for every language section of the European Schools starting with mathematics and physics
By teachers, for teachers.
Mark Popenco · Mathematics & Physics · European School Alicante
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One question first
What is the one thing no school can buy more of?
Time.
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Who is talking to you
A teacher who has run school IT and data protection
Mark PopencoEuropean School Alicante
Mathematics & physics teachersince 2016 · European School Alicante since 2023
Careers counsellor, German sectionsince 2024 · European Baccalaureate rules · converting Bac grades for German universities
Head of digital strategy of a school2018–2023 · 1:1 iPads, school network, Moodle, teacher training
Data protection officer of a school2018–2023 · GDPR compliance for pupils and staff
M.A. School ManagementTU Kaiserslautern, 2022 · organisational development, quality management, school law
University certificate: Digital Education ProcessesTU Kaiserslautern, 2021 · digital school development, IT change management
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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The thread of this talk
Why it matters.How it works.What it brings.
WhyPupils deserve the best materialToday every teacher, in every section, builds it alone: time that does not reach the pupils.
HowCreate, check, connectOne syllabus, AI guided by a curated knowledge base and growing validation rules, data protection by design.
WhatWhat pupils get, and the time teachers winLive demo: learning paths, worksheets, tests; then the time saved.
…and where it can go next.
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
39 schools, one syllabus: every teacher builds alone
13European Schools 28 931 pupils
26Accredited European Schools 17 083 pupils · 2 in accreditation
46 014pupils in total
2 614teachers in the 13 European Schools full-time equivalent · 1 641 of them in secondary
Same objectives, rebuilt by every teacher, in every section: work that never reaches a pupil.
Sources: Office of the Secretary-General, Facts and figures 2025-2026 (2025-10-D-1; teachers: p. 20, full-time equivalent), and Accredited European Schools: 2025-2026 Data Report (2025-11-D-16). School year 2025/26.
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
Teachers’ work today
One objective, built again in every section
Four teachers, the same five steps, in one school.
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
Vision
Everything from one syllabus, for every language
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
How it is built
Not a chat window: AI guided by a European Schools knowledge base
A chat (e.g. ChatGPT)
This system
Source
whatever the model remembers
the official syllabus, objective word for word
Validation
none: errors reach the class
304 validation rules today (about 100 in August), applied to every change, continuously
Languages
one at a time, each a little different
the same page in every language (today DE · EN · FR · ES), formulas identical
Mistakes
the same mistake again tomorrow
every mistake found once becomes a new, permanent rule
Result
a one-off text for one teacher
a shared library for every section and school
The teacher still decides. The rules validate form and consistency, not full subject correctness; today there is one subject reviewer, me.
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
How it is built · what the validation does
Five of the 304 validation rules, and what they catch
Same formula in every languageA translation that changed or lost a formula, or a page left untranslated
Answer not given awayA multiple-choice option that already reveals the solution
Tied to the syllabusA page without its official syllabus version and learning objective
Works on every deviceOverlapping labels or cut-off text, tested in every language on large and small screens
No outside serversAny request to another server, any cookie
Designed by a teacher, built with AI, still growingThe teacher decides what is validated. Every rule is tested itself, and new ones are added from feedback.
The knowledge base keeps growing: 101 rules on 3 Aug · 150 on 4 Sep · 191 on 23 Sep · 297 on 5 Oct · 304 on 7 Oct
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
How it is built · learning science
Every design choice has a reason, and a source
Support that fadesWorked examples for beginners, fewer hints as pupils advance.Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler & Sweller 2003
Mixed, spaced practiceShort sheets over time, mixed tasks instead of blocks.Rohrer & Taylor 2006 · Rohrer et al. 2020
Several representationsGraph, table and formula, linked on purpose.Ainsworth 2006
Fair tests, quick to markClear multiple choice, analytic marking schemes.Haladyna et al. 2002 · Jonsson & Svingby 2007
Each sheet names the reason for its design. Where research is thin, it says so.
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
Data protection
Built to know as little as possible about pupils
No accountsNo login, no registration. Pupils simply open the page.
No pupil namesNo names, no profiles, no tracking. Learning progress stays only in the browser on the pupil’s own device.
No third partiesFonts, videos and scripts come from our own server. No analytics, no advertising.
Hosted in the EUServer in Germany, encrypted connections only.
Data minimisation and privacy by design, as the GDPR asks (Art. 5 and 25).
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
Responsible AI · built in from the start
AI helps the teacher. It never replaces the teacher.
The teacher decidesAI drafts. A teacher reviews every page and releases it by hand. Nothing goes live automatically.
No AI in pupils’ toolsPupils open plain web pages. They work without any AI, and no pupil ever talks to a chatbot.
No personal dataNames of pupils and colleagues never reach an AI.
Internal stays outExam papers from the internal system and pupils’ work are never given to an AI.
Open and traceableThe portal is labelled “AI-assisted”, and a teacher checks every page. Every change is recorded with who made it.
European firstThe open-source EuroLLM runs locally, hosting is in Germany.
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
Translated with EuroLLMthe open European language model, EU-funded, built for all 24 official EU languages. It runs on our own computer: no text goes to an outside service.
S4 physics · energy flow rate · German section
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
What it brings
What pupils and teachers gain
For pupils
Learning at their own paceInstant feedback, practice whenever they need it
The same high-quality materialsConsistent across sections, in their own language
Language learning in every subjectThe same page in the working language and in their own
For teachers
More time for individual supportInstead of talking to the whole class: more feedback, larger learning gains
Routine work largely automatedWorksheets, solution sheets, test versions for every section
Less work without value for pupilsSearching, reformatting, translating, coordinating
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
Efficiency
Estimated: three hours saved per teacher per week
Not exact, but checkable.In a pilot year, teachers keep a short time log, before and with the shared materials.
≈ 100 hper teacher and school year 2.86 h × 36 school weeks
≈ 170 000 hper school year, across the 1 641 full-time secondary teaching posts of the 13 European Schools extrapolation: same saving in every subject
≈ 100full-time teaching posts, every year, on work done again and again 170 000 h ÷ about 1 700 working hours per post
What three hours a week meanLess workload, less stressTime for individual supportTime for creative projectsTime to work with colleagues from other sectionsRoom for what falls off the agenda today
Anchors: planning 6.8 h/week (OECD TALIS 2018) · −31 % preparation time with AI alone (EEF trial 2024, 259 teachers). Assumptions (teacher practice): 40–50 % of preparation is materials; 4 tests × 3 further sections × 1–4 h; coordination between sections 0.25–1 h/week; 36 school weeks.
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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WhyHowWhat
What it saves · step by step
Where the three hours come from
Central estimate per maths or physics teacher and week: planning 6.8 h (OECD TALIS 2018) × 45 % materials × 50 % saved = 1.53 h · 4 tests × 3 further sections × 2.5 h ÷ 36 weeks = 0.83 h · coordination 0.5 h. Sum 2.86 h.
Mark Popenco · European School Alicante · hello@ppnc.eu · info.ppnc.eu
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Vision
Every pupil their own path to the same objectives
Paths for different learnersSeveral routes to one objective: more visual, more practice, more challenge, extra language support.
A suggested next stepThe page suggests what to do next from the pupil's own answers, worked out on the pupil's device, with no data on a server.
Practice that adaptsSelf-checks that give more of what is still hard, and less of what already sits.
Feedback that improves itPupils and teachers report from any page; each report becomes a fix and, where possible, a new check.
The foundation is there, and it already reaches beyond maths and physics: first pilots with colleagues in history and English. Next: a growing team, more subjects, a pilot year.
