The European School, Bergen (in Dutch: Europese School Bergen) (or ESB) is one of the fourteen European School

European School

The European Schools are co-educational schools providing nursery, primary and secondary. They are established to provide free education for children of personnel of the European Institutions and leading to the European Baccalaureate. Other children may be admitted subject to the availability of...

s. It is located in the town of Bergen

Bergen, North Holland

Bergen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its North Sea beaches make it a popular destination for tourists, especially Germans. In 2001, the municipality was expanded to include the former municipalities of Egmond and Schoorl.Since about 1900, Bergen...

 in the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 province of North Holland

North Holland

North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...

.

History

The Joint Research Centre (in Dutch Gemeenschappelijk Centrum voor Onderzoek-GCO) in the nearby town of Petten

Petten

Petten is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe, and lies about 15 km northwest of Alkmaar, on the North Sea. The population is ca. 1900....

 is a European institution (it is part of the European Atomic Energy Community

European Atomic Energy Community

The European Atomic Energy Community is an international organisation which is legally distinct from the European Union , but has the same membership, and is governed by the EU's institutions....

), and thus attracts workers and researchers from across the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. To provide an education for their children, the European School, Bergen was established in 1963.

Education

The curriculum is identical to that of the other European schools. There are three language sections— English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

.

School life

As of October 12, 2003, the student population of the European School, Bergen was 696, of which 68 were in the nursery school, 249 in the primary school and 379 in the secondary school.

The majority of the pupils live within 10km of the school. Some commute from as far as Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, Amstelveen

Amstelveen

' is a suburban municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the following villages and/or districts: Amstelveen, Bovenkerk, Westwijk, Bankras-Kostverloren, Groenelaan, Waardhuizen,...

 and Den Helder

Den Helder

Den Helder is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula...

. School bus

School bus

A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...

es are chartered by the parents' association to take the pupils to and from the school each day.

Every two years (starting in the 5th year of the primary school), a school-trip is organised. This usually lasts for about a week.

The school participates actively in European School activities such as the European Schools Science Symposium and Eurosport

Eurosport

Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...

. Consistent success in the European Schools Science Symposium has allowed ESB students to represent the European Schools System at the EUCYS.

The BAC consists of a series of written exams (Mathematics, First Language and Second Language are obligatory), followed them by oral exams (First and Second language obligatory).