Hi
My husband has been offered a job working at NATO and we will be moving to Brussels in November. The posting is for 3-6 years. We are keen to use this opportunity for myself and my son to learn French as well as experience a new culture. My son will be 2 when we move so education is a major factor for us. I grew up in international schools and feel I had a great education, but never learnt the local language. We are debating between an international school or a local one. He will be 3 in July 2019 so we want to base where we live on his school and ease of cummute to NATO.
Honestly, I'm finding it all a bit overwhelming. I don't want him in full time education (9-3) until he is at least 4 as I think that is too much for a 3 year old. I also think we would be category 3 for the European Schools which puts us quite low on the acceptance list. I'm not sure what the practicality is of bussing a child that young either.
I think we will be looking in WSP and WSL as they are good commuting areas. Does anyone have any advice on local schools in the area? Or living in these areas in general? We will be coming to visit in May but I'd like to get started now.
Would I need to have a good understanding of French if I send my son to a local school? Thanks in advance for all advice and info. Sorry for the rambling message!
Moving to Brussels with a 2 year old
Hi,
The big and eternal question of where to put my child in school ... There is more than a hundred articles on this subject on the site. Take the time to read them and the practical guide published by the website.
The Anglo-Saxon habit of putting one's child in a private school has no real interest in an educational system like that which exists in Belgium. All you will do is put it in an artificial environment with no real openness to the country in which you live.
Belgium has three national languages (French, Dutch, German). So enroll him in a public school where he will receive a bilingual education in our national languages. And teach him English at home.
You do not even imagine the intellectual faculties of children. In less than three months he will speak better French than you !!!
My daughter is twelve years old and speaks French / Portuguese / English and my two year old son speaks French / Portuguese ...
The biggest mistake you can make is to ghettoize yourself in an environment where other English-speaking people live. The faster and more completely you will introduce yourself in the life of the new country, the better your expatriation will succeed.
Regarding the duration of the school day, the child does not ask for anything better than to spend full days at school. He is constantly with other children where he can express himself freely. It is the parent who stresses by not having his offspring under the eyes permanently ...
On the first day we put our first child to school, she told us that we could go home because she did not need us anymore ... For the second, he argued with his mother because she was crying on his first day of school in front of his new classmates ...
Give an assessment on one or the other school is purely subjective and unproductive. Because a school can be very appreciated by some people and hated by others ... Have confidence in your instinct and that of your child.
TC
Existing discussions you can read through (as mentioned in the previous reply): https://www.expat.com/forum/257-6-study … ssels.html
Once you've finished reading the 100s of relevant discussions, there is a simple conclusion for public French school.
1) Look at commuting routes to NATO and the type of environment you are after and choose a relevant area. Schaerbeek/Evere/WSL/WSP/Etterbeek.
2) Once you've chosen the environment you want and relevant area, choose all of the nearest half dozen French schools and apply by picking up the phone / email / turning up in person.
3) Since you're not interested in full time school and the French schools are set up as full time, you'll have to prepare yourself for your child having more likelihood of integration and acceptance difficulties, more likely to cry, more likely to have separation anxiety, will mean also less time in French so longer to learn French.
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