← Back to the rankingEuropäische Schule Saarland
Saarbrucken, Germany · est. 2021 · State
Illustration · Saarbrucken
The Europäische Schule Saarland (ESS) in Saarbrücken is the first state school in Germany to follow the European Schools curriculum; it is accredited within the European Schools system and free for families. The school opened on 2 September 2021 with 43 students and now has more than 300. It follows the European Schools structure: five years of primary (P1-P5) and seven years of secondary (S1-S7), ending with the European Baccalaureate; the school also awards the German Hauptschulabschluss and Mittlerer Bildungsabschluss. The school is growing by one year group at a time: in 2026-2027 the highest class is S5 and there are no graduates yet. There are two language sections, German and English: children learn in their dominant language, and in the English section all subjects are taught in English. Art, music and PE are taught in mixed groups with German as the base language plus English and French. The first foreign language (German, English or French) starts in grade 1 and the second (French, Spanish, Italian or English) in S1; from S3 human sciences, and later history and geography, are taught in the first foreign language. The school runs a full day from 8:00 to 16:00.
Key facts
Programmes
European Baccalaureate
Languages of instruction
German, English
Languages taught
French, Spanish, Italian, Latin
Class size
The school promises small classes but does not state class sizes.
About the fees Tuition is free: the school says it is a public school and therefore free of charge. Only the after-school care after 16:00 and holiday care (Hort) is charged: in 2021-2022 it cost 50 EUR per month including holiday care, and the fee is recalculated annually; lunches during holidays are paid separately.
Admissions Families may apply if they live in Saarbrücken or the Regionalverband Saarbrücken and/or work at a European or international institution or organisation, a research or higher education institution, or an internationally active company in Saarland. Registration for grade 1 (P1) is in November and for grade 5 (P5) in February, a year before entry; there is no waiting list. Mid-year admission to the German and English sections is possible only after personal consultation, but families who have just moved to Saarland or plan to move can contact the school at any time. The section is chosen by the child's dominant language; if this is unclear, the school runs a language test. Siblings are usually admitted after the conditions are checked. To apply, families first email the office with the child's age, grade, reports and preferred section, then complete the form; P1 registration requires a birth certificate and vaccination record.
Stages and year groups Grades P1-P5, S1-S5 (2026-2027). European Schools curriculum: primary P1-P5 (grades 1-5) and secondary S1-S7 (grades 6-12), final examination European Baccalaureate (Europäisches Abitur); the school also awards the German Hauptschulabschluss and Mittlerer Bildungsabschluss. The school opened in 2021 and grows one year group at a time: in 2026-2027 it runs P1-P5 and S1-S5 (in secondary one or two German classes and one English class per year), with no S6-S7 classes or graduates yet. Sections: German and English; there is no kindergarten.
Address Paul-Schmook-Straße 68, 66115 Saarbrücken
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
European Schools · authorised programmeThe European Schools system lists it as an Accredited European School: 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
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: A compulsory all-day school (gebundene Ganztagsschule): lessons, study time and clubs run from 8:00 to 16:00, with optional after-school care (Hort) until 18:00 and holiday care from 8:00 to 18:00 (up to 80 places, run by ASB Landesverband Saarland; children in the Hort can take music lessons from the city music school). All classrooms have interactive whiteboards and network access, the school has its own iPads from grade 1 and loan devices for all students from grade 5. Lunch is provided by the canteen (Saarpfalz-Werkstatt).
Clubs and activities: Bouldern (bouldering) · Rudern (rowing) · Kanu und Glück (canoeing) · Upcycling - Nähen (upcycling and sewing) · Manga · Schachclub (chess club) · Fit, Fun & DIY · PhiloTalk: EU & Global Affairs · Behind the Scenes - Eure Schule, eure Story (school media) · Sprachen Europas (languages of Europe) · Choir · Pferde-, Natur und Hof-AG (horses, nature and farm) · Power fit · Theater Club · ESS - Orchestra · Streitschlichter AG (student mediators) · Cheerleading
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
Many teachers have spent long periods abroad, for example at German international or European Schools; others have extensive experience in bilingual teaching or a degree in teaching for European Schools (Europalehramt). The social-pedagogical team is provided by ASB on behalf of the school's providers; the Hort team includes early childhood educators, educators and relaxation specialists. Languages and content subjects in a foreign language are taught on the CLIL principle.
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 roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school has a school social work service (a joint project of the Regionalverband Saarbrücken, the Saarland education ministry, the city of Saarbrücken and ASB): counselling, conflict mediation, crisis intervention and social skills training. There is a peer mediators club (Streitschlichter AG). Children with special needs receive general, moderate and intensive educational support under European Schools rules and Saarland inclusion law.
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 data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 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