English Trust for European Education

Background

European Education has some strong pedagogical foundations based on mutual respect and appreciation of different cultural values yet sharing basic principles such as democracy, freedom of speech and common understanding. The teaching and active use of languages across an entire curriculum in day-to-day school life is a vital tool towards common understanding and appreciation of individual cultures.

For children from bilingual backgrounds in particular, mother tongue teaching provides an essential link to their cultural roots. As children progress to learn more European languages their horizons are expanded and they can become multi-literate (i.e not just able to express themselves, but to appreciate deep cultural nuances too).

ETEE Trustees were therefore committed to an approach in which first and foremost integration is expressed as mutual respect, with a focus on a well implemented strategy on European multi-literate education, widely accessible to all citizens and appropriate with the principles of subsidiarity.

The philosophy behind European Education is best encapsulated in the words of Jean Monnet: “Educated side by side, untroubled from infancy by divisive prejudices, acquainted with all that is great and good in different cultures, it will be borne upon in upon them as they mature that they belong together. Without ceasing to look to their own lands with love and pride, they will become in mind Europeans, schooled and ready to complete and consolidate the work of their fathers…”

Legacy

We first set ourselves up as a group of stakeholders in order to support and pursue those activities that the Parents Association (CESPA) was unable to follow through because of their constitution and their focus, which is predominantly on day to day matters related to the good running of the now closed Culham European School.

Our initial aim was to support the establishment of schools in England and Wales offering multilingual European education, similar in concept to current fully accredited European Schools. The last school of its kind in England, in Culham (Oxfordshire) closed in 2017 and ETEE was instrumental in drafting an initial development plan for a future school that led to the inception of a new charitable company, called CLASS headed by a former Patron, Lord Jay of Ewelme. This new charitable trust (independent from ETEE) attempted to create a “European Languages and Science Academy” by transforming the current school. However, their plans failed and this task was taken up by another group, leading to the opening of a new Free School in September 2012.

The new Free School, called Europa School UK, has succesfully started with an intake of primary children, teaching for now French and Germany (in addition of course to English) and has achieved high accolades in recent inspections. Our main concern as a Trust for multilingual European Education was to ensure the availability of other European languages within that school.

Our role as facilitators and mediators encompassed all the recently formed type 2 and 3 European Schools (Associate European Schools) and we were instrumental in the setting up of a recently formed network of these schools.

BREXIT

It is important to understand that the concept of European Schools predates the creation of the European Union, stemming from a practical concern from parents across a number of European countries to provide the means to enable an easier transfer of pedagogical experiences when children were travelling from one country to another. Its conceptual roots are strongly predicated on cultural and educational values, not political ones. The subsequent adoption of the model by the then EC created opportunities, as well as challenges but the concept at the heart of their mission remains to these days sound and therefore bears little or no relation with the direction of travel of each of the countries that make up the geographical entity we refer to as Europe. Nevertheless given the current direction of travel in terms of EU matters, the Trustee decided in early 2020 to cease operations and close the Trust.

The Objectives of the ETEE were:

Excerpt from the Trust’s Deeds of Incorporation:

“The objects of the Trust are to advance education for the public benefit in multilingual education a) by supporting the establishment and development of schools and curricular programmes in England that will advance such education; b) by advancing the education of persons working in schools or any other institutions or services, or working otherwise in the field of education, to advance multilingual education; c) by promoting good practice in the training and education of teachers for multilingual education; d) by disseminating information and recommendations on good practice in the above field.”

In May 2020 we formally ceased operations and closed the English Trust for European Education having transferred all of our funds to the Association for Language Learning.

The information contained herein is therefore exclusively for archival purposes. For historical contact us please use the details in the contact us page.