From nursery schools to universities, Brussels offers a wide range of educational options. Belgians are particularly proud of their educational system, not only because of the quality of the teaching, but also because of the variety of choices it offers parents and students.
There are many alternatives open to parents at the nursery, primary or secondary school level, including local, European and international schools.
All local schools in Brussels provide education in either French or Dutch (the two official languages in the region) and teach the basics of the other language as well.
If you prefer to choose a local school for your children, most communes are able to provide lists of addresses and advice.
There are 3 networks of education:
- Official state education: organised by the three communities; no fee is required.
- Free schools: subsidised by the provincial and municipal authorities; a minimal fee is required (most are Catholic schools).
- Private Schools: a fee is required. These schools fall outside the Belgian system mentioned above and they include the international schools, as well as religious schools, or other foreign schools operating under a different language system.
Belgium has a number of international schools, three of which are European schools, located in the capital. International schools provide education along American, British, French, Dutch, German, Scandinavian or Japanese lines.
European schools teach in the child’s native language plus one other language which is introduced at primary level. A second foreign language is studied from the second year of secondary school with up to two more languages from the fourth year. These schools cater mostly to the children of EU employees and they run from kindergarten through to the baccalaureate.
Belgium has several schools offering special education programmes, such as the International Montessori Schools. One of the best known Montessori schools in the world is located in Tervuren.
Here children are educated following a specific method, which allows them to discover the joy of learning and develop their potential. These schools offer a complete bilingual English/French curriculum.
Belgium has some of the best universities in Europe and the widest range of academic programmes.
Higher education
Brussels city network education, named Francisco Ferrer, provides higher education in areas including economics, translation and interpretation and emergency medicine.
They also offer specialised post-graduate evening courses in economics, and are known for their excellence in teaching international trade, human resources and other subjects.
EPHEC offers five graduate programmes in law, marketing, accounting, and foreign trade and computer technologies.
For training in interpretation and translation, ISTI offers an outstanding curriculum, including linguistic workshops in the evening.
The city also has six other institutions of higher learning that offer vocational and technical education at the campus known as CERIA. Training is offered in areas such as industrial engineering, chemistry, bio-chemistry, the culinary arts, hotel management and landscape architecture.
Universities
Brussels has three highly regarded universities, notably the French-speaking University Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the Flemish-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) - which offers postgraduate degrees in English - and the University Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL), noted for its faculty of medicine. Located just outside Brussels, UCL, which teaches in French, attracts students from all over the world and is known for its high level of teaching and research. UCL is a participant in the Erasmus programme.
Business schools
Brussels also has several highly regarded business schools including the Solvay Business School and Boston University of Brussels, which maintains close links with the VUB and provides graduate courses in English.
Students can choose from nine major business schools in the Brussels region, all of which provide a high standard of training and education.
With its US style programme, the Vesalius College, also tied to the VUB, attracts students from over fifty countries. Britain’s Open University has study centres in Brussels offering MBA degree programmes.
Language schools
The Brussels region also has a wealth of specialised language courses offered by 24 major schools which can help any newcomer to integrate within the local community.
To find out more, please visit SIEP, XPATS, Brussels Life.be
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