The aim of our S6 Careers seminar was to encourage students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and to explore possible areas of study and future careers. We tried to show them the range of possibilities that exist and the careful planning needed for successful study and careers after the Bac. This year, it was held from the 28th to 30th June 2017.

We started with a session about choice of written and oral examinations and also looked at the complex calculation of the European Baccalaureate. We then helped students choose a university course. After that we looked at possibilities for study in a range of countries including Germany, Austria, UK, Netherlands, Italy and Sweden. Consideration was given to application procedures, what to look for in a university and course structures and assessment procedures.

Under the title "Working in Europe" we heard presentations from four guests who described their jobs and the study and career path that led them there. In the second part of this session, seven ESM alumni (who left between 1988 and 2006) also gave similar presentations about their work. This session was particularly interesting and S6 listened intently to the information and advice given. The jobs included translators, lawyers, software engineers, a medical equipment supply firm, financial advice publishing, political adviser and a doctor.

The importance of choosing study and finding jobs that you enjoy was stressed. Also, students were advised to be proactive and to look for internships to gain useful experience.

To conclude the seminar, about 20 former ESM students then talked about their experiences at University. They all completed the BAC within the last five years and currently study a wide range of courses around Europe and in some cases in other parts of the world. It was a pleasure to see them all again and see how they are progressing after the ESM.

The event was well received by students and left them with plenty to reflect on over the summer. Over the next school year, a series of events will be organised to provide further guidance to students whilst in S7.

There is hardly anyone in Italy who does not know the novel "I Promessi sposi", barely any Spaniard who is unknowing of "Lazarillo de Tormes" and barely any Greek who has not heard about "Zorba the Greek". The Italian, Spanish and Greek year 4 Secondary School students discussed these three classic novels in an exchange meeting with the European School Frankfurt when they visited the school between in the 21st to 23rd June 2017. It was both a continuation and completion of the project "Delicacies from European Literature 22, which was launched in Munich in September 2017.

This final phase of the project aimed at taking a fresh approach to literature, in which the students compared these three works of literature and discussed the values ​​of the protagonists and their own ethics. Later, the students had the opportunity to get to know each other in a playful way by forming a circle, putting arms over each other's shoulders and dancing together the Greek Sirtaki dance (known worldwide by the feature film "Zorba"). They also sang Spanish and Italian songs and enjoyed the self-prepared multicultural buffet.

The evaluation of the pupils and the teachers of the two schools was highly positive; literature not only means the acquisition of knowledge, but also enables the reader to think about himself/herself and his/her own values ​​of life.