September means back to school for millions of pupils, teachers and families across Europe. But while the ritual may be familiar, the reality behind it can look surprisingly different from one country to another.

When does the school year start? How many hours do pupils spend in the classroom? How are education systems structured? What do young children learn before they even reach primary school? And what can teachers expect to earn as their careers progress?

Eurydice has a wealth of recently updated data and resources to help answer these questions.

How much time do pupils actually spend at school?

The start of the school year is an obvious place to begin. Eurydice’s data and visuals on “The School Year in Europe: Recommended compulsory instruction time and holidays” brings together information from 39 education systems.

Interactive maps make it possible to compare when the school year starts, how holidays are distributed, and how much flexibility countries have in organising their curricula. The data also show annual compulsory instruction time by country and education level, a useful reminder that the amount of time pupils spend learning can vary considerably across Europe.

42 education systems at a glance

Understanding these differences also means understanding how national education systems are organised.

Eurydice’s interactive schematic diagrams visualise the structure of 42 European education systems, from early childhood education and school education through to tertiary level. Updated with data for the 2026/2027 school year, this edition also includes Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine for the first time.

Users can filter the diagrams to explore education systems from early childhood education and care (ECEC) through to higher education, including compulsory education, vocational education and training, and the different pathways available to learners, making complex national systems much easier to compare at a glance.

What happens before primary school matters too

Learning, of course, starts well before the first day of primary school.

A new Eurydice insight paper on early childhood education and care (ECEC) curricula looks at what guides children's learning and development during these crucial early years.

One finding stands out: in 2025/2026, a quarter of European education systems still had no curriculum for childcare settings typically enrolling children under three. The paper also identifies evolving priorities across Europe, including basic skills, digital education, sustainability and citizenship, alongside inclusion, well-being, children's rights and more child-centred approaches.

For those wanting to dig deeper, Eurydice's updated 2026 system-level indicators also provide data on ECEC access, affordability and staff.

And what about the people at the front of the classroom?

Teachers are at the heart of every education system, and their working conditions matter for attracting and retaining qualified professionals.

The Eurydice interactive tool “Teachers’ and school heads’ salaries and allowances in Europe” lets users compare statutory salaries and career progression across 39 education systems through interactive maps and graphs. It also provides information on bonuses and financial benefits, as well as the minimum qualifications required to enter the teaching profession.

Going back to school also means going back to the basics

Behind these resources is a bigger question: are education systems giving every learner the foundations they need to succeed?

A new Eurydice video on underachievement in basic skills looks at how European countries are responding to challenges in literacy, mathematics and science. Based on the Eurydice report Addressing underachievement in literacy, mathematics and science: Policy changes in European school education since 2020, the video highlights three key findings and offers a quick way into the wider evidence.

So, as classrooms across Europe fill up again, why not take a few minutes to explore what “back to school” really means across European education systems?

From a child's first learning experiences to the structure of national education systems, classroom time, teachers' careers and the skills pupils need for the future, Eurydice turns comparable European data into insights that help us see the bigger picture. 
 
For a full overview, check out the latest edition of the Eurydice Voice newsletter on the back to school, back to basics!