School in Brussels

[bmblawyer]

Hi, we have been living in Brussels (Woluwe St Pierre)for almost a year now and have sent out kids (4yrs and 7yrs) to a billingual (Eng-Fr) school in Etterbeek. The main advantages of this school is that the classes are small and it is academically very strong - which really suits my kids.

However I am now considering moving them to a local French school called Singelijn, which is close to home and I love the area we live in.

My reluctance in moving them however is that firstly and most importantly, I do not know what the academic standard of this school is like. Can anyone advise? There seems to be no way to independantly assess schools in Brussels.

Secondly, I am afraid that their English may suffer (we are already billingual English/Arabic at home) since our plan is to stay in Brussels for a few years before returning to the UK.

Any advise on these matters or on any schools in the WSP area would be much appreciated.

PS - I am new to MN so apologise if this is the wrong forum/place to post this question.

Many thanks in advance.

[PortoAtWork]

I had similar questions about my dd's school in Brussels - no Ofsted reports here! I was told to speak to the other parents but that doesn't help when you don't know any of them.

I would go to the school, have a look round, and ask lots of questions. FWIW Belgium is considered to be No.1 for education in Europe.

Though to be honest, if you are planning to go back to the UK within a couple of years I would leave them in the bi-lingual school.

My dd goes to a local francophone school in Brussels which we are very happy with, but we plan to stay long term and then retire to France.

PS we're planning a Belgian MNetter meet up next month if you're interested?