The Salters Chemistry courses, context-led curricula for 13-16 and 17-18 year old students, first developed by the Science Education Group at the University of York in the UK, have now been translated and/or adapted in seven other European countries. This paper describes and discusses the different reasons for taking up the courses, the ways in which the courses were adapted, the difficulties faced and how the difficulties were usually overcome. The adaptors also suggest ways in which this work will develop in their countries.