Organisation

Luxembourg's elementary school is structured in 4 learning cycles, the last three of which are in primary education. This chapter deals with primary education, i.e. cycles 2 to 4 of elementary school:

• Cycle 2 concerns children aged 6 to 7 years
• Cycle 3 is for children aged 8 to 9 years
• Cycle 4 is for children aged 10 to 11.

Cycle 1 corresponds to pre-school education and is intended for children aged between 3 and 5 years and corresponds to early and pre-school education. The first year (early education) is optional. In Luxembourg, children have a legal right to schooling from the age of 3. Compulsory education begins at the age of 4.

Objectives

Public and private elementary education aim at gradually developing:

• Pupils’ competencies in languages, mathematics and science
• Their intellectual, emotional and social aptitudes as well as their capacity for judgement
• Their awareness of time and space as well as their understanding and respect for the world around them, gained through observation and experimentation
• Their motor skills, athletic and physical abilities
• Their manual, creative and artistic skills
• Their sense of citizenship, responsibility and respect for others.

Language learning

• In Cycle 1: development of oral skills in Luxembourgish (the main language of communication), the introduction of spoken French, placing value on the language spoken at home
• In Cycles 2 to 4: pupils learn to read and write in German. German being the reading language for all subjects (except French). Familiarisation with French continues in Cylce 2, but only oral skills. Learning written French starts in Cycle 3. 

The objective is to make learners able to pursue their education and to carry on learning throughout life.

The main laws concerning elementary education are:

• The modified law of 6 February 2009 on the organisation of elementary education
• The law of 27 June 2016 on elementary school staff
• The law of 20 July 2023 on compulsory schooling
• The grand-ducal regulation of 15 August 2023 establishing the study plan for the four cycles of elementary education.
   

Types of institutions

Primary education is provided by public, private and international elementary schools. Public schools' infrastructures and equipment, as well as operating costs are borne by the communes. Teachers' salaries and the facilities' initial construction costs are borne by the State. In accordance with the law, each elementary school has to provide the 4 learning cycles, maintain a library and ensure that students have access to information and communication technologies (ICT). A school may consist of one or several buildings.
The vast majority of elementary schools offering primary education in Luxembourg are public institutions. There is only one private school offering the official Luxembourg curriculum.

In 2023/24, out of a total of 61 528 pupils enrolled in elementary schools, 90% (55 527 pupils) were registered in public elementary schools. Of these, 96% (53 209 pupils) followed the Luxembourg national curriculum and 4% (2 318 pupils) were enrolled in an international curriculum offered within the public school system.
In that same school year, 10% (6 001 pupils) of all elementary school children were enrolled in private establishments, most of them (98%) in alternative educational pathways. Only 95 children enrolled in private schools were following the official national curriculum.