IB World Schools in Belgium

Are you looking for an International Baccalaureate World School in Belgium? Here you can find a list of Belgian schools that have a profile in the IB World Schools Yearbook.

The schools featured below offer at least one of the IB's four programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP). You can use the search filter below to look for schools that offer one programme in particular.

Home to a raft of European Union institutions and NATO’s headquarters, Belgium has attracted a spectacular array of international schools to serve its high-powered, multi-national workforce. Most are centred on Brussels with a smaller cluster around Antwerp. 

There are French, German, Scandinavian, Polish, Czech, Dutch, British, American, Japanese and Indian schools, bilingual ones offering international education in diverse languages, and foundations advocating novel methods such as Montessori, Steiner and Freinet.

There are 12 IB World Schools in Belgium, and all bar one are authorised to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Of these, six have English as the medium of instruction and six teach in French and English. St John’s International School, which offers such bilingual instruction, is one of four schools that teach all three stages of the IB curriculum.

Education is compulsory from age six to 18. The state-funded system is free of charge and schools teach in French, Flemish or German, depending on the area and community served. Schools come in three types: those run by Belgium’s three official language communities, public schools managed by local councils, and subsidized free schools mainly run by the Catholic church.

Pre-school is free from age two and primary school lasts six years to age 12. Secondary schooling takes six years and is divided into three cycles leading to the diploma of secondary education. As well as general programmes, technical, vocational and specialist arts tracks are provided. 

Higher education is also divided between the language communities. There are six Flemish universities and seven French ones, plus numerous colleges and institutes. In 2019, net enrolment was 96 per cent at pre-schools, 98 per cent at primary level and 95 per cent for secondary schools, while gross tertiary enrolment was 80 per cent.

IB World Schools are part of a thriving international school sector in Belgium. For information on all international schools, you can visit: www.internationalschoolsearch.com