Around 55,000 students are currently enrolled in Luxembourg’s high schools, but the country’s continued growth means that figure is set to rise sharply. By 2050, an additional 17,500 students could be seeking a place, and the current infrastructure will quickly render schools at full capacity.
To address this, eleven new high schools are to be built across the Grand Duchy over the next 24 years, as Minister of Education and Spatial Planning Claude Meisch explained to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday morning. A new sectoral plan for high schools is currently being drawn up.
The pressure is not only a long-term concern. Over the past six years, Luxembourg’s high schools have absorbed an average of 1,100 additional students per year, the equivalent of a medium-sized school every twelve months. Meisch was clear that notable shortages will emerge as early as the 2027 school year if nothing is done in the short term. To bridge this gap, the government plans to create approximately 1,100 additional places by 2027 through the expansion of four existing schools: the Lycée Technique d’Ettelbruck, the Lycée Josy Barthel, the École de Commerce et de Gestion, and the Anne Beffort International School in Mersch.
The precise locations of the eleven new high schools have yet to be finalised, but the broad picture is already taking shape. According to Christian Ginter from the Education Ministry, the northern Éislek would need a new high school by 2050, but the south of the country faces the greatest pressure, with up to four new sites potentially needed there. Additional schools are also required in the north, in Mersch, in Steinfort, in the Centre region, in the Moselle region and surroundings, and two further schools are planned for the east, in the Lintgen, Mullerthal and Moselle area.
The government intends to apply two guiding principles to the siting of new schools. First, they should be located close to where students live in order to minimise travel. Second, each region should, as far as possible, benefit from a comprehensive school offering, including vocational training and specialist fields, Claude Meisch explained.
Over the course of this legislative period, three new international schools are set to open their doors, one of which will be located in Schifflange. A European School is also planned for the west of the country, a region currently lacking an international offering, with Redange-sur-Attert and Steinfort under discussion as potential sites. The third international school remains largely on the drawing board, Meisch added.
The calendar presents its own difficulties. Minister of Public Works Yuriko Backes noted that while a high school takes approximately three years to build, the planning process alone can take up to five years given the complexity of the procedures involved.
