In recent years, significant efforts have been made to establish a common structure for syllabi covering all education levels, with harmonized learning outcomes and assessment standards (document 2024-11-D-42 "Structure for all syllabuses in the system of the European Schools" can be found in the "Curricular Aspects" section of the Basic Texts). Currently, all language sections follow the same curriculum for all subjects, except for mother tongue (L1); the work on a harmonised L1 syllabus started in 2024 and it is currently under development. All pupils in the European Schools are supported to meet these standards during their studies and to successfully acquire the European Baccalaureate Diploma, at the end of the secondary cycle.

Our ambition is to take advantage of the close relationship between the European Schools and the national education systems to promote a forward-looking curriculum, at the forefront of pedagogical innovation. To guarantee recognition of the European Baccalaureate certificate, syllabi should meet at least the minimum requirements of all member states.

Each syllabus is designed or updated by dedicated working groups under the coordination of national inspectors, with the support of independent experts and the Pedagogical Development Unit. Curriculum development follows European Schools' requirements regarding quality assurance processes.

Syllabi are approved by the Joint Teaching Committee of the European Schools, the pedagogical supervisory authority. In general, each subject syllabus is reviewed and revised every ten years. However, changes could be introduced at any time, based on official decisions with a direct curriculum impact.

All syllabi currently in place are available below, grouped by education level (nursery, primary, secondary) and by type (mandatory subjects, optional subjects). You can also access all syllabi at once. To refine your search, use the filters (first row). To open a syllabus in PDF format, click on the reference number (in the "Name" column at the far left).


Nursery (n1–n2)

All nursery syllabi


Primary (p1–p5)

Primary    Base courses syllabi


Primary    Option syllabus


Secondary (s1–s7)

Secondary    s1/s2/s3 syllabi


s1/s2/s3    Base courses syllabi


s1/s2/s3    Options syllabi


Secondary    s4/s5 syllabi


s4/s5    Base courses syllabi


s4/s5    Options syllabi


Secondary    s6/s7 baccalaureate cycle syllabi


s6/s7    Base courses syllabi


s6/s7    Advanced courses syllabi


s6/s7    4-period options syllabi

  • Ancient Greek
  • Art (4-period course — the syllabus also covers the complementary 2-period course)
  • Biology (4-period course — see the "base courses" section above for the 2-period course which still exists in s7)
  • Chemistry
  • Economics
  • Geography (4-period course — see the "base courses" section above for the 2-period course)
  • History (4-period course — the syllabus also covers the base 2-period course)
  • Language 3 (please have a look in the "language version" column to find a given language)
  • Language 4 (please have a look in the "language version" column to find a given language)
  • Latin
  • Music (4-period course)
  • Philosophy (4-period course — see the "base courses" section above for the 2-period course)
  • Physics

s6/s7    2-period complementary courses syllabi