1.

Introduction
In Europe there are three main compulsory education systems :

 A single-structured type of education;

Education is provided from the beginning to the end of compulsory schooling, with no transition between
primary and lower secondary education, and with general education provided in common for all pupils.

 A provision of a common basic curriculum;

After successful completion of primary education, all students progress to the lower secondary level where
they follow the same general common core curriculum.

 A type of diversified lower secondary education;

After successful completion of primary education, students are required to follow distinct educational
pathways or specific types of schooling, either at the beginning or during lower secondary education. In
some countries students follow different tracks in vocational, technical or general education. In others,
they are enrolled in different types of general education. Where at the end of studies they receive different
levels of certificate.

2. France
It used to be commonly accepted that the French Education system was one of the best in the world.
Today, though any such a bold overall affirmation must be open to question, it is still true to say that the
French education system is one of the more successful in the world, and that in certain fields it remains a
world leader. According to the OECD, France's education system is average, compared to other
developed-countries from the continent.
Education is compulsory in France from the ages of 6 to 16, but a large majority of children start school
well before the minimum age, often as young as two years old, and over 50% of 18-21 year olds in France
are still in full-time education, or else following a vocational training course. Some 64% of all school
pupils in France complete their secondary education, and take the high-school leaving certificate
examinations, known as the baccalauréat or the baccalauréat professionnel. The official target - estimated
as necessary for the needs of the nation - is 80%.
Ecole Maternelle (kindergarten) and creches;
Kindergarten or pre-school. Ecoles Maternelles take pupils from age 2 to age 6, and prepare them for entry
into primary school. The French école maternelle is more than just a playschool; the curriculum includes
reading and writing, numeracy and even sometimes a foreign language, as well as artistic and creative
activities. There are three classes, "les petits", "les moyens" and "les grands".

Prior to nursery schools, there are also a lot of private and public nurseries, called crèches. These daycare
centers keep babies from 2 months to 3 years old, until they can attend the Ecole Maternelle. There ares
everal types of crèches (Crèches Collectives, Haltes-Garderies, Micro-Crèches, Crèches Parentales, etc.)
providing different services (regular or temporary child care), size (from 10 to 60 children) and
management (crèches Parentales require the parents to help). There are more than 11,000 Crèches in
France, but getting a slot can be hard, and mothers are advised to look for a slot as soon as they are
pregnant. Other alternatives exist, Assitantes Maternelles can keep 3 or 4 infants at their home and are
recognized by the French State.

Collège:
Middle school. Four levels, normally for pupils aged 11 - 15. The "collège unique" is the backbone of the
French school system. All pupils go to collège, usually at age 11, but sometimes at an older age, if they
have been made to repeat a year in primary school. The collège is designed to provide all pupils with a
fundamental secondary education, after which a certain degree of specialisation will be introduced. In
practice, pupils are frequently oriented during their collège years either towards general classes, from
which they will be expected to continue their education in a traditional lycée, or towards more technical
classes, after which they will be expcted to take an exam called the "brevet" (a kind of GCSE), and then
either stop their secondary education (if they have reached school leaving age), or continue in a "lycée
professionnel" or vocational high school. The curricula in collège includes French, math, history,
geography, technical education, art/music, physical education, civic education, some science, and at least
one foreign language. The four classes, corresponding to grades 6 to 9, are called sixième, cinquième,
quatrième and troisième, which is the equivalent for 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grade.

Lycée:
High School. The traditional French lycée covers the last three years of secondary education. There are
two main types of traditional lycée, the lycée général or lycée classique, and the lycée technique. In big
towns and cities, there will be a mix of both types; in smaller towns, there may not be a lycée tehnique.
The main function of the lycée is to prepare pupils to sit the baccalaureate (or BAC) exam, the equivalent
of British A levels. Classes in a traditional lycée cover the same range as in college, with the addition of
philosophy (for all) in the final year. The three classes (grades 10 to 12) are known as seconde, première
and terminale.
In theory, all public lycées offer the same quality of education, in the framework of of the national
education system, and private lycées have to provide the same quality; in practice, this is not strictly true,
and "league tables" published each year highlight the very high performance levels of a number of lycées
that are commonly recognized as France's top schools.

Universities:
In virtually all countries in the world, the pinnacle of the education system, the institutions providing the
finest centres of excellence, are universities. Not so in France. While France has close to a hundred
universities, most of them able to hold their own as regards teaching and research with universities in
other parts of Europe, the peak of the education pinnacle in France is represented by the country's "Grandes
Ecoles", relatively small and highly selective "schools" (in the American sense of the word) which provide
a cosseted higher education to the nation's future elites - tomorrow's "haut fonctionnaires" (senior civil
servants), leaders of industry, top military brass, top politicians, engineers, physicists and others. In spite
of the national preocupation with equality and equal opportunities, the top end of the French higher
education systems is elitist.

Grading system
The grading in the French education system is entirely standardized. All marks or grades for assignments,
tests, or exams are out of twenty, and the pass mark is 10/20. This goes from junior school through to
postgraduate level.
Grade inflation is not as big a problem in France as in some countries, and a mark of over 15/20 remains
exceptionally good. However, grade inflation at the Baccalaureate has become an issue since the late
1990s, as figures from the French Ministry of Education show.
The grading system was first set up in for the Baccalaureate in the year 1830, and has not changed in over
170 years - surely a world record! The grades are as follows:
 10-11.99: "passable" or a simple pass.
 12-13.99: "mention assez bien", or a good pass.
 14-15.99: "mention bien", or a pass with merit.
 16 or higher: "mention très bien", or pass with distinction.

3. Denmark
The education system in Denmark is financed by the state and the municipalities. Some institutions,
including the upper secondary education institutions, are independent and self-governing, while others are
owned by the state or the municipalities.
Education is largely the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education
and Science.
National legislation covers the aims and framework of education, funding and in some cases curricula,
examinations and staffing.

The Ministry of Education is responsible for setting up the framework for curricula at primary and
secondary level. However, the contents of the courses are finalized by the teachers themselves, with their
pupils. The Ministry of Education oversees the municipal primary and lower secondary school
("Folkeskole") in collaboration with the municipal councils.
The Danish education system consists of the following stages

 Primary and lower secondary education

 Upper secondary education
 Higher education

Primary and lower secondary education

The state school in Denmark is the municipal, which combines primary and lower secondary
education from Year 0 to Year 10. The pre-school year is obligatory, and represents the transition
from kindergarten or day care activities to primary school. Students are evaluated on a regular basis
and must complete a number of tests at different stages of their compulsory schooling.
Upper secondary education
Upper secondary education covers 2 to 5 years of education. There are 3 choices for 16-19 year-
olds covered by the umbrella term youth education programmes:
 General Upper Secondary School.
 Technical and Commercial Upper Secondary School.
 Vocational Education and Training.
Youth education programmes provide the student with various levels of vocational training as well
as educational and personal qualifications. There are 4 different types of upper secondary education
programmes in Denmark:
1. STX - gymnasium.
2. HHX - higher commercial examination programme.
3. HTX - higher technical examination programme.
4. HF - higher preparatory examination.

Higher education

Public higher education institutions in Denmark are regulated by national legislation concerning
degree structures, teacher qualifications and examinations. Accreditation in higher education is
undergoing transition from programme-based accreditation to institutional accreditation.
Programmes and institutions are accredited by national, independent accreditation agencies and the
Accreditation Council. Higher education institutions
Higher education is offered by five types of higher education institutions:
1. Business academies offering professionally oriented short cycle and first cycle degree
programmes.
2. University Colleges offering professionally oriented first cycle degree programmes.
3. Maritime Education and Training Institutions offering professionally oriented short cycle and
first cycle degree programmes.
4. General and specialized research universities offering first, second and third cycle degree
programmes in academic disciplines.
5. University level institutions offering first, second and third cycle degree programmes in subject
fields such as architecture, design, music, and fine and performing arts.
Most higher education institutions are regulated by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.
The Ministry of Culture regulates a number of higher education institutions offering programmes
within fine and performing arts.
Grading
The 7-point grading scale
The grading system used in all state-regulated education programmes as of September 2007 is the
7-point grading scale. Apart from the 7-point grading scale, pass/fail assessment may also be used.
2 is the minimum grade for passing an exam.
Description of grades:
12: For an excellent performance displaying a high level of command of all aspects of the relevant
material, with no or only a few minor weaknesses;
10: For a very good performance displaying a high level of command of most aspects of the relevant
material, with only minor weaknesses;
7: For a good performance displaying good command of the relevant material but also some
weaknesses;
4: For a fair performance displaying some command of the relevant material but also some major
weaknesses;
2: For a performance meeting only the minimum requirements for acceptance;
0: For a performance which does not meet the minimum requirements for acceptance;
-3: For a performance which is unacceptable in all respects.

4. The Netherlands
Education is compulsory in the Netherlands between the ages of 5 and 16. The instruction language is
Dutch, but more and more schools and universities teach in English. Children in the Netherlands get 8
years of primary education, 4, 5 or 6 years of secondary education (depending on the type of school). After
secondary school they can go on to vocational education or higher education.

There are both public and private institutions at all levels of the education system; the private institutions
are mostly based on religious or ideological principles.
 Primary education

In the Netherlands children may go to primary school from the age of four. Most children go to primary
school for eight years. Children with learning difficulties can go to a special school for primary education.
Special education may be the best option for children who need more support. Since August 2014 schools
have a duty of care to offer all pupils an appropriate place. This is referred to as appropriate education.

Primary schools must provide teaching in:

 Dutch;
 English;
 Arithmetic and mathematics;
 Social and environmental studies (including geography, history, biology, citizenship, road safety and
political studies);
 Creative expression (including music, drawing and handicrafts);
 Sport and movement.

Secondary education
At the age of 12 children go to one of the following types of secondary education:

 preparatory vocational secondary education - 4 years in duration

 senior general secondary education - 5 years in duration
 university preparatory education - 6 years in duration

Bilingual secondary schools

There are more and more bilingual secondary schools. At these schools at least 50% of the subjects are
taught in English. The children speak English during for instance geography or history lessons, or during
physical education.
The schools still follow the Dutch curriculum and the children need to take the Dutch school-leaving
exams. Almost half of the curricular subjects are therefore still taught in Dutch.

The acquisition of a second language (English) is not the only goal in bilingual education. The schools
also usually have a more international focus than regular Dutch schools. Bilingual education integrates
this international focus into the curriculum: this is referred to as European and International Orientation.

Vocational education and training (VET)

The Dutch vocational educatiob sector consists of 70 colleges.

 Regionale Opleidingencentra (ROCs) are multidisciplinary colleges offering VET in technology,

economics, personal/social services, health care and adult education.
 Agricultural VET colleges offer vmbo and VET in agriculture and food technology.
 Specialized VET colleges offer programmes for a specific branch of industry, such as graphic
design, butchery, house painting, furniture painting and transport.

Duration and levels

The duration of VET programmes varies from six months to four years, depending on the level and the
requirements. There are four VET levels:

 Level 1: entry level

 Level 2: basic vocational training
 Level 3: full professional training
 Level 4: middle-management and specialized training
There are two VET learning pathways:

1. The school-based pathway (BOL)

2. The work-based pathway (BBL)
Work Based Learning (WBL) is compulsory in both pathways and can only be offered by a recognized
training company

Higher education

Dutch higher education is based around a binary system that distinguishes between research-oriented
higher education and higher professional education. This distinction remained in place after the
introduction of the bachelor's-master's degree structure in 2002. Research universities mainly provide
academic or research-oriented higher education, while universities of applied sciences mainly offer higher
professional education. These 2 types of education each have their own admission requirements, duration
and official titles.

There are 3 types of universities of applied sciences and research universities in the Netherlands:
1. Government-funded higher education institutions
Government-funded institutions are financed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and are
entitled to issue legally recognized degrees. These institutions offer study programmes for the statutory
tuition fee.
2. Approved institutions
Approved institutions, such as Nyenrode Business Universiteit, do not receive funding from the Dutch
government but may also issue legally recognized bachelors and master's degrees. These institutions are
not bound by statutory tuition fees, and are free to determine their own tuition fees.
3. Private institutions
Private institutions, such as international universities, are not bound by Dutch government regulations.
However, these institutions may apply for accreditation by the Accreditation Organisation of the
Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO), subject to specific conditions.
Grading
In the Netherlands, the traditional grading scale is from 1 through to 10, where 1 is the lowest and 10 the
highest grade. The pass mark for a single subject is 6, but for school leaving examinations, where six or
more subjects are examined, two 5s or one 4 may be condoned if compensated by high grades in other
subjects. Grades 1 through to 4 are very rarely given, and the same is true for grades 9 and 10. The most
common grades in both secondary and higher education are 6 and 7. Grading in secondary and higher
education differs to the extent that high grades are slightly less frequent in secondary education than in
higher education.

5. Conclusions

References:
European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2018. The Structure of the European Education Systems
2018/19: Schematic Diagrams. Eurydice Facts and Figures. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the
European Union

https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/transparency-tools/europass/diploma-
supplement/standardbeskrivelse-danish-higher-education-system.pdf
https://international.kk.dk/artikel/how-danish-school-system-structured
https://www.nuffic.nl/en/subjects/education-in-the-netherlands/