Cities / Munich / European School Munich
European School Munich
State-funded European School operating under EU government supervision, offering seven language sections (English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Greek, Italian) from Kindergarten to the European Baccalaureate. Fees for the 2026/27 year run from EUR 4,458 (Kindergarten) to EUR 8,358 (Secondary), with…
In brief
ESM is one of the official European Schools, founded in 1977 to serve children of European Patent Office staff and located in Neuperlach in southeastern Munich. Around 2,000 students, multilingual from nursery through to the European Baccalaureate, with seven primary language sections.
Admission runs in three categories: children of European Patent Office, EU institution staff, and ESM teachers come first and pay no fees, followed by individual-agreement families, and finally a limited Category III intake for fee-paying families when class sizes allow. Category III fees scale with grade and run from roughly EUR 4,400 to EUR 8,200 per year.
Families inside the priority categories describe a multilingual environment where children move between sections at break and pick up languages naturally, alongside strong subject teaching from European-trained staff. Where parents push back hardest is on pastoral handling of bullying cases. Best fit for EU-affiliated families with automatic priority access; less obviously the right choice for fee-paying outsiders who could pick a more pastorally tight school for similar money.
Fees
| Fee | Age | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten (Category III, private pupils) | 4 | Annual | €4,370 |
| Primary (Category III, private pupils) | 6 | Annual | €6,009 |
| Secondary (Category III, private pupils) | 11 | Annual | €8,195 |
Reviews
- One alumna who graduated from the Munich school told r/Bangkok she came out fluent in "Dutch, German, French and English" courtesy of the school. The multilingual outcome is the consistent positive.
- The biggest specific parent complaint, posted in early 2025, is that children in non-German sections (Spanish in this case) often leave the school without functional German after years on roll. The parent wrote that limited German hits children's confidence "when going out on their own or making friends outside their small group from school".
- A separate review platform claims teachers look the other way on bullying and that the school psychologist sides with the institution rather than pupils. The school's official response is the KiVa anti-bullying programme and a SMiLe-Team contact point.
- Admission is a recurring issue. EU-institution and European Patent Office children take priority; other expat families are often turned down for lack of space, especially in the English and German sections.
- Parent reviews on third-party platforms describe primary classes of around 23 in the English Section, with happy children and an active extracurricular programme.
- Some local reviewers volunteer that the school is "posh but not so much" as Munich International School. It sits between the EU/diplomat circuit and the bilingual market, which is unusual for Munich.
Head of school
Anton Hrovath
Anton Hrovath has served as the Director of the European School Munich since September 2019. Prior to his current role, he held the position of Deputy Director at the same institution for eight years, from 2011 to 2019. His professional experience is extensively tied to the European Schools system (Schola Europaea). He earned his Magister degree in Geography and History from the University of Vienna, where he studied between 1985 and 1992. As Director, he oversees the school's commitment to providing multilingual and multicultural education to the children of employees of European institutions and other eligible students in Munich.