European School - The European Baccalaureate

The European Baccalaureate

The European Baccalaureate is taken at the end of the seventh year of secondary education. It is awarded only by the current European Schools and should be distinguished from the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the baccalaureate of various national systems. Details of this examination are set out in the Annex of the Statute of the European School and in the Regulations for the European Baccalaureate, available from the schools.

The European Baccalaureate requires students to study at least 8 and up to a maximum of 11 academic subjects (with gym plus religion/ethics in addition), with differing weightings according to the course choices made when commencing with the Baccaluareate. (The final mark is calculated as a percentage, where 60% is the minimum for a pass).

The European Baccalaureate is administered and directly supervised by an external examining board appointed annually by the Board of Governors. The examining board consists of up to three representatives of each member state, who must satisfy the conditions governing the appointment of equivalent examining boards in their respective countries. It is presided over by a senior university educator appointed by each member state in turn, assisted by a member of the Board of Inspectors of the schools.

Article 5 (2) of the Statute provides that holders of the Baccalaureate shall:

• enjoy, in the Member State of which they are nationals, all the benefits attaching to the possession of the diploma or certificate awarded at the end of secondary school education in that country; and
• be entitled to seek admission to any university in the territory of any Member State on the same terms as nationals of that Member State with equivalent qualifications.

The Baccalaureate is a two year course and assesses the performance of students in the subjects taught in secondary Years 6–7.

The first awards of the European Baccalaureate were made in 1959.