← Back to homeTallinn European School
Tallinn, Estonia · est. 2013 · Private
Illustration · Tallinn
Tallinn European School is the only Accredited European School in Estonia and the Baltics. It opened in 2013 by decision of the Estonian government, mainly for the children of staff of the EU agency eu-LISA; since 2019 it has been run by the foundation Sihtasutus Euroopa Kool, founded by the Republic of Estonia, with the founder's rights exercised by the Ministry of Education and Research. The foundation's Estonian page calls the school private: «rahvusvahelisele kogukonnale suunatud erakooli Tallinna Euroopa Kool pidamine» (running the private school Tallinna Euroopa Kool aimed at the international community). According to the school, around 500 children studied here in the 2024-2025 school year, and the staff numbers more than 100. There are two language sections: English (from nursery to S7) and French (nursery and primary only), so secondary is taught in English only. The language of instruction is taken from the languages and admission pages: «English is the primary language of communication and instructions in the English-speaking section», and likewise French in the French section. From S3 some subjects (human sciences, from S4 history, geography and economics) are taught in the pupil's second language. Mother tongue (L1) is offered for English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Spanish and Romanian. Since 2018 the school has occupied the restored building of the former Tallinn Railway School at Tehnika 18, a few minutes' walk from the Old Town. The school calls itself the most affordable international school in Estonia.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 208–7 456 a year
4 610–6 600 EUR
Programmes
European Schools programme (European Baccalaureate)
Admits from
4 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English, French
Languages taught
German, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Portuguese, Latin
Registration fee
≈ $226
200 EUR
About the fees Annual fees for the 2026-2027 school year: nursery 4610 euros, primary 5400 euros, secondary 6600 euros; they can be paid monthly. Fees rise by no more than 10% a year. Reductions apply to families with more than one child at the school and to school staff. Fees exclude meals, clubs, aftercare, transport, trips and study materials. Fees are paid to the account of the Estonian Ministry of Finance (Rahandusministeerium).
Admissions There are two enrolment categories. Category I covers children of staff of EU institutions and agencies, who are guaranteed a place at any time of the school year. Category II depends on available places: «Children of foreigners living and working in Estonia if the children cannot study in their mother tongue/dominant language (L1) in a local state or private school». Within Category II the order is: children of school staff; children of EU citizens living and working in Estonia (priority to families of EU diplomatic missions in Tallinn); children of non-EU citizens living and working in Estonia (priority to those who have already studied in English or French); children who could study in their L1 in Estonia but have spent at least 2 years in a European School abroad; siblings of pupils. Applications for the 2026-2027 school year were accepted from 12 January to 13 March through the MySchool system, with a non-refundable 200 euro fee that does not apply to children of EU staff. Outside this window new applications are considered only for children of EU staff, others at the school's discretion if places are free. The procedure: documents, a family interview (possible by video call), trial days if needed, tests in the section language and L2 from P3, in L3 from S2, in mathematics if required; A2 level in L2 is required at the start of S1. Age: N1 admits children in the year they turn 4.
Stages and year groups Grades N1-N2, P1-P5, S1-S7. Nursery N1-N2, ages 4-6; Primary P1-P5, ages 6-11; Secondary S1-S7, ages 11-18: observation cycle S1-S3, pre-orientation cycle S4-S5, orientation cycle S6-S7 leading to the European Baccalaureate. The curriculum is that of the European Schools: «The school follows the curriculum of the European Schools leading to the European Baccalaureate». The school does not follow the Estonian state curriculum and exams: its page states that the rules on state exams concern «only the public schools and therefore does not apply to Tallinn European School». Estonian is taught as the host country language from P3 to S3, and S1-S3 have Estonian history for pupils with Estonian L1. Latin from S2 leads to the Latinum Europaeum certificate at the end of S5; pupils can take language exams in French and German. The website shows no IB or other diplomas.
Address Tehnika 18, 10149 Tallinn, Estonia
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
European Schools · authorised programmeAn Accredited European School: the European Union's European Schools system has accredited it up to the European Baccalaureate, which its first leavers sat in 2018.
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 Schools programme (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 hall
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Campus: A restored historic building protected as an architectural monument, about 7200 m2 on 4 floors in three blocks, about 40 classrooms, a gym, a canteen (operated by Baltic Restaurants Estonia: breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack), a library with books in 7 languages, a playground. Aftercare until 18:00, free morning care from 8:00 for nursery and P1-P2.
Clubs and activities: Arts and Crafts Based Creativity Club · Chess Club · Club francophone · Dance and Movement Class · Estonian Language Club · Introduction to Robotics · Nursery Theatre Club · Sensory & Mindfulness Club · Singing & Music Club · Sizzle & Drizzle Cooking Club · Art Club · Cooking Club for P3-P5 · Digital Drawing · Drama Club · Football for Primary 1-2 · Football for Primary 3-5 · Handicraft Club · Japanese Language and Culture Club · Jiu Jitsu · Minecraft Coding Junior · Perfectly Ping-Pong · Primary Estonian Club · Seriously Smart Stories · Taekwondo · Board Game Club · Cooking Club for Secondary · Cours particuliers de français · Guitar Lessons · Individual Voice Lessons · Piano Music Lessons · Sensory Integration Therapy · Violin Lessons
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 sizenot stated
The school staff numbers more than 100 people from many countries; the team page lists teachers and assistants by name, including mother tongue teachers (Latvian, Portuguese and others). Each nursery group has a teacher and an assistant. If fewer than five pupils at one level share a mother tongue, L1 lessons are taught in combined groups. The school does not publish teacher qualifications 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 trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The nurse (assigned to the school by the Estonian school healthcare foundation) works on weekdays from 8:30 to 14:00; there is a school psychologist and an educational support team of several specialists. The school runs the KiVa anti-bullying programme from P1 to S4, and every case is handled by a trained KiVa team. A policy on educational support and inclusive education is published. For security reasons cars may not enter or park on the school grounds.
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 data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data75 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