THE FRENCH and German ambassadors joined forces yesterday to open a new Eurocampus building in south Dublin.
The campus brings together Lycée Français d’Irlande (LFI) and St Kilian’s German School at Roebuck Road, Clonskeagh.
The campus has students from more than 30 nationalities.
Eurocampus says that its mission is the education of the European citizens of tomorrow, well-balanced, mature and confident individuals who are prepared for the multilingual, multicultural environment that awaits them.
The new building has already won substantial architectural and media praise for its innovative design.
St Kilian’s German School is a member of the network of German schools abroad.
It was founded in 1952 and has operated in Dublin as a school for young Europeans.
Founded in 1967, LFI operates under the aegis of the French ministry for foreign affairs and is run with AEFE (Agency for French Education Abroad).
With a combined total of about 75 students a year in the junior cycle, the students are separated into three classes each with 25 students – two-thirds of whom come from St Kilian’s and one-third from the LFI.
At the end of third year, the students from LFI sit both the Brevet and the Junior Certificate while those of St Kilian’s sit the Junior Certificate as well as an option to sit the Deutsche Sprachdiplom.
In the senior cycle, students on the Eurocampus can opt to sit the Leaving Certificate, the bilingual Leaving Certificate (German/ English) or the French Baccalauréat exams.
Eurocampus has football grounds, an allweather hockey pitch and tennis courts.
Those attending yesterday’s campus opening included Minister of State for Integration Conor Lenihan, the German ambassador to Ireland Christian Pauls and the French ambassador to Ireland, Yvon Roé d’Albert.