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Life in Belgium

A fascinating country in the heart of Europe

Life in Belgium

Belgium is a small, quirky and well-connected country of 11.5 million inhabitants in the heart of Europe.

It has a diverse international community with a sizeable expatriate population. Known for their linguistic abilities and their welcoming nature, Belgians do their best to make everyone feel at home.

BSB is located in Tervuren, a small, mainly Dutch-speaking community southeast of Brussels. Tervuren is a quiet, safe and leafy district with plenty of local amenities such as supermarkets, shops and restaurants. Just a short car or tram journey away, Brussels itself provides families with the cultural depth of a truly global city as well as excellent international transport links.

Lessons at BSB are predominantly in English, although we have a thriving modern foreign language department teaching French and Dutch as well as German and Spanish. As a friendly and culturally diverse school community, we find that language-loving students tend to pick up additional tongues much more quickly in this multilingual country.

As an international school, we understand that families are often in Belgium for a limited time, or join the school mid-academic year. Often, one parent is at home while the other parent is at work, which can be daunting in a foreign country. With BSB, know that you are never alone. We’ve offered dedicated and wide-ranging support to our families since 1970, helping them to integrate and enjoy everything that life in Belgium has to offer.

Our parent’s association, Families of BSB (FoBSB) is a hugely valuable part of BSB life. FoBSB have their own centre on campus and offer a huge variety of events, activities, groups, information and support services to help families get the most from their time at BSB and in Belgium. Find out more about life in Belgium and the FoBSB here.

Experiencing Brussels

As one of Europe’s most historic cities, Brussels has plenty to offer, from cobbles and culture to world-famous bars and quaint brassieres. Whether you’re interested in Belgian chocolates or beer, the European Quarter or comic strips, the city stands out for all the right reasons. 

Interesting attractions for families

Useful information for expats

Meet BSB families

What families say about BSB

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The Kayaoğlu Family, Turkish

“The past four years at BSB were undoubtedly the best time both our kids had throughout their academic lives. We really are grateful for the wonderful, embracing atmosphere BSB provided them with. We are definitely going to miss BSB.”

— The Kayaoğlu Family, Turkish

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The Inoue family, Japanese

“Our whole experience at BSB was excellent. The teachers always encouraged and respected our child’s efforts towards learning. So he enjoyed his school life at BSB and now he is really proud of being part of the BSB community.”

— The Inoue family, Japanese

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The Sané family, French

“BSB challenged our son to go further, and also helped him to develop his global personality through the activities and the ‘community’ mindset. He arrived at BSB in Year 9 coming from a French system. The integration in a small classroom and the EAL support provided him with the confidence and the skills to integrate into the overall programme.”

— The Sané family, French

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The Pillay family, Seychellois

“From day one we had excellent service and a very warm welcome from the devoted staff of BSB. The school’s location provides a conducive environment for learning. The academic aspects of the BSB are superb, and so are the sports facilities and recreational activities supported by the school. I would definitely recommend it to my colleague diplomats in need of an English-speaking school in Brussels.”

— The Pillay family, Seychellois

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The Stockman family, USA

“The atmosphere and interaction with initial BSB personnel was very warm and friendly. Our communications with the Admissions team were both efficient and very helpful.”

— The Stockman family, USA

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The Bruyninckx family, Belgian and French

“The best school we have ever known! There is an individual understanding of each child according to his/her character, gifts and possibilities. In fact, this gives the impression that every child has a chance at BSB.”

— The Bruyninckx family, Belgian and French

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Anonymous, Spanish

“My daughter was welcomed and felt very at home when she arrived at Secondary School. The school organisation is amazing. Everything has been thought of.”

— Anonymous, Spanish

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Anonymous, British

“Both our children have enjoyed the theme-based learning approach that BSB takes to academic learning. Their musical and dramatic performances have also provided some memorable highlights.”

— Anonymous, British

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The Eickhoff family, Belgian

“My four daughters have loved their experience at BSB and it was a pleasure to see the beautiful development of the school both in terms of facilities as well as quality of education since 1992 (all four started in Kindergarden)!”

— The Eickhoff family, Belgian

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The Van Trappen family, Belgian

“BSB has really good values: the spirit of being one family and one community where the interaction with different cultures and respect for each other is important.”

— The Van Trappen family, Belgian

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The Miller family, British

“The school is a very positive environment not only for the children attending but also for their parents. It is supportive and encouraging and provides excellent choices in both academic and sporting options.”

— The Miller family, British

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The Ziegler family, Dutch and Indian

“[Our child] was encouraged throughout and found a new area to excel in (film). He has also been able to make some very close friends in a relativey short period of time, undoubtedly, the social fabric of BSB has contributed to this. As far as I am concerned, BSB was the best choice I could have made for him.”

— The Ziegler family, Dutch and Indian

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The Kiikeri family, Finnish

“BSB has very good teachers and good academic standards. Teachers are very committed to their work, they encourage and motivate all students to do their best. Instead of pointing out the problems, they search for solutions and concentrate on the strengths of the students. This positive atmosphere is very important for learning. Students also enjoy school and have fun.”

— The Kiikeri family, Finnish

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The Downing family, British

“[Our son] has enjoyed his time at BSB, he is leaving it a confident, well rounded and successful student. The teaching staff have encouraged him greatly, allowing him to develop excellent knowledge and understanding.”

— The Downing family, British

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The Strobel How family, British and German

“The respectful environment at BSB has deeply impressed me. It’s been a privilege to be part of this community.”

— The Strobel How family, British and German

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The Van Trappen family, Belgian

“BSB has really good values: the spirit of being one family, one community where the interaction with different cultures and the respect for each other is important.”

— The Van Trappen family, Belgian

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Anonymous, Belgian and Chinese

“BSB’s strengths are innovativeness, creativity, individual development of students, introducing to them all aspects of lives, providing a wide range of subjects with professional guidance.”

— Anonymous, Belgian and Chinese

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The Oikonomou family, Greek

“We appreciate the educational system of BSB, which is very well suited to help our child grow up in an international environment.”

— The Oikonomou family, Greek

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The Ampolini family, USA

“We changed schools and joined BSB because we felt our son needed to be challenged more academically. The tour of the school gave us a wonderful impression (the facilities, the professionalism of the staff, the size, the Admissions staff). I just wish I had considered the British School when we came two years ago. As Americans we sometimes shy away from British schools because they are different from what we are traditionally used to but on the international scale BSB is very highly regarded.”

— The Ampolini family, USA

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The Malhotra family, British

“When we first visited BSB, we found the staff were very welcoming and friendly and the facilities were amazing. We felt that this would be the best environment for our twins.”

— The Malhotra family, British

Interested in a place at our school?Please get in touch with our friendly Admissions team


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