Brussels, 01/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Back-to-school preparations are now beginning or have already taken place in several European countries. On 1 September, the Eurydice network published two new studies on the organisation of the school academic year in 37 European countries in the fields of primary and secondary education (in the first study) and higher, university and non-university in the other (second study). Eurydice points out “Indeed the timing of school year varies between different countries and regions more than you may imagine because of differences in culture, tradition and climate”.
For primary and secondary education, Eurydice makes the following remarks: 1) many European countries structure the school year in a similar way, with the school year beginning at the beginning of September in the majority of countries; 2) the four major periods of school holidays (excluding summer holidays) differ, however, in many member states, with regard to the length of holiday, the specific calendars adopted, except for the winter holidays; 3) regional and local variations also exist in certain member states regarding the planning of holidays; 4) major variations exist in European countries with regard to summer holidays, with regard to the length of these holidays, as well as with regard to the calendar; 5) primary and secondary education respect the same structure of school holidays, apart from a few slight differences in some countries. With regard to higher education, Eurydice compares the structure of the academic year involving the establishments in different European countries, the holiday and exam periods and the differences that exist between university and non-university levels. (Isabelle Lamberty)