Our History

St George's English School was founded in 1990 by Anthony Barlow and John Jackson. Mr Barlow, a former 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 need for 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.

St George's opened in 1990 and was located in rented accommodation on Bonnevoie.

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

St George's appointed a new Headteacher, JD 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.

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

In September 1996, St George's moved to Cents.

Eight years and four Headmasters after its foundation, St George’s flourished with more than 60 students in its own purpose-built facility. The students attending St George’s were no longer exclusively British. With more than half of the student body representing 15 different nationalities, St George's English School became St George's International School. In September 1999, St George’s appointed a new Headteacher, 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, wrote in 1999.

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

Princess Anne visited classrooms and spoke with students during her visit in 1999.

Princess Anne planted a tree in the Early Years playground to commemorate her visit.

St George's celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2000.

The school's enrolment grew rapidly and during the 2000-2001 academic year St George’s changed its legal status to an ASBL, meaning we are a not-for-profit entity. 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, 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 and introduce a Secondary section.

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

The first set of portacabins were delivered to the Weimershof site.

Prince Edward visited St George's in 2003.

The demand for Secondary education continued to grow: 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 provided us with a permanent site in Hamm. This new site eventually replaced the Portacabins in Weimershof and Beggen. The initial facility in Hamm catered for 450 students with the possibility of expanding 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). The staff expanded from 17 in 2001 to 54 in 2007.

Beggen.

Portacabins in Hamm.

Work started on a new permanent site in Hamm.

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. St George’s continued to expand, opening the Lentz building in 2009 and offering much-needed space for Secondary students.

In 2011 the construction of the Barthel building was completed, providing spacious, well-equipped laboratories and classrooms for our Secondary section. 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.

The Hamilius building opened in 2008.

2013 marked Mrs Duxbury's departure and the arrival of the school's first Principal, Dr Christian Barkei.  

In September 2016 the school opened the Zinnen building, named after the composer of Luxembourg's national anthem. The building has a state-of-the-art auditorium, dedicated music rooms, and large, spacious classrooms for Year 6 Primary students, as well as the Secondary Library and Secondary English department.

Zinnen building with auditorium opened in 2016.

From 2017, the school continued to expand its Secondary programme, offering a wider range of GCSE and A-level subjects. Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021 brought unprecedented challenges for staff and students. Students and staff alike were able to adapt effectively to remote learning and teaching. Once schools reopened, social distancing and safety measures such as mask-wearing and isolation periods changed the way we interacted as well as worked.

In October 2020, St George's hosted a visit by Prince Guillaume, the newly crowned Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. 

Prince Guillaume visited in 2020.

Students and staff made a commitment to the planet in October 2021 with the signing of the School Climate Pledge before the then-Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development Carole Dieschbourg and British Ambassador Fleur Thomas. The School Climate Pledge is a commitment to significantly reduce carbon emissions with a goal of net zero.  

In May 2023 St George's hosted Luxembourg's official event to mark the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom. More than 450 people watched the Coronation on big screens in the playground and Auditorium, and enjoyed traditional British food and drinks.  

After 11 years at the helm, St George's bid farewell to Dr Barkei at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. He is succeeded by Zeba Clarke, who joined the school in August 2024 after a varied career in British and international education.

St George's signed a School Climate Pledge in 2021.

St George's hosted Luxembourg's official event to mark the coronation of King Charles III in the United Kingdom.

Today St George’s continues to thrive. The school is an inclusive, welcoming, vibrant international community of more than 850 students aged from 3 to 18+ years, and over 200 members of staff. The school is regularly acknowledged for its teaching, leadership and student achievement by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) and COBIS.  

We take pride in the achievements of our alumni, who make their mark at respected universities around the world and are forging careers in science, business and entrepreneurship as well as sustainability, the creative arts and human rights.

We also seek collaboration and partnership with local schools and businesses, as we are committed to supporting and enhancing Luxembourg's ambitious educational landscape.

2025 is a big year for St George's. To mark its 35-year anniversary, the school unveiled a new logo, motto and set of values to carry it into the next 35 years and beyond. A new building named after Luxembourgish world champion road bike racer, Elsy Jacobs, is due to open this year, boasting a large sports hall with changing facilities, classrooms and more.  

Future growth with the Elsy Jacobs building.