Brussels, Belgium
International schools in Brussels: what families need to know
Brussels is unusual: alongside British, American and IB schools it hosts the European Schools, which are free or heavily subsidised for children of EU institution staff and follow the European Baccalaureate. Everyone else chooses between international schools and the free Flemish or French-community systems. The year runs September to late June. This guide covers who qualifies for what, admissions, curricula, fees and communes.
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What you tell us
- Where you are moving
- Brussels
- Children
- Sofia (age 8) · Luca (age 5)
- Curriculum
- British preferred
- Start
- August
You tell us once, for every child. Your adviser assesses the brief and contacts relevant admissions teams on your behalf.
Example only. School names in these examples are fictional.
Brussels in short
- Curricula available in Brussels: European Baccalaureate, IB, British and American programmes, plus the two national systems.
- The Brussels school year runs Early September to late June or early July, with the main intake at the start of it.
- Schools are overseen by Flemish and French-community education ministries; the European Schools are governed separately.
- Tuition is published per year group by each school. Registration, deposit, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are normally billed separately.
- Availability is decided per child, per year group and per campus, so two children in one family can get two different answers from the same Brussels school.
- You tell us what your family needs once, and see matched Brussels schools with places, fees and next steps.
Prepared by InternationalSchools.orgPublished September 2026Last reviewed September 2026
Brussels at a glance
The facts that shape a Brussels school search
- Oversight
- Flemish and French-community education ministries; the European Schools are governed separately
- Main curricula
- European Baccalaureate, IB, British and American programmes, plus the two national systems
- School year
- Early September to late June or early July
- Ages served
- Nursery from about age 2.5 through age 18
- Language
- French and Dutch officially; English-medium provision at the international schools
How admissions work in Brussels
Most Brussels schools follow the same stages, whatever the curriculum.
- 1
Enquire and check the year group
Confirm the year group each child would enter in Brussels. Age cut-offs differ between systems, so the same child can be placed a year apart in two schools.
- 2
Assessment
Most schools assess before offering a place. This can be a short online task, a classroom visit or a subject test, depending on age.
- 3
Offer, deposit and registration
An offer is usually held only after a registration fee or deposit is paid. Check whether either is refundable before you accept.
Documents to prepare
Some documents can take time to arrange from abroad. Start collecting them before you have chosen a school.
- Passport and, where required, visa or residence documents for each child
- Birth certificate
- School reports for the last two years
- Transfer or leaving certificate from the previous school
- Vaccination and health records
- Any learning support or assessment reports, shared early rather than late
More detail: how international-school admissions work.
Curricula families meet in Brussels
We explain each system once, in the curricula library, rather than repeating it city by city.
British curriculum
IGCSE and A Level, and how English year groups are set by age.
International Baccalaureate
PYP, MYP and the Diploma, and who the IB suits on a later move.
American curriculum
US grades, high-school credits and AP, with their own placement rules.
Changing curriculum mid-move
What transfers cleanly between systems and where a child may repeat or skip a year.
The Brussels school year and when to apply
Timing decides how much choice you have. These are the stages most families move through.
Six to nine months ahead
Start looking for the main intake
Popular year groups in Brussels fill first, and assessment slots become scarce close to the intake.
Three to six months ahead
Assessments and offers
Schools assess, then make offers within days or weeks. Registration fees and deposits usually follow immediately.
One to three months ahead
Places confirmed, waiting lists move
Waiting lists move as leaving families release places, so keep asking rather than assuming a school is closed.
Start of the school year
Term begins
The Brussels school year runs early September to late June or early July.
Mid-year
In-year entry
Possible, but limited to whichever year groups have room. This is where asking schools directly saves the most time.
What school costs in Brussels
Published tuition is the starting figure, not the total. These are the charges to budget for.
What the Brussels market costs, in round numbers
High band- Primary, per year
- EUR 17,000 – 27,000
- Secondary, per year
- EUR 21,000 – 34,000
- Roughly, in US dollars
- US$19,000 – 37,000
Indicative annual tuition across mainstream international schools, for the stated academic year. Individual schools publish their own fees per year group, the top of each market runs above these ranges, and registration, deposits, transport, uniform, meals and examination entries are billed separately. Figures refer to the 2025/26 academic year. Compare fees across cities.
- Tuition
- Published per year group by each school
- Registration fee
- Charged at application or offer stage, usually non-refundable
- Deposit
- Secures the place and is often deducted from the first term's tuition
- Transport
- School transport is charged separately and varies by distance and route
- Uniform, books, devices
- One-off costs at the start of the year, higher in the first year
- Meals and activities
- Optional at most schools, but a real part of the annual budget
- Examination entries
- IGCSE, A Level, IB and AP entries are billed in the exam years
See also understanding international school fees.
Places and waiting lists
Which Brussels schools have places for your children?
A place is not something a school has in general. It exists for one year group, at one campus, for one intake. Two children in the same family can get two different answers from the same school on the same day.
School websites cannot tell you this. Availability changes when a family leaves, when a contract ends, or when a new year group opens. That is why relevant schools answer directly instead of publishing a number that would be out of date by the time you read it.
For each child, a Brussels school can answer that a place is available, that there is a waiting list, that the intake is full, or that it cannot confirm yet. You see the answer, the fees and the next step, and you decide where to focus.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Your schools · 2 children · British curriculum · Starting August
Westbrook International School
From the school
North campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Place availablePlace available for August
Next step: Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
From the school
City campus · British · Annual fees: Confirmed for your intake
Fees confirmed for the academic year you asked about
- Sofia · Year 4Place availablePlace available for August
- Luca · Year 1Waiting listWaiting list, reviewed monthly
Next step: Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
From our team
Main campus · British · Annual fees: Earlier-year reference fee
Fees for your intake not yet confirmed
- Sofia · Year 4Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
- Luca · Year 1Not confirmedPlaces not yet confirmed
Next step: We ask admissions to confirm
Every option says who provided the information and whether places are confirmed. Your adviser explains what each answer means for your children.
Example school options. School names in these examples are fictional.
Choosing where to live in Brussels
We do not rank areas. These are the questions that decide whether a school works day to day.
Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre
Green, residential and close to several international and European schools; the default for many institution families.
Uccle and Ixelles
Elegant and central-south, with French-language and international options and good access to the European quarter.
Tervuren, Kraainem and Wezembeek-Oppem
Just outside the region in Flanders, with houses, gardens and an easy run to the eastern school cluster.
Etterbeek and the European quarter
Apartment living within walking or cycling distance of the institutions, with a short commute to school by bus or car.
Moving to Brussels with children: a checklist
The school-related steps that decide how smooth the first term is.
- Confirm each child's year group under the curriculum you are moving to in Brussels.
- Collect and, where required, attest school reports and certificates before you leave.
- Ask schools about places for every child in the same request, not one at a time.
- Check whether registration fees and deposits are refundable if your move date changes.
- Check the visa or residency steps that enrolment can depend on.
- Ask about learning support early, since capacity is decided case by case.
- Line up housing only after you know which school can take all of your children.
See also the moving-abroad timeline.
Moving with more than one child
One school that works for every child, not one child
Most families moving to Brussels are moving with more than one child, and the hardest part is rarely finding a good school. It is finding one school that can take all of your children in the same year.
Checking each child separately, school by school, is where the search becomes slow. A school that has room in Year 1 may be full in Year 4, and you only learn that after two emails and a wait.
One request covers every child. Each school answers for each child, so you can see immediately where all of your children could start together, and where you would be splitting the family across two schools.
- Ask once for the whole family, not once per child.
- See sibling answers side by side before you contact anyone.
- Ask about sibling priority and start dates while places are still open.
Your schools, side by side
Westbrook International School
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- North campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Assessment, then offer
Harbour Ridge Academy
- Information
- From the school
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- City campus
- Annual fees
- Confirmed for your intake
- Next step
- Campus visit, then assessment
Elmfield International College
- Information
- From our team
- Curriculum
- British
- Area
- Main campus
- Annual fees
- Earlier-year reference fee
- Next step
- We ask admissions to confirm
Westbrook International School
Harbour Ridge Academy
Elmfield International College
Sofia · Year 4
Luca · Year 1
Information
From the school
From the school
From our team
Curriculum
British
British
British
Area
North campus
City campus
Main campus
Annual fees
Confirmed for your intake
Confirmed for your intake
Earlier-year reference fee
Next step
Assessment, then offer
Campus visit, then assessment
We ask admissions to confirm
Example comparison. School names in these examples are fictional.
How schooling works in Brussels
Compulsory education is organised by the Flemish and French communities, each with its own curriculum, calendar details and enrolment rules. The European Schools operate under an intergovernmental convention and admit by category, with children of EU institution staff first.
European Schools: who gets a place
Category I covers children of staff of the EU institutions, who are admitted as of right and pay no tuition. Category II covers children under agreements with specific organisations. Category III is everyone else and is fee-paying, admitted only where space remains.
If you are not institution staff, treat the European Schools as a possibility rather than a plan, and apply to international schools in parallel.
Language sections and how they work
European Schools teach through a language section, with a second language taught from the early years and some subjects taught in it later. Placement into a section follows the child's dominant language.
Smaller sections are not offered at every campus, and children without a matching section join one of the larger sections instead. Ask which sections exist at the specific site.
International schools and the local systems
British, American and IB schools admit on their own terms, generally with applications from the autumn for the following September and rolling places when they exist.
The free Flemish and French-community schools are a genuine option for younger children, particularly if you plan to stay. Enrolment runs through community registration systems with published windows, and popular schools use priority rules rather than first-come.
Fees and what to budget
Category III places at the European Schools carry a tuition fee set annually by the Board of Governors. International school tuition sits at the usual northern-European level and is billed per term or annually.
Registration fees, deposits, buses, lunch, trips and after-school activities are separate. Employer education allowances are common in Brussels; check the cap before choosing a school.
Commuting, buses and the region's borders
Many families live in Flemish communes just outside the Brussels region, which changes which local system applies but not access to the international schools.
School buses serve the main residential clusters. Traffic on the ring road at peak is heavy, so proximity to your school's bus route matters more than the raw distance.
What families get wrong in Brussels
The local details that cost families a term, a deposit or a long daily drive.
Assuming a European School place is available
Category I families are admitted as of right; others only where space remains and with fees.
Overlooking which community you live in
Flemish and French-community rules, calendars and registration systems differ, and the border runs through the suburbs.
Missing community registration windows
Free local schools enrol in published windows with priority rules, not on arrival.
Expecting every language section at every campus
Sections vary by site. Confirm the section for your child's dominant language at the specific school.
Budgeting tuition only
Buses, lunch, trips, deposits and activities sit outside tuition, and allowances often have a cap.
Official Brussels resources
Primary sources for regulation, inspection and enrolment. We link out rather than paraphrase.
How InternationalSchools.org works in Brussels
Tell us what your family needs once, and see matched schools in Brussels with places, fees and next steps.
- 1
Tell us about your family and Brussels
Your children's ages and year groups, the curriculum you prefer, your budget and when you want to start. One brief covers every child named in it.
- 2
Your adviser researches Brussels
A 30-minute consultation, then research of the schools in Brussels that suit each child, and contact with relevant admissions teams about your start date.
- 3
Receive your recommendations
Three recommended schools plus up to two alternatives where suitable, with written reasoning for each child, a review call and follow-up questions answered for 30 days.
We do not publish scores or predict availability. How we select schools.
Questions families ask about Brussels
Find international schools in Brussels for your children
One conversation, every child, answers from the schools themselves.
US$499 per family · One-time fee · You review the service and the price before you pay.
Go deeper on Brussels
How fees compare across cities
What is published, what is billed separately and how Brussels compares with the other markets we cover.
Compare the main curricula
British, IB and American side by side, and what a later move between countries changes.
How admissions work
The stages most international schools use, and where relocating families lose time.
Continue reading
Waiting lists and availability
How waiting lists really work, and what to ask before you join one.
School year and intake timing
When places open, and what a mid-year move changes.
How it works
From telling us what you need to answers from the schools themselves.
Other destinations
You can search any destination, published guide or not.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Guide version 3.1. Brussels information is compiled from official regulators, curriculum authorities and school-published material. Fees, intakes and requirements are set by individual schools and change, so confirm details directly with a school before you rely on them.
Sources
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