I am considering going to Brussels for a few months to assist a friend who lives there. I have two school age children. Would I be able to enroll them in school for the time we are there. I would also keep them up on their school work from their American school, but would like them to experience school in Belgium. They know some French and are in kindergarten and first grade so could pick up language quickly. Thoughts, advice, pros, cons - all welcome.
Belgium - 4 Answers
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1 :
Normally i think it is possible.. Now u have to see in the kindergarden u have chosen and ask there.
2 :
As Brussels has a lot of expatriats (European Union -- Nato ---Multinationals) there are some American Schools there. One of the better ones is the American School in Tervueren (10 km. from Brussels center). Sorry I dont have the data but i'm sure if you go to google and type American School you will come up with the answer. For your info: there is also an American "Newcomers Club" which is very helpful to recently arrived americans; the ladies get together and the embassy regularly organizes events: 4th of July, Thanksgiving etc. Good luck; you'll like the chocolates and the waffles. PS if you want your kids to use this opportunity to pick up a foreign language may I suggest you send them to a French speaking school (with all respect French is more widespread in the world than Flemish). They will be received with open arms as the Belgian schools receive subsidies from the government, based on the number of students. Apart from this, at their age they will pick up the language in no time.
3 :
Of course you can! The only thing you should do is send an email to the principle of the school you want to send your children to, to ask if it's alright with him. Because obviously it means extra work for the teachers and enrolling your children for just a couple of months isn't evident. Good schools often have long waiting list. You should contact a school asap. There's a lot of immigrants in Brussels, so there are a lot of french and dutch speaking schools with children who don't speak much french. Brussels has many fine schools. Belgium is general is known for it's excellent education. I think it's a good idea to enroll them in a french speaking school. The sooner they pick up a new language the better. Research shows that bilingual people perform better at other subjects and tests too. And they're less likely to have memory problems when they get older.
4 :
With all respect to the people that answered, you have to be careful with bureaucracy in Belgium. A public school is governed by the state. It's possible yes, but things here can take time to happen. As a new Belgian citizen, I know that getting the right papers can take months. They also change the rules quite a bit without notice. The best idea is to have your friend contact a few schools of your choice, and ask the principal (or director) what to do. In addition, call the Belgian embassy in your country and ask as well. On a more positive note, the Belgian civil servents are incrediably professional and helpful. They are interested in helping people. As a side note, my wife (she's Belgian) told me that she had two Americans going to classes at her high school. So it can happen.
