When preparing for our posting to Brussels, one of the main challenges was choosing a school for our young children. There are many options, and in the end, we chose to enroll our children in the Belgian public school system. Not many expats seem to consider this option, so the MFS asked if we would share our experience.
We chose to enroll our sons in the public school system for a few reasons:
Linguistic: had we stayed in Ottawa, we would have enrolled our kids in a francophone school, so it seemed logical to do the same in Belgium.
Practical: we wanted our kids’ school to be close to home so we could avoid complicated drop-offs and pick-ups.
Financial: when we arrived in Belgium, our older son was not yet old enough to start kindergarten in Ontario, which meant that his schooling in Belgium would not be paid for under the Foreign Service Directive. Rather than paying tuition, we decided on a public school, which is free. School also starts at a younger age in Belgium, so we saved significantly on daycare costs for our younger son.
Cultural: We were keen for our sons to be exposed to the local culture during our time outside of Canada.
Our older son spent five years at a Belgian public school, and our younger son spent three and a half. Overall, our experience was very positive. We are happy with the education our boys received and pleased that they were exposed to Belgian culture at school. The student body of the school also reflected the diversity of the community, which exposed our children to different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.
In terms of the quality of education in the public system, it seems like that of private schools in Belgium, at least at the kindergarten and primary levels. The range of extracurricular activities on offer is less extensive, but at the same time less expensive. The quality of the infrastructure can vary from school to school, so it is useful to compare different options.
One of the greatest benefits of sending our kids to a public school is the link it gave us to the local community. Our children made friends who live in our neighborhood, which means that they often run into playmates at the park. This applies to the parents too – we made a number of adult friends through our children’s school connections.
If you are considering enrolling your child in a Belgian public school, you should do your research. There are different types of school (French or Dutch; religious or non-confessional), and you usually enroll with the school itself. In our case, by the time we received our posting message we had missed the main enrolment period, but we were placed on a waiting list and offered a spot soon after.
All in all, we would recommend considering the public school system if you are moving to Belgium with children. It was the right decision for our family, and we have no regrets.