further children. By 30 June 2026 the full amount or at least 25% must be paid, otherwise admission is not possible; the advance is non-refundable; the remaining 75% and other fees are due by 31 October 2026. A fee reduction can be requested from the director with an income check, but income limits are very low and the fee is never below 25% of the regular fee. Category I children are exempt; category II fees are set by agreements.
Admissions Students are divided into three categories. Category I - children of staff of the European Patent Office, EU institutions, teachers and school staff: they must be admitted and are exempt from fees. Category II - children covered by individual agreements or cooperation contracts with companies and employers; the school does not disclose the list of companies. Category III - other families: admitted to a limited extent through individual agreements under the admissions policy approved by the Board of Governors of the European Schools in December 2023, with the director deciding. The school says it gladly accepts children whose parents do not work at the Patent Office or EU institutions, and that such families are increasingly numerous. Siblings in category III are admitted only to classes with fewer than 24 students; there is no waiting list. The expression of interest is submitted via an online portal from January to mid-April of the year the child starts in September. Nursery admits children in the year they turn 4, grade 1 in the year they turn 6; the German school entry medical examination is required for first graders of all sections. The section is assigned by dominant language and is not chosen by parents; where there is no section for the child's language, tuition in the mother tongue as first language is available only to category I and II children.
Stages and year groups Nursery - 2 years from age 4 in the child's dominant language. Primary P1-P5 (from age 6): most lessons in the dominant language, a first foreign language, mathematics, music, art, PE, religion or ethics, discovery of the world, European Hours in P3-P5. Secondary S1-S7 in three cycles (S1-S3, S4-S5, S6-S7), comparable to a Gymnasium and leading to a university entrance qualification: a third language from S1, optional fourth and fifth languages in S4 and S6, an individual choice of subjects from S6. At the end of S7 - the European Baccalaureate: a preliminary mark for the year (50%), five written and three oral exams (50%); 50 out of 100 points are needed for the diploma.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
European Schools · authorised programmeA Type I European School, part of the EU's intergovernmental European Schools system: the curriculum runs from nursery to the final year, and graduates sit the European Baccalaureate.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
European SchoolsThe European Union's European Schools (Schola Europaea)
An intergovernmental system of European Union schools with its own curriculum and its own certificate, the European Baccalaureate. It runs thirteen schools of its own, and national schools gain the status of Accredited European School after an audit with a visit by inspectors. The certificate is recognised for university entry in every EU country.
What the badge means for this school. The school runs the European Schools curriculum, and this can be checked in the system's lists at eursc.eu. The system's own schools are checked by inspectors from EU countries, accredited schools pass an in-school audit, and accreditation is renewed every three years. Whether the school awards the European Baccalaureate, and whom it admits, is stated on its own page. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →European Baccalaureate
The European Union's European Schools curriculum from nursery to the final year, with the European Baccalaureate as the leaving certificate. Teaching is in language sections, and a second language is compulsory from primary school.
What this means for this school. The curriculum and the certificate are set by the European Schools system, whose Board of Governors is made up of the education ministers of the EU countries. European Baccalaureate papers are marked by the teacher and an external examiner, and the certificate is recognised for university entry in every EU country and in several others. A school may award it only if it is one of the system's own schools or is accredited for the senior years.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Junior Chor (junior choir) · Konzertchor (concert choir) · Kammerchor (chamber choir) · Streichorchester (string orchestra) · Big Band · Percussion-Gruppe (percussion group) · MunoM - Model United Nations of Munich · Model European Parliament / Council · Jugend debattiert (youth debating competition) · Eurosport · European Schools' Science Symposium · International Award · Schulsanitätsdienst (school first aid service)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: Teachers are seconded by EU member states or are locally employed teachers with a teaching qualification; most secondary subjects are taught by native speakers of the section language.
The school describes its staff as highly qualified educators from all over Europe. It does not state staff numbers or class sizes.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
✓Anti-bullying policy
Child protection is the highest priority: every staff member is obliged to prevent harm to students and follow up suspicions; the school follows German and Bavarian law and the rules of the European Schools, and three specially trained child protection officers work as a team for the whole school and refer cases to the Jugendamt youth welfare office when necessary. There are health offices on both sites. There are school psychologists, educational advisers for each secondary year, the SMiLe social-emotional support team in primary and anti-bullying programmes - the Finnish KiVa in primary and a separate programme in secondary.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country
Munich, Germany · est. 1977 · State