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In Belgium, the state school system can seem like a minefield to newcomers. Here's a guide to help you pick your way through it.
Belgian schools
Children start school at the age of six, though they may be accepted at five if they are deemed ready. Before this, nurseries are available for babies and children up to two-and-half years. Priority is given to mothers in full-time work. Kindergartens then take over until the child reaches school age. These are often attached to local primary schools. Children stay at primary school for six years during which time they study the whole range of subjects with an emphasis on languages. Homework is set from early on and there is a strong tradition of parental participation.
Method schools
There is a wide range of schools which adopt the methodology of an educational philosophy. In these, children often learn through discovery and the liberal arts, with subjects such as grammar, mathematics and science being taught from direct experience rather than in a formal setting. The Celstin Freinet system follows this approach, whilst the Decroly schools separate out the academic and creative skills in a vertically-streamed organisation, younger children benefiting from the experience of older pupils. The Steiner schools place greater emphasis on the arts. The world-famous Montessori schools are well represented in Belgium and teach children in small focussed groups according to the relaxed self-developmental Montessori method. These schools tend to offer a bilingual French-English education.
International schools
These are the choice of parents who wish their children to remain in a system they know, with a language they know and with the option of continuing the system back in the home country.European schools
The European schools are notoriously difficult to get into unless at least one parent works for one of the EU institutions. Education is in mother tongue with a second language being introduced at primary level. A third language is then obligatory from the second year of secondary school with optional additional languages on offer in later years. Courses lead to the European Baccalaureate which is recognised for university entrance throughout the EU.
Montessori schools
Dr Maria Montessori , born 1870, was the first woman in Italy to obtain a medical degree. Working in education and psychiatry, she developed her notion that each child is born with a unique potential to be revealed rather than being an empty vessel to be filled by others. Out of this came a method of learning and self development that has become recognised around the globe.
Depends heavily from school to school, although at primary and secondary schools, as far as I'm aware, classes of 30 are often avoided and split up, rather then packed together.
Depends heavily from school to school, although at primary and secondary schools, as far as I'm aware, classes of 30 are often avoided and split up, rather then packed together.
This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes how to write a CV, application procedure, interview dos and don'ts, Belgian management culture.
Belgium’s first alternative directory assistance services - available through the shortcode 14-14 - can now be accessed on the internet.
Moving to Belgium presents a host of challenges to expats, not least of all finding the right home.
The psychological effects of global mobility can be physically painful.
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