European Baccalaureate

Last updated December 28, 2023

The European Baccalaureate (or EB) is a bilingual educational diploma, which certifies the completion of secondary studies in a European School or Accredited European School by the Board of Governors of the intergovernmental organisation, "The European Schools".^[1] The diploma is awarded for the successful achievement of coursework and concomitant examinations which require that students take a minimum of 10 courses as well as be fully proficient in two languages. Students may take up to 14 courses. It is officially recognised as an entry qualification for Higher Education in all the member states of the European Union (EU), as well as in a number of others.^[2] All participating countries are legally obligated to ensure EB diploma holders enjoy the same rights and benefits as other holders of secondary school-leaving certificates in their jurisdictions.^[2] The name ‘European Baccalaureate’ belongs solely to the European Schools, which, since their establishment, have had a monopoly over its use in all the official languages of the EU.^[1] (This diploma should not be confused with other types of educational qualifications which also bear the name Baccalaureate like the International Baccalaureate . In German, the European Baccalaureate is called the Europäisches Abitur, not to be confused with the German Abitur.)

Overview

The European Baccalaureate is a bilingual diploma taken at the end of the seventh year of secondary education. Students must study a minimum of ten subjects and are examined by means of written and oral examinations and by continuous assessment. The EB may only be awarded to students who have completed their secondary school education within either one of the thirteen European Schools, established by the intergovernmental organisation, "The European Schools", or one of the fourteen schools under national jurisdiction which have received the status of an Accredited European School by the Board of Governors of the European Schools. The EB should be distinguished from the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the baccalaureates of various national systems. Details of the examination are set out in the Annex of the Statute of the European School and in the Regulations for the EB, available from the schools.

The EB 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 EB 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 EB were made in 1959.

The EB is marked in percentages out of 100, and, in contrast to many national systems (e.g. British A-Levels), comprises a wide range of compulsory subjects and 3–5 elective subjects. Compulsory studies include mother tongue, 1st foreign language, mathematics (5 hours/week or 3 hours/week course), philosophy, one science subject, history and geography (both taught in the 1st foreign language), and gym. These also depend on the orientation that the pupil has chosen at the end of year 5. The choice of elective subjects is large (see the list below), although the subject may not be available if the class size is too small.

Subjects
Course	periods per week	Notes
Column 1: Compulsory
Language 1	4
Language 2	3
Mathematics	3 or 5
Sport	2
Religion or Ethics	1
Column 2: Compulsory if not taken in Column 3
Philosophy	2
History	2
Geography	2
Biology	2	if no other Science has been taken
Chemistry	2	if no other Science has been taken
Physics	2	if no other Science has been taken
Column 3: Optional
Philosophy	4
History	4
Geography	4
Biology	4
Chemistry	4
Physics	4
Art	4
Music	4
Language 3	4
Language 4	4	only if studied in the 4th and 5th year
Latin	4	only if studied in the 4th and 5th year
Ancient Greek	4	only if studied in the 4th and 5th year
Economics	4	only if studied in the 4th and 5th year
Column 4: Further Optional
Advanced Language 1	3
Advanced Language 2	3
Advanced Mathematics	3	only with 5-period maths from Column 1
Column 5: Complementary
Laboratory Biology	2
Laboratory Chemistry	2
Laboratory Physics	2
ICT	2
Elementary Economics	2	only if not taken in Column 3
Sociology	2
Art	2	only if not taken in Column 3
Music	2	only if not taken in Column 3
Physical Education	2
Drama	2
Language 5	2

A minimum of 31 periods a week must be taken, with a maximum of 35 periods, although this is sometimes extended to 36 or even 37 periods. At least 2 Column 3 subjects must be chosen; a maximum of 4 can be taken. There is a core of compulsory subjects which include language 1 (mother tongue), language 2 (first foreign language), mathematics, history, geography, philosophy, religion/ethics and sport. In addition, if no science subject is taken as an elective subject, a science subject must be taken as a compulsory subject. Students must take a minimum of ten courses. They have the choice of two elective subjects of four lessons per week and may take as many as four additional subjects in addition to the ten compulsory subjects. These subjects may include each of the separate sciences, social sciences, Latin, art, music, philosophy and languages 3 and 4. Mathematics can be taken as a 3-lesson or 5-lesson per week course. Additional advanced courses of three lessons per week may be taken in mathematics, language 1 and language 2. Students may also choose complementary courses of two lessons per week such as practical science, introductory economics, art, music and theatre.

The total mark consists of:

20% coursework from 7th year
30% written exams in January
15% oral exams in June (where applicable)
35% written exams in June

Consequently, there is a heavy workload for the students; the system enforces not only a rounded knowledge of all subjects but also allows students to specialise in individual fields. Students are obliged to have a strong skills in one foreign language (in years 2-5 of secondary school a 2nd foreign language is also compulsory). The final pass-rate is very high (almost always over 98%), in part due to the practice of 'weeding out' candidates who are not academically strong enough to complete the Baccalaureate.

This process starts from an early age whereby many pupils either leave, are asked to leave or fall foul of the 'three strikes' rule (fail a year 3 times and the student will be asked to leave). Failing the same year twice also means leaving the school. Failing and repeating a year is a fairly common occurrence from age 10 upwards; roughly up to 5% of pupils will fail in each year. The 5th year is comparable to the German 'Mittlere Reife' or British GCSEs.

However, the pluridisciplinarity the EB offers is advantageous to students wishing to go on to university studies, in France and Germany especially. Most of the English section students and a significant minority of students from the other language sections apply to British universities. Recent experience (2011–2012 and beyond) has shown that students applying to British universities are encountering growing difficulties, sometimes serious, in having their Baccalaureate qualifications adequately recognised.

Difficulty

This reflects the demanding nature of the examination process and the fact that students need to perform very well across a very broad range of subjects and be fully bilingual. The bilingual demands of the course work and concomitant examinations entail that monolingual students cannot pass.

Compulsory bilingual education

The ten compulsory courses include a mother tongue and a second language. Students are also obliged to take a third language in years 1 to 5 upon entry into secondary level education. Students must be highly skilled in two languages. They must take literature classes in both their first language and their second. Although some obligatory classes such as philosophy, biology and mathematics are taught in the students' mother tongue, other compulsory courses such as history and geography are taught in the second language ensuring students are fully bilingual. This insistence on bilingual course work and examination makes it difficult for non-bilingual new entrants to succeed.

Evaluation

In a 2006 study based on a sample of over 500 former European School pupils, Kelly and Kelly compared the performances at British and Irish universities of students who had participated in the EB with the performances of students who had undertaken the dominant UK equivalent qualification, A-levels.^[3]

This showed that in terms of the probability of getting a good degree, an EB score of:

80 or more was roughly equivalent to 380 Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) points awarded for A-levels (3 A grades).
70 to 79 was equivalent to a UCAS score of 340-360 (ABB to AAB)
60 to 69 was equivalent to 300-320 UCAS points (BBC, BBB).^[3]

The study concluded that EB participants were disadvantaged by the then current official equivalency system for converting their mark into UCAS points, with even students with a bare pass at the EB (60-64) more likely to get a good degree at university than students who achieved 280-300 UCAS points (BBC, BCC, CCC).^[3] Kelly and Kelly remarked that students undertaking the EB received unrealistic offers when applying to UK universities, with admissions offices failing to understand how seldom an EB score of 90+% is awarded.^[3] They found that the UK National Recognition Information Centre had incorrectly assumed that a fail mark in the EB (below 60%) was equivalent to a fail mark within the A-level qualification, (2 E grades or below 40%).^[3] Similarly, Kelly and Kelly concluded that the Irish Central Applications Office had also compiled an incorrect table of equivalencies for the EB with the Irish Leaving Certificate.^[3]

Related Research Articles

The baccalauréat, often known in France colloquially as the bac, is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education by meeting certain requirements. Though it has only existed in its present form as a school-leaving examination since Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's implementation on March 17, 1808, its origins date back to the first medieval French universities. According to French law, the baccalaureate is the first academic degree, though it grants the completion of secondary education. Historically, the baccalaureate is administratively supervised by full professors at universities.

Education in Singapore is managed by the Ministry of Education (MOE). It controls the development and administration of state schools receiving taxpayers' funding, but also has an advisory and supervisory role in respect of private schools. For both private and state schools, there are variations in the extent of autonomy in their curriculum, scope of taxpayers' aid and funding, tuition burden on the students, and admission policy.

A European School is a type of international school emphasising a multilingual and multicultural pedagogical approach to the teaching of nursery, primary and secondary students, leading to the European Baccalaureate as their secondary leaving qualification. Each European School is set up, financed, and operated by the international organisation, the "European Schools", controlled jointly by the member states of the European Union and the European Commission. The schools prioritise, for enrolment purposes, the children of EU staff.

Ninth grade is the ninth or tenth year of formal or compulsory education in some countries. It is generally part of middle school or secondary school depending on country. Students in ninth grade are usually 14–15 years old, but in some countries are 15–16.

Tenth grade is the tenth year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the second year of high school. In many parts of the world, students in tenth grade are usually 15 or 16 years of age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngee Ann Secondary School</span> Government-aided school in Tampines, Singapore

Ngee Ann Secondary School (NASS) is a co-educational government-aided autonomous secondary school in Tampines, Singapore. Founded in 1994 by the Ngee Ann Kongsi, a Teochew clan foundation, Ngee Ann Secondary School is a successor to the now defunct Tuan Mong High School. The school offers secondary education leading to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level or Singapore-Cambridge GCE Normal Level examination.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education and is recognized by many universities worldwide. It was developed in the early-to-mid-1960s in Geneva, Switzerland, by a group of international educators. After a six-year pilot programme that ended in 1975, a bilingual diploma was established.

The European School, Mol was the third of the thirteen European Schools to be established, and is one of five such schools in Belgium. Founded in 1960, it is located in Mol, in the province of Antwerp.

Education in Belgium is regulated and for the most part financed by one of the three communities: Flemish, French and German-speaking. Each community has its own school system, with small differences among them. The federal government plays a very small role: it decides directly the age for mandatory schooling and indirectly the financing of the communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia</span> Malaysian national examination

The Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), or the Malaysian Certificate of Education, is a national examination sat for by all fifth-form secondary school students in Malaysia. It is the equivalent of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) of England, Wales and Northern Ireland; the Nationals 4/5 of Scotland; and the GCE Ordinary Level of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is the leaving examination of the eleventh grade of schooling.

The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level is a GCE Ordinary Level examination held annually in Singapore and is jointly conducted by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) and the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES). Students are graded in the bands ranging from A to F and each band has a respective grade point, a lower grade point indicates better performance. The number at the end of each grade corresponds to the grade point that they receive. To pass an individual O-Level subject, a student must score at least C6 or above. The highest grade a student can attain is A1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A-level</span> British educational certification

The A-level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational authorities of British Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1951 to replace the Higher School Certificate. The A-level permits students to have potential access to a chosen university they applied to with UCAS points. They could be accepted into it should they meet the requirements of the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education</span> Academic qualification in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) is an examination organised by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). The HKDSE examination is Hong Kong's university entrance examination, administered at the completion of a three-year senior secondary education, allowing students to gain admissions to undergraduate courses at local universities through JUPAS. Since the implementation of the New Senior Secondary academic structure in 2012, HKDSE replaced the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.

The Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck is a public gymnasium grammar school in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria. Founded in 1562 by the Jesuits in the course of the counter-reformation, it is the oldest school in Western Austria and one of the oldest schools in the German-speaking world.

The polytechnic secondary school, officially ten-class general educational polytechnic secondary school, abbreviation POS, pronounced P-O-S, was the standard type of school in the school system of East Germany. The POS was established in 1959 to replace the hitherto existing Grundschule. The school structure was a ten-class comprehensive school without any internal or external differentiation. There was a final examination at the end of the 10th grade called Abschlußprüfung, granting the Abschlußzeugnis which allowed to continue one's education to vocational training. Students with very good achievements at school were admitted to college studies or a unique education program that combined the studies of the extended secondary school and a vocational training. Students with honors got entrance to the extended polytechnic secondary school. The general style of teaching was a rather strict and authoritative version of different, highly efficient techniques of classroom management, used long before Jacob Kounin described this concept in the USA in 1974.

Junior colleges (JC) are pre-university institutions in Singapore that offer two-year pre-university courses that leads to either the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level or the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Admission to Junior college is based on the aggregate raw score of 20 points or less in O-Level "L1R5" in the examination. Lower aggregate is considered better, i e. 7 aggregate score is better than aggregate score 10. Bonus points are also deducted from this proscore to come up with the final score for the admission.

Berlin British School (BBS) is a private, international English-medium school for children aged 2 to 18, located in Charlottenburg, an affluent locality of Berlin, Germany.

A high school diploma is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school. A high school diploma is awarded after completion of courses of studies lasting four years, typically from grade 9 to grade 12. It is the school leaving qualification in the United States and Canada.

The Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Normal Level examination is a national examination held annually in Singapore. It is taken after four years in the Normal (Academic) or Normal (Technical) stream. For subjects examined in English and foreign languages, the examining authority are the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. For localised language subjects, the examining authority is the Ministry of Education (MOE).

References

1 2 "Arrangements for Implementing the Regulations for the European Baccalaureate (Applicable for the Year 2019 European Baccalaureate session)" (PDF). www.eursc.eu. Office of the Secretary-General of the European Schools. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
1 2 "The European Baccalaureate". www.eursc.eu. Office of the Secretary-General of the European Schools. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Kelly, Alison; Kelly, Dan (8 May 2006). "The European Baccalaureate: A Study of the Performance of European Baccalaureate students in Higher Education in the UK and Ireland" (PDF). gudee.eu. European School, Luxembourg. Retrieved 25 December 2018.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[2019_EB_arrangements-1] 1 2 "Arrangements for Implementing the Regulations for the European Baccalaureate (Applicable for the Year 2019 European Baccalaureate session)" (PDF). www.eursc.eu. Office of the Secretary-General of the European Schools. Retrieved 25 December 2018.

[The_EB-2] 1 2 "The European Baccalaureate". www.eursc.eu. Office of the Secretary-General of the European Schools. Retrieved 25 December 2018.

[Kelly_and_Kelly-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kelly, Alison; Kelly, Dan (8 May 2006). "The European Baccalaureate: A Study of the Performance of European Baccalaureate students in Higher Education in the UK and Ireland" (PDF). gudee.eu. European School, Luxembourg. Retrieved 25 December 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]