Has your family recently moved to Luxembourg, or are you about to do so? To facilitate the integration of newly-arrived pupils (less than 24 months old), the Ministry of Education offers a comprehensive school welcome and integration program for parents and pupils.
School choice for foreign pupils?
Have you just arrived in Luxembourg and don't know which school to enroll your child or teenager in? Are you faced with a multitude of teaching options and don't know which one to choose? Is the language of instruction a problem for your child?
The school dilemma for families in Luxembourg
You're not alone in this choice of schooling. Many newly-arrived families have been faced with the same problem. Every year, many families immigrate to Luxembourg and look for a suitable schooling for their child. Overall, almost 50% of the population is of foreign origin. All have found themselves in the same situation. What choice should they make for their child's schooling?
Schooling options for integration in Luxembourg
Some foreign pupils who have arrived in Luxembourg join international schools. There is a wide range of courses on offer, from the very first classes at the age of 3, to higher levels up to the age of 18 or 19. There are both public and private schools, with different school systems.
Other foreign pupils attend schools with a Luxembourg school system. Basic schools offer public education from the age of 4. However, parents can opt to enroll their children in "pre-school" if they have reached the age of 3 by September 1 of the current school year. Pupils then attend Luxembourg's lycées, from age 12 to 19.
This is a fundamental choice for families, but also for the Luxembourg authorities. Indeed, schooling in the Luxembourg system encourages the integration of new arrivals into society. The country's social balance is thus preserved. Children who join the Luxembourg school system benefit from concrete support measures.
Find out more about education and schools in Luxembourg.
Support measures for foreign children
To help foreign families, a number of public structures welcome pupils who have recently arrived in Luxembourg and their families. The aim is to help them find their way around the wide range of schools on offer.
Specialized reception and integration classes provide young newcomers with an environment conducive to integration and learning. They benefit from support measures
Welcome course for children newly arrived in Luxembourg
If necessary,schools and lycées offer newly-arrived foreign pupils special welcome courses in the form of specific teaching interventions .
These interventions are designed to facilitate communication in the school or professional environment. In particular, they enable foreign students to improve their participation in different courses and other educational activities. These measures build their self-confidence and facilitate their integration.
Language support for foreign children
Foreign children who have not yet mastered the languages used in the school environment can benefit from free complementary language courses.
In fact, Luxembourg schools are increasingly welcoming children with no command of the vehicular languages. In public schools, oral exchanges are in Lëtzebuergësch from the first year of kindergarten. German and French are then gradually introduced from the first year of basic education.
For the sake of integration and socialization, it's vital that newly-arrived children master these different languages as quickly as possible.
Thanks to our free language support, your children can quickly learn the new languages they need to integrate. These one-to-one or very small classes help children to integrate more easily into their new school environment.
Support hours replace other classroom teaching. The number of hours depends on your child's progress.
In addition, the Luxembourg school system is increasingly offeringinternational schools where other European languages are given pride of place.
Integration classes for pupils who have recently arrived in Luxembourg
If your child comes from a completely different school system to the one in force in Luxembourg, and needs extra support, he or she can join integration classes.
Students in integration classes stay for a maximum of 6 terms.
Integration classes offer children a specific type of schooling. The aim is to enable the pupil to catch up on any delays, so that he or she is able to join the Luxembourg education system corresponding to his or her age at the start of the next school year.
Teaching in integration classes focuses on learning the languages of schooling in Luxembourg, mathematics and reading in the Latin alphabet. Once the foreign pupil is up to speed, he or she joins the mainstream education system.
SIA: welcoming and accompanying foreign students
Expatriate families in Luxembourg can now call on the Service de l'intégration et de l'accueil scolaires (SIA). This organization simplifies the process of choosing a new school system and schools for their children.
Welcome, orientation, integration and support at school
Part of the Ministry of Education, Childhood and Youth, this service provides information for newcomers to Luxembourg.
This information covers the Luxembourg school system beyond primary school or école fondamentale), support systems, school enrolments and, where appropriate, inter-cultural mediation. Intercultural mediators assist parents and foreign pupils in their dealings with the education system.
Information interview with SIA
Have you just arrived as an expatriate and don't know which school system to choose in Luxembourg? You can request an information interview with the SIA. The SIA will provide you with all the information you need on the Luxembourg school system.
You'll also learn about the different schooling options available to your child. You'll also gain a better understanding of the welcome and integration facilities available to new expatriates in Luxembourg.
School guidance proposals for new students
If you wish, you can ask the SIA to compile a complete school file for your child. Based on the information contained in the file, the SIA will be able to suggest one or more possible school options for your child in Luxembourg.
This personal file includes the child's previous school reports, as well as a report on his or her skills and the family's plans for the future. It will follow the pupil over the next two years, if the parents so wish, from the moment the pupil definitively attends a regular class. This will facilitate the student's integration into the chosen school system and, more generally, his or her integration into Luxembourg.
School project for your child in Luxembourg
Based on the orientation chosen, your newly-arrived child will then benefit from real support over the two years following integration into a regular class.
In conjunction with the SIA, the school or lycée selected will draw up a personalized school project tailored to your child's needs. The school will implement a number of concrete measures to support your child's social, educational and personal development.
Schooling for newly arrived pupils in Luxembourg
Depending on their needs, children in Luxembourg are educated in :
- a regular class, while benefiting from additional support measures or reception courses, particularly in languages (home class and reception courses for basic education)
- integration classes, for new pupils who need extra support during their first years at school
For more information, visit the Ministry of Education website or Guichet.lu.
Mengstudien.lu, to find out more about higher education
Young people interested in higher education in Luxembourg or abroad will find all kinds of practical information on higher education and career guidance on the Mengstudien. lu website.
The site has been set up by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
For more information on education in Luxembourg, click here!
