Primary schools in Brussels

Hi!

We are about to move to Brussels from Beijing and wondering the same thing. We have missed the start of term, but hoping we can find a place for two kids. I was wondering if you would be able to share details of your experience if you have already arrived? Our kids are 11 and 8 with no French/Dutch but fluent English and some Chinese. Are the schools supportive of kids with no language abilities? Do they help them integrate or is it sink-or-swim? And how easy was it to find a place in a school willing to support a student with additional language needs?
Any reply gratefully received.

Children learns other languages fast... too fast compare to adults.

Of course it's never easy at the beginning and they'll require some help and courage (private teachers / extra lessons provide by commune / ...) , but in no time they'll be fluent while you'll need to spend huge effort to nearly never reach their level...

As long as you support them, everything will be fine.

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the response. Can you tell me more about extra lessons provided by the commune? Is that something you have experience of? Best wishes.

Most of the communes in Belgium (except the super small one) financially support ASBL (non profit company) to provide support for children (école des devoirs) + dutch/french lessons for foreigners.
And yes, I've sent my significant other there to start learning French.


Your commune should be able to provide you with the address/phone numbers.
Basically it depends on the region/city where you're going to live.

Hi, Anyone lives in Belgium with kids who are going to public school in Belgium?
Do they teach English in public school ?
How do we get the syllabus of primary school ( 3 grade)
What is the standard school fee in international school ?

just curious to know these things for planning.

Hello,

of course, there are plenty of foreigners in Belgium who have children and set their children into our public school!
As an example and a kind reminder, Brussels is the 2nd most cosmopolitan city in the world. It just lost his 1st place to Dubaï recently.

Belgian diplomas are strong and recognized for their qualities everywhere in the world (talking about bachelor / master).


English lessons will not be available in most of the school before the "secondaire", so from 12 to 18 years old.
Some schools will do few lessons in "primaire" (6-12 years old), but rather no advance learning on that topic.


Standard school fee depend on the school, but get ready to pay thousands of euros per year of school, with........ no added value at all...
These international schools are mainly focusing the American/Swedish/UK/... parents that move temporary in Belgium for their work, knowing they'll move elsewhere in the next coming years. So, no big reasons to start learning FR or NL.
And... their diploma is not superior to the Belgian's one, and sometime even less good...

It might scare you if you don't speak french or dutch to setup your kids in a local school, it's understandable.
But some schools are quite formidable to make the kids step up in no time...
Believe in your kids and help them if they need!
My 2 cents

Hi, I'm also in the process of finding a school for my 3 yo (we are moving in a few months)- and do not know where to start looking. Any leads would be highly appreciated.

Hello,

I see 2 main options:
* You know where you're going to live, and/or
* You know where you're going to work
in both case, look around the school nearby.

Hi, 

What documents are required from the home schools by the Belgian schools from enrollment? Does the transcript have to be translated into Belgian or is it accepted in English?

Thank you,