Belgium is a small, well-connected, and family-friendly country with 11.5 million inhabitants in the heart of Europe. It offers a welcoming environment for international families, making it a popular destination for those moving to Belgium with children.
With a diverse international community and a large number of globally mobile families, Belgium is known for its linguistic diversity and inclusive culture. Belgians do their best to make everyone feel at home, ensuring that life in Belgium is a smooth transition for families arriving from all over the world.
The British School of Brussels (BSB) is located in Tervuren, a small, mainly Dutch-speaking community just southeast of Brussels. Tervuren is a quiet, safe, and green district, offering family-friendly amenities, including supermarkets, shops, restaurants, and parks.
Just a short car or tram journey from Tervuren, Brussels provides families with the cultural depth of a truly global city. With excellent international transport links, families enjoy easy travel across Europe while benefiting from Belgium’s high quality of life.
Lessons at BSB are predominantly in English, though we have a thriving Modern Foreign Language department, offering French, Dutch, German, and Spanish. As a family-friendly international school in Belgium, we see students naturally pick up languages in this multilingual country, developing valuable global communication skills.
As an international school, we understand that many families are in Belgium for a limited time or join mid-academic year. Often, one parent works while the other manages family life, which can feel daunting in a new country. But at BSB, you are never alone. Since 1970, we have provided dedicated support for international families, ensuring that they settle into life in Belgium with ease.
Our Parents’ Association, Families of BSB (FoBSB), plays a key role in our family-friendly school community. FoBSB has a dedicated centre on campus and organises a wide range of events, activities, support groups, and social opportunities to help families integrate and make the most of their time at BSB and in Belgium.
Find out more about life in Belgium and the FoBSB here.
Useful information for expats
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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 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 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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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)!”
“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 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.”
“[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.”
“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.”
“[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 respectful environment at BSB has deeply impressed me. It’s been a privilege to be part of this community.”
“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.”
“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.”
“We appreciate the educational system of BSB, which is very well suited to help our child grow up in an international environment.”
“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.”
“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.”
