Getting Gaston Thorn with Peter Jeffreys

Mom Life is a new parenting podcast dedicated to helping English speaking parents in Luxembourg. From crèches to crémant, we’ll cover everything you need to know about living your best life in the Grand Duchy.

In season 2 I’ll still be highlighting some great 'momprenuers' and mom stories, but I’ll also be focusing a lot on schools here in Luxembourg. Specifically, the English language options.

Choosing the right school for your kid is one of the most important decisions you can make as an expat. It not only shapes their education which will influence their adult life and career, but also their culture, sense of belonging, and well-being (or lack thereof).

It is my goal this season to interview a parent from one of each of the English language options in the country.

In this episode, I sit down with father of two, Peter Jeffreys, to hear his thoughts on the primary section of International School Gaston Thorn.

Peter is British and has lived in Luxembourg for many years. His wife is Spanish with Italian grandparents, so languages, (although not the official ones in Luxembourg) were of huge importance for him and his family when choosing a school.

If you’re just learning about Gaston Thorn, here are the basics: The international School Gaston Thorn is a public (meaning free) European school located in the city centre of Luxembourg in Cessange. It offers a school system that reflects the diversity of the population living in the country’s capital city and meets the needs of students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Its teaching methods offer great flexibility in language learning and give a greater number of students a better chance of succeeding academically and, beyond that, of integrating socially.

Children start taking most of their classes in their Language 1 (L1) but simultaneously start working on their Language 2, and as they grow, more and more classes are given in their Language 2 (L2). The idea is that by the time they graduate, students would be able to attend a university where the classes are taught in their L2.

Students will take the European Baccalaureate exams in order to graduate.

The school is only about two years old, and so has very limited space. They are operating out of Cessagne but have plans to build out a bigger campus in the future. Peter feels lucky that they were able to get a spot in the inaugural class. The demand for the school now is extremely high and they have several applications for every placement.

In this episode, Peter shares his son's journey from a work creche in German to St George's for preschool, and then ultimately to Gaston Thorn for primary school. We discuss the things he likes and loves about the school, as well as the areas which he feels need improvement. We talk about the bus system, the after school foyer system, and we cover how the school can support a neurodivergent child and how it’s different from the local system.

My hope for this episode is that you’ll get more out of this interview than what you could find on google or an online forum. It’s a candid one on one conversation about what’s working and what’s not with the school.

Obviously this is just one parent’s opinion, so it’s all subjective, but I do hope you’ll find it helpful.

If you’re considering the International School of Luxembourg for your kids in the future or are curious about what it’s really like to go there – you’ll definitely want to tune in to this episode!

Please give it a listen and let me know what you think. You can reach me via email: momlife@rtltoday.lu, Facebook, or on Instagram. 

Now what are you waiting for – listen on RTL Play, iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.