Primary schools in Brussels, are all French schools Catholic?

[elportodelgato]

We're moving to Brussels this summer with DC aged 9&6. Really excited!
We're looking at schools this week and are finding that most French speaking schools (which is what we want) are Catholic. Is this pretty standard? Or is there an alternative?
Also, does anyone have a view on Ecole du Bonheur vs St Stanlislas?

TIA x

In short - no. Not all FR speaking schools are Catholic. And there are different degrees of Catholic as well. You can look at the FR speaking commune schools, or the schools with "enseignement libre" - will include some other religions and/or semi-private schools. For example, for Etterbeek: www.etterbeek.be/nos-services/enseignement/creches-et-ecoles

And for WSL: fr.woluwe1200.be/enseignement-fondamental-communal and fr.woluwe1200.be/enseignement-fondamental-libre

Choose between either of those schools, the one you feel most comfortable with. Ecole du Bonheur is more middle class and has lovely green grounds behind that concrete façade, rare in the centre of Brussels.

4 types of public schools

1. official communal, about 100 of them in Brussels
2. official direct French Community, about 20 of them in Brussels
3. free religious, think 2 Muslim, 2 Jewish, 1 protestant. 100 Catholic in Brussels
4. free non religious, think 9 in Brussels, all have the right to charge top-up fees, most expensive about 1.5k in Brussels.

Thank you! We saw both schools this morning and liked du Bonheur although it seemed a little frayed around the edges.

If you think Bonheur is frayed around the edges, may I suggest you see Jean 23 Parmentier in Parc Parmentier WSP. It's a very very popular and always full school, it's awaiting a full rebuild in 2018, but currently is in metal crates, a rented house, a pavilion well past use by date which at least has toilets. I would not hesitate despite the conditions to have my children there. Bonheur is probably average to good in terms of accommodation in public French schools in Brussels.