Celebrating over 30 years excellence in education

Over three decades St George’s has evolved from a small school with 12 students on the top floor of a rented building to more than 850 students representing 70+ countries in a purpose-built facility in Hamm.

The school recently celebrated 34 years and is proud of its continued growth and excellence in education. Below you will see a brief timeline portraying some of the school's highlights over the past three decades.

St George's History Timeline

A Detailed History of St George's

1987 - 1990 The Foundation of St George's

St George's English School was founded in 1990 by Anthony Barlow and John Jackson. Mr Barlow, formally a business manager and Dr Jackson, an educationalist formerly from the British School of Brussels, saw a strong demand from expatriate British parents to establish 'a school for children ages 3-11 that followed the English National Curriculum'. In 1987, they entered negotiations with the Grand Duchy and the Municipality to fill this void. And so, with much determination and faith, St George’s English School was established in September 1990 to fulfill the needs of a British primary education in Luxembourg. Initially St George's was located in rented accommodation in Bonnevoie and opened its doors to 12 students and three staff. St George’s aim was to provide small classes with beneficial teacher-student ratios in a caring and welcoming environment.

1991 - 1995 Pictures Can Say A Thousand Words

First Class of St George's - Photo taken in 1991 — The first class of St George's in a photograph taken in 1991.

St George’s Royal Encounter

Princess Diana in 1993 — Princess Diana photographed chatting with St George's students in 1993.

In September 1993 St George's students had the privilege of meeting Princess Diana while she was visiting the St George's stand at the 'Britain in Luxembourg' Exhibition.

1996 - 1997 Rapid Expansion

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester opened the new site in Weimershof in 1997.

St George's experienced rapid expansion over the first six years due to the school's ability to cater for the varied needs of students between the ages of 2.5 and 11. In September 1996 St George’s moved to Luxembourg-Cents giving the school space to 'spread its wings'.

St George's appointed a new Headteacher, Mr J.D. Boyce, and was able to operate a special needs programme for students with learning difficulties in parallel with its mainstream classes. This included intensive assistance for students who joined with little or no English.

1998 - 2000 Royal Visitors and a 10-Year Anniversary

Eight years and four Headmasters after its foundation, St George’s flourished with over 60 students in its own purpose-built facility. The students attending St George’s were no longer exclusively British. With more than 50 percent of the student body representing 15 different nationalities, St George's English School quickly became St George's International School. In September 1999, St George’s appointed a new Headteacher, Mr Barry Dixon. The school also had the honour of a royal visit. Princess Anne and Crown Princess Maria Theresa took the time to visit classrooms, and speak with the students, parents and staff. Princess Anne also planted a tree in the Early Years playground to commemorate her visit.

''St George’s is a small school where children are happy and standards of learning and behaviour are high. Many dragons have been slain over the years and today it stands on the threshold of a secure and successful future. It represents the best of the English Primary education in the heartland of Europe.'' – J. Jackson, founder of St George’s, 1999.

The school continued to develop its scope of activities, with its large range of clubs and societies. In October 2000, St George’s celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

2001 - 2004 Entering a New Era

The school's enrolment continued to grow rapidly and during the 2000-2001 academic year St George’s changed its legal status to an ASBL, this being the most usual legal entity for an independent school. Control of the school was entrusted to a newly appointed Board of Trustees (Conseil D’administration), which took over the management responsibilities. A new Chairman of the Board was also appointed externally as well as a new Headteacher, Mrs Heather Duxbury.

It became evident during the year that with the continuing growth there was an urgent need to provide additional classrooms, so the first set of Portacabins were delivered to Weimershof. They became such a long-term fixture that it was eventually impossible to imagine the site without them. At the beginning of the school year in 2003, St George’s was able to expand to include its first Year 7 class.

A Royal Visit

A major highlight of the 2003 school year was a visit from Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. He took time to interact with the students and meet the staff.

2005 - 2007 Three Separate Campuses

Over the years the demand to extend into the Secondary cycle of education continued to increase. To provide more building space, the Ville de Luxembourg granted a temporary campus for students in Beggen. These Portacabins provided additional accommodation for two classrooms for Years 7 to 9 plus a library and science facilities. Between 2003 and 2005 the student population doubled, from 122 students to 229 students. Recognising the need for a single campus rather than two separate sites, the Ville de Luxembourg secured a permanent site in Hamm to cater for the large expansion. The new site in Hamm eventually replaced the Portacabins in Weimershof and Beggen. The initial capacity in Hamm was designed to take on 450 students with the possibility of expanding its facilities in the future.

From September 2006 St George’s offered students the opportunity to study the UK GCSE programme. St George’s also became a full member of the Council of British Independent Schools (COBIS) in the European communities by meeting the criteria for the provision of quality education, as determined by the Council. Staff levels grew exponentially from 17 in 2001 to 54 in 2007.

One of the most exciting days in the history of
St George’s

In April 2007, a selected few students along with the Headteacher, Heather Duxbury, joined members of the school board, British Ambassador James Clark and Birgit Wachhorst from architecture firm Francoise Folmer & Associates for a tour of the construction site for the new school in Hamm.

2008 - 2012 A Turning Point

Emerging as the St George's campus we know today, the new location in Hamm opened its doors to 379 students and 58 members of staff with the completion of the Hamilius building in 2008. The first GCSE exams were also taken on the premises. In the following years, St George’s continued to expand. The Lentz building opened in 2009, offering much-needed space for Secondary students.

In 2011 the construction of the Barthel building was completed, providing spacious, well-equipped laboratories and classrooms that further enhanced the learning experience for students. The school flourished with 622 students and 125 staff members. In 2012, Luxembourgish was taught for the first time to students in Years 5 and 6.

2013 - A Vibrant, International Community

2022 and Beyond

Looking Ahead

Today St George’s is thriving more than ever. The school is an inclusive, vibrant international community, boasting over 850 students aged from 3 to 18+ years and more than 200 members of staff. St George's was rated 'excellent' by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in 2015, 2018 and again in 2022. The school was greatly praised on its teaching, leadership and student achievement, and our graduates can be found at renowned universities and in successful careers all over the world.

St George's is in the process of building a new gymnasium named after Luxembourgish world champion road bike racer, Elsy Jacobs. The building is due to be completed in 2025. For more information on the gymnasium please view our presentation here.

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