Information about St. John's in Waterloo

Hi allwyn,

Welcome to Expat.com

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

How old are the children?
What languages do you speak?
How long are you staying?
If they are at school already, what sort of school?

Hello.
My children are 11 and 9 years old, and fluent in English only. They are from the Indian CBSE Board which is not available in Europe. So, we would want IGCSE or Cambridge Board for their future studies in Europe.
Thank you.

Hello Maximilien.

Thank you for your welcome.

St John's is firmly an American curriculum school and does not do the curriculum you are looking for. You will find one single school which has a full range of IGCSEs and that is the British School of Brussels which isn't actually in Brussels but in Tervuren.

Do you have to live in Waterloo, as Tervuren is not convenient for Waterloo?

Thank you for your reply.
I do have an option of going for the IB curriculum. In that case, how is St. John's ? I would stay in Waterloo only if the children go St. John's. My stay in Brussels is dictated by the children's school. In Brussels, my options would be BSB and ISB. Are admissions available there if I inquire in April 2014 ?

all the international schools are going to have places, it is very rare for them to turn down an extra 60k per year, unless a school year is already very very full.

If work is nearer Brussels, then go for BSB.

ISB and St John's do not do IB curriculum except at age 16 to 18.

Hello tervurener.
Thanks for your response.
My work is on the E411 route. Hence travel, as seen from the Google maps, seems straight forward from Waterloo. Ground realities can differ.
So, stay near school in Waterloo and travel to work by car or train on the E411 route.
Is this a practical idea ? Any difficulties you foresee ?
St. John's has been praised a lot by others. Is staying in Waterloo expensive. What would I get for 1000 Euros ?
Sorry to ask you so many questions, but your suggestions are very practical.
Thank you.

The E411 is a very long road, going from Brussels to Arlon, cannot comment without knowing where your work is. The E411 is also a horrendously congested autoroute between Wavre and Brussels.

Waterloo is not even that near the E411, BSB in Tervuren and ISB in Watermael-Boitsfort are likely to both be nearer. There is no train route from Waterloo along the E411. The train passes near to the E411 from Brussels through La Hulpe, Rixensart and Ottignies, on its way to Luxembourg. Waterloo is on the Nivelles to Brussels train line.

I hope your employer has 60k per year to pay for school fees at either of the 3 big schools. Do think of what you'd do if your employer were to pull out of school fees. I know many people for whom this has happened and non of these schools is going to reduce fees by any more than 30% to help you, which will leave you with 42k per year still to pay for 2 children.

For 1000 euro in Waterloo or Brussels or Tervuren, you'd get a 2 bedroomed flat of 100m2, 3 bedrooms if lucky. The rental market in Waterloo and Tervuren in the 1000 euro range is much much smaller than in Brussels, even taking into account size difference between each area. Try looking on immoweb.be, this website contains 95% of rental properties.

ISB, BSB and St John's are all genuine good quality international schools which cover 3-18 years. Most people choose them according to proximity to home/work and curriculum.

Hi tervurener.
You have made a valid point regarding the E411 route.
Now, if I look at BSB in Tervuren, I can stay there and work at Overijse.
Or, I can stay at Overijse and use the School bus.
How do the rents compare in Tervuren and Overijse ?
Is Overijse cheaper ?
Could you guide me on this.
Thank you.

It would really help if you stated where work is to best advise you of school and place to live, without that information, I simply cannot help you further.

Rents in Overijse are less than Tervuren, but then you add on the extra costs of being somewhere with the most lousy public transport connections and the time you'll spend on the road playing taxi service to kids, it's your decision, in the end you mignt find Overijse more expense with all costs factored in.

Do you get the school bus paid for? It is extremely expensive and profit making. A local public transport ticket is 200 euro for the year, 15 times less than the school bus.

For BSB, it is more than feasible to live 10km away along 44 tram route and find somewhere convenient for facilities and work, if you say where work is. You'll find a far greater selection of places to live in Brussels in your price range than Tervuren and Overijse. You might find a reasonable selection in Zaventem however which is bus connected to Tervuren and usually good rentals in that price range and also good connections into Brussels.

Hi.

My work will be based from Overijse. So, from that angle, it is a choice between staying in Tervuren for BSB and commuting to Overijse OR staying in Overijse and driving the chidren to school to Tervuren. What do you say is better ? Or is there a better choice.
Alternately, for ISB, what do you think would be the ideal scenario ? Staying in Boisfort or Overijse ? Or any other combo.

I am sorry to bother you with so many questions, but your replies make a lot os sense.

I am an engineer by profession and have flexible working hours.

So, Tervurener, I am grateful for your replies and thank you a lot for them.

Regards, Allwyn.

I think in your budget, you'll be taking what you can find to live in, be it Tervuren or Overijse and I'd try and stick to north Overijse too (Jezus-Eik).

I'd say as there is not that many kilometres between Overijse and Tervuren, I'd try however to find housing in the centre of Teruvren town, that is where you'll find several houses under 1000 per month, and you do the journey to Orerijse by car or bus.

Given the ages of your children and pending independence, I would hope they'd thank you for choosing Tervuren where they can take themselves to school and after school activities without any adult transporting them.

Overijse is not a great place for teenagers who are independent, though there is a bus between some of Overijse and Tervuren.

I would choose BSB 100% over ISB, as you are looking for IGCSE / IB curriculum, BSB does both and is the only school do offer both. It also includes more in the price than ISB so for those families whose package is not great apart from school fees, you'll end up paying less for after school activities at BSB, as so many are included in the price there and paying at ISB.

Oh and how ironic, I chose the name Tervurener as it's the last place I'd choose to live :-) Sorry, don't like expat enclaves or some of the spoiled brats who live there.

Here's what you can get in the centre of Tervuren.
immoweb.be/en/Rent.Estate.cfm?IdBien=4557277&xgallery=gallery&xpage=1

Do be careful when looking for housing in Tervuren. It is in fact 4 villages : Tervuren, Duisberg, Vossem and Moorsel. Duisburg is not that bad distance wise to BSB but only 1 bus into Tervuren itself per hour. Some bits of Vossem are walking distance to BSB. All of Tervuren proper is MY walking distance or short tram ride to BSB, Moorsel is cycling distance to Tervuren and many of the children do that or 2 buses an hour into Tervuren.

And Overijse is a big municipality.

The lesson is, look up the address BEFORE seeing a house and look up how to get to work and school and shops too. Just so you do not fall in love with a house which is really going to be bad location wise.

The ISB (International School of Brussels)is the best and if money is no object you should definitely apply there. It's also much easier to get to from Tervuren or Overijs than Saint Johns. BSB, on the other hand is closer to Tervuren.

Centre of Overijse to BSB shortest driving route = 10km
Centre of Overijse to ISB shortest driving route = 11km
Check google maps to verify

Are there traffic jams every morning between Overijse and ISB = yes
Are there traffic jams every morning between Overijse and BSB = no

Does BSB have the curriculum that the OP is looking for  = yes
Does ISB have the curriculum than the OP is looking for = no

Can you get a 3 bed house near to ISB in 1170 post code for 1k per month = not easily
Can you get a 3 bed house near to BSB in 3080 post code for 1km per month = easier than you can to ISB

reread what I wrote.

I was comparing the distance between Tervuren and ST. Johns in Waterloo and between Tervuren and ISB, ISB is luch closer. ANd is a much better school than either BSB or St. John's.

You get what you pay for. Life in Tervuren is isolated and boring. Life near the ISB is interesting city life with houses with large gardens and all sorts of cultural and such activities.

I don't like either Tervuren or Overijse but life in Tervuren is about as interesting as Watermael-Boitsfort which I'd prefer any day still to Tervuren as I just like it more there, but no more cultural activities than in Tervuren, nearer simply to the centre of Brussels than Tervuren is. Overijse for me would be a complete no no to live because of the isolation, crap public transport connections, apart from an excellent hockey club, football club and swimming pool, I can think of little positive to say about the place. However some people live there and send their children to ISB or BSB and they choose to pollute with their cars and prefer the isolation.

However, given the OP is looking for British based as the nearest to what they are used to, with a choice at 16-18 of IB or A levels, I'd have to say BSB would be the only natural choice for the OP and Tervuren gemeente would be where I'd say to live, simply down to proximity to school and work. It is absolutely the last place I would choose to live, because I do not get on with expat bubbles, at least Watermael-Boitsfort has for me a better cross-section of society and nationalities, however just not the place I'd live if sending to BSB and working in Overijse, Tervuren is going to be a better choice for the OP, as they are not after a local school.

If the OP fancies somewhere a bit more multi-national and not dominated by one school, like Tervuren is, then I'd go for WSP around Stockel, down to the tram route to school and bus route alternative, then it would be more time in the car / on the bus to Overijse to get to work. Or anywhere along Ave de Tervuren in WSP too, along the 44 tram route, again with more time in the car to Overijse.

I know someone who drives Overijse direction past E411 every morning at school time, says traffic heading southwards past Overijse is bearable, whereas she has to wait until after 10.30 to do the return northwards on the E411 towards Brussels. She says if she turns around at 8.30, or 9.30 or 10.30 past Overijse heading in to Brussels, the result is the same, a minimum of an hour in traffic, if she does the journey at 10.30, it takes 10 minutes. So personally I'd NOT live in Overijse for this reason too, going to Overijse from Tervuren for morning work is fine and returning at night is fine, but not the opposite way.

Hey, I would advise you to check out Brussels American School. It's a great school, I currently attend it and loving it.

brussels american school is totally unsuitable for op 1 because of its location, 2 because it doesnt offer the curriculum he is looking for and 3 he is not american forces or associated so his children do not qualify - you would be aware you qualify for bas.  there is a single school which offers what the op is looking for.

Just read through the thread. My family is planning a relocation this summer - and right now it looks like St. Johns might be a good fit for my 4 kids.

My husband will be working in the Mont-Saint-Guibert area and the school is in Waterloo, correct?

I'm trying to figure out where a nice place to live that would be centrally located for the whole family. Thoughts? (thank you)

I had to look up Mont-Saint-Guibert.

Ages of children?
Languages spoken already?
Amount of time in Belgium?
Type of education system the children are currently in?
Type of education system the children might move on to?
Type of environment you currently live in?
Type of environment you're looking for in Belgium?

I'd certainly not go for St John's as first choice without knowing the answers to these questions. The journey Waterloo-Mont-Saint-Guilbert is going to be slow.

Ages of children? 9,7,4,2
Languages spoken already? English
Amount of time in Belgium? we will be there 3 years.
Type of education system the children are currently in? Currently in a public school environment in the USA.
Type of education system the children might move on to?
Type of environment you currently live in? We live in a metro area in the USA - but have a freestanding home with a small yard.
Type of environment you're looking for in Belgium? I want my children to go to a school where our whole family can make friends and build community. So - I don't want to live in a "rural" area, and would like easy access to entertainment and amenities such as grocery stores. We have yet to visit Brussels - hope to early spring.

Given that my husband will be working in Mont-Saint-Guilbert, I'm just wondering where the best place to live would be. I would rather he have a longer commute to work than the kids to school.

Got to say, the commute to work would be easier from near ISB in Watermael-Boitsfort than near St John's in Waterloo.

Waterloo is a small town, quite self contained. You'd sure make friends there, but are unlikely to make it out of the St John's bubble, plus commute would be longer and further.

Watermael-Boitsfort is a suburban setting on the edge of Brussels region, but much more going on that in Waterloo, plus it's just a short tram ride right into the centre of Brussels.

I'd personally choose ISB and Watermael-Boitsfort any day over Waterloo, not because the school is better because there really is nothing in it, but because of the opportunities in the Watermael-Boitsfort area. The commute will be shorter and shorter distance (possibly).


Given the ages of the 2 youngest, I'd be looking at 2 local schools nearest to ISB, if you really are interested in living very close to school, it's really nice around ISB, I'd look at La Sapiniere and l'Assomption. You'll find siblings of older ISB students in both of these French schools. They are both within walking distance of ISB. School starts at age 2.5 here.

map showing local French schools plus links to websites
batchgeo.com/map/1f1bf2b3b6e4ad41fe67c1a57d56a826

map showing all the private international schools plus links to websites
batchgeo.com/map/2a31361d90c2d9ff7569e087ee44ccd5