Tallinn European School (), or TES, is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

, Accredited European School in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Founded in 2013, it is an all-through school which offers a multicultural and

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

education leading to the

European Baccalaureate The European Baccalaureate (or EB) is a bilingual educational diploma, which certifies the completion of secondary studies in a European School or Accredited European School by the Board of Governors of the intergovernmental organisation, "The ...

as its secondary leaving qualification. TES is Estonia's largest

international school International schools are private schools that promote education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterised by a multinational student body an ...

, and the first of the Accredited European Schools, found across the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, to be established in the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

Multilingual curriculum

Tallinn European School currently allows students to enrol in either the English-section or French-section. Students enrolled in the school are generally instructed in the language of the respective section. Students must choose from either English, French or

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for their second language, which becomes the language of instruction for

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

curriculum from the third-year secondary, as well as the optional

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

course available from fourth year. Students are also expected to take a third language upon entering the secondary school. Students whose

mother-tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

is not covered by a language section, are enrolled in the English section, and can opt for their mother-tongue in place of English-studies, taking English as their designated second language. At present TES provides classes in ten languages for mother-tongue or foreign language programmes.

History

Tallinn European School (TES) was founded in 2013 by the Innove Foundation, an independent "education competence centre" created by the Estonian Ministry of Finance. Initially based in a building at 2, Keevise Street, in the Tallinn subdisctrict of

Ülemiste Ülemiste is a subdistrict () in the district of Lasnamäe, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland ...

, the school moved to its current location at Tehnika 18, in the Tallinn subdisctrict of

Kelmiküla Kelmiküla (Estonian for ''"Rascal Village"'' or ''"Rogue Village"'') is a subdistrict () in the district of Põhja-Tallinn (North Tallinn), Tallinn, the capital of Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern ...

, in August 2018 following renovation of the buildings.

Campus and facilities

The school's campus includes a

canteen Canteen most often refers to: * Canteen (bottle), a water container * Cafeteria, a type of food service location within an institution in which there is little or no waiting staff table service * A complete set of cutlery comprising knives, forks, ...

, a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

and a

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

, in addition to around 40

classrooms A classroom, schoolroom or lecture room is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other place ...

. It consists of three blocks (A,B, and C), with a total floor surface area of 7,200

square metres The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter ( American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square ...

Railway heritage

Block A, originally built in 1880 for the "Tallinn Railway Technical School", is listed for conservation under Estonian law. A separate wooden structure, built in 1895, which constituted the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

school's main building no longer stands. Block A incorporates elements of

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

, including a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

, neo-Gothic arch windows, and

stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

s. The wooden ceilings, windows, and hinges were restored during renovations. Between 1926 and 1937, the building was used by the

Tallinn French School Tallinn French School or Tallinn French Lyceum (), is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school in Tallinn, Estonia. It offers Education in Estonia#Basic Comprehensive education, primary (years 1-9) and Education in Estonia#Secondary educat ...

, before, what was now the "Tallinn Railway Vocational School", reoccupied the building in 1939. The school building caught fire in 1969, and was reconstructed in 1978, with the addition of a new four-

storey A storey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or story (American English), is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the wor ...

study hall, connected directly to the historical school building. Originally installed in 1974, a

Škoda Works The Škoda Works (, ) was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century. In 1859, Czech engineer Emil Škoda bought a foundry and machine factory in Plzeň, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary that had been established ten ye ...

, Kc4-100 model,

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

, is still displayed on the school grounds commemorating the campus' railway heritage.

Legal status

Tallinn European School is a private school owned by the "Foundation Euroopa Kool", established by the Republic of Estonia, and under the remit of the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research.

Accreditation

The Board of Governors of the European Schools signed an accreditation and cooperation agreement with TES on 11 February 2014, which accredited the schools' nursery and primary sections, and the secondary section up to the end of year 5 (age 16). The agreement extends to 31 August 2019, when upon it will require renewal. A separate agreement was signed with TES on 21 May 2013 extending the accreditation status to secondary years 6 and 7, and enabling the school to formally offer the European Baccalaureate as its secondary leaving qualification. This agreement is valid until 31 August 2020. In concordance with the rigorous accreditation process, accredited schools are routinely audited by the Boards of Inspectors of the European Schools, with the TES' last audit taking place between 10 and 14 April 2017.

Relationship with the European Commission

TES is recognised as a "Type II" European School by the European Union (EU), permitting it to receive funds proportional to the number of pupils of EU staff enrolled in the school. The arrangement was made in large part due to the proximity of the EU's agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA).

References

External links

*
About Accredited European Schools
{{European Schools Accredited European Schools Schools in Tallinn Educational institutions established in 2013 2013 establishments in Estonia