Once your child reaches the 6th grade in elementary school (basisonderwijs), it's time to decide where to go for secondary school. In Belgium, children go to secondary school (middelbare school) from 12 to 18 years of age. As with elementary schools, the Flemish Community is responsible for education, which ensures consistency across the various academic networks and institutions.
Typical school timings
The school year in Flanders starts on the 1st of September and ends on the 30th of June.
A typical school day in Belgium starts around 8:30 and finishes around 15:30. There is no school on Wednesday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday.
A lunch break is usually held from noon to 13:00. Most pupils stay in the school during the lunch break and usually bring their own lunch. Some schools provide hot meals during lunch.
Types of secondary education
Secondary school consists of three stages, with two years of study for each stage.
The 1st and 2nd years - what's known as the 1st grade of middle school - are foundational to establishing a basic curriculum and guiding students toward the type of education and the field of study they want to pursue in the future.
From the 2nd grade (comprised of the 3rd and 4th years), students must choose between the following types of education (study tracks):
- General secondary education: known as ‘doorstroom finaliteit’ - or its more traditional term ‘ASO (Algemeen Secundair onderwijs)’ - is a broader type of education that lays a strong foundation for students pursuing higher education. While students will have electives around a chosen field of study, this type of education will not prepare the student for a particular profession.
- Technical secondary education: known by various terms including ‘dubbel finaliteit’, ‘doorstroom-arbeidsmarkt finaliteit’, or the more traditional ‘TSO (Technisch Secundair onderwijs)’. Students will get a comprehensive curriculum through this type of education that gives them a choice between pursuing higher education or focusing on more practical training to begin a specific profession right after secondary school.
- Secondary education in the arts: ‘KSO (Kunst Secundair onderwijs)’ follows the same principles as TSO but specifically focuses on art.
- Vocational secondary education, known as ‘arbeidsmarkt finaliteit’ or the traditional ‘BSO (Beroeps Secundair onderwijs)’, is a more practice-oriented type of education that prepares students for a specific profession they can begin right after finishing secondary school.
School denominations and fields of study
Similar to elementary school education, students have free choice between the available schools in and around Leuven, which are primarily two types:
- Official education (‘officieel onderwijs’) schools are organized by or on behalf of the government and do not ascribe to a specific denomination. Students can choose from various religious or ethics classes in these schools, along with compulsory education.
- Free education (‘vrij orderwijs’) schools are not organized by the government (but are still subsidized and overseen by the government) and are typically associated with a specific religion, albeit with minimal impact on curriculum and pedagogy. The largest group in this category are the schools with catholic roots. The schools that follow a specific study method, like Freinet or Steiner, also fall within this category.
Where things begin to differ from elementary school - and one of the great aspects of the Belgian secondary education system - is its ability to provide subject matter differentiation from the first year of secondary school.
In the two years of the 1st grade, students get to test, explore, and reinforce specific fields of study. From the 2nd grade, they will receive subjects related to their chosen field of study based on the type of education they want to pursue (ASO, TSO, KSO, BSO). The main categories of available fields of study are:
- Languages and culture
- Art and creation
- Economics and organization
- Sport
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
- Agriculture and horticulture
- Society and welfare
- Food and Hospitality
Most schools offer a large selection, but not all will be available. Some schools are so specialized they'll offer perhaps 2 or 3 of these fields at most.
There are no international secondary schools in Leuven (yet). You can review this list for an overview of available international schools in Belgium - primarily in or around Brussels. One of the biggest advantages of choosing a local school is immersion. Children will be immersed in the local language (Dutch) and culture. Several schools actively support children learning Dutch and organize introduction classes for newcomers called OKAN (Dutch as a second language). More about this in the next section.
Choosing the right school
Secondary schools in Leuven offer plenty of opportunities to learn more about their institution through info evenings and open days. Most of these opportunities happen a few weeks before the official online registration begins; others may offer opportunities to visit during that period. Make sure to check your preferred schools' websites and social media channels for exact dates. Many schools can even accommodate and offer tours outside their scheduled information days if it passed before you knew it or your arrival in Leuven doesn't coincide with the regular school year.
Some Facebook groups related to life in Leuven (including the Expats in Leuven group) can provide excellent school guidance and recommendations. It is important to note you have to put these opinions and advice in the context of your particular situation. You'll find opinions raving about their school being amazing, only to get comments from others completely disagreeing with those statements. What's good for some will be terrible for others.
Here are some questions that will help you narrow down your schools of choice:
- How accessible is the school from where you live by public transport, car, or bike? For many students, beginning secondary school also means the start of going to school on their own.
- Do you already have a type of education (ASO, TSO, BSO) and field of study (languages, art, STEM, etc.) preference, and does your school offer it? If you have no preference yet, does the school offer variety in case you'd like to change?
- What additional activities does the school offer outside of the traditional educational curriculum?
- Do you have any special needs (disabilities, neurodivergence) that require additional care or provisions?
- What are the school's fundamental values and policies around diversity, inclusion, bullying, and religious tolerance?
- What about if the student cannot speak fluent Dutch? Does the school offer the OKAN program?*
It's always advisable to have several preferred schools on your list. This will come in handy for the enrollment procedure we will explain next.
*Leuven schools that offer an OKAN orientation year are: SALCO, Heilig-Hartinstituut Kessel-Lo, and GO! Redingenhof.
Registering for an OKAN year can be done directly with the school anytime during the year. Note: at the time of writing, there is a waiting list of about 6 months for OKAN. Learn more about learning Dutch for children here.
Enrollment procedure for the first year
The majority of schools in Leuven work through an online registration tool. Back in the days before this system, parents had to queue for very long periods to claim one of the coveted spots in their school of choice. The centralized enrollment process ensures everyone has a fair shot at a place in their school of choice and the convenience of it all being managed online. The allocation is completely random. It doesn't matter if you enter your school(s) selection on the first or last registration day. Everyone gets the same chances.*
The majority of schools in Leuven work through an online registration tool. Back in the days before this system, parents had to queue for very long periods to claim one of the coveted spots in their school of choice. The centralized enrollment process ensures everyone has a fair shot at a place in their school of choice and the convenience of it all being managed online. The allocation is completely random. It doesn't matter if you enter your school(s) selection on the first or last registration day. Everyone gets the same chances.*
The key steps and dates for the enrollment procedure in 2024 are:
- Register: From Monday, the 25th of March 2024 (14:00) until Friday, the 19th of April 2024 (14:00), you can register your child for the school(s) of your choice using the online registration tool. You can register for multiple schools. The online registration tool will prompt you to enter your chosen schools in order of preference.
- Enroll: Once registered, the available places will be allocated. You will receive an e-mail on the 7th of May 2024 with the school's contact details where you can enroll your child. Make an appointment with the school between the 14th of May 2024 and the 10th of June 2024 to enroll your child.
- After the 14th of May 2022: If you missed the registration period or did not find a school yet for your child, you can enroll your child directly in the school of your choice if there are places available. You will need to make an appointment with the school to enroll your child.
*The only two aspects that give priority registration in the secondary school of choice are when the student has siblings - including step-siblings, half-siblings, or other children in the same household - currently enrolled in the secondary school or when the student is a child of secondary school staff in that specific school.
What happens if you are put on the waiting list?
If there is no place in any of the schools you selected, your child will be placed on the reserve list. In short:
- You will then receive proof, a 'notification of unrealized registration' (in Dutch - 'mededeling van niet-gerealiseerde inschrijving'). Keep track of this.
- The schools will use the reserve list until October 7, 2024.
- If places become available, the school will contact the students on the reserve list in order
The email about school placements will come from ‘Aanmelden.school’. This email states in which school your child has an assigned place (T number) and/or in which schools your child is on the reserve list (R number).
- A serial number for a school that starts with a T
- this is the number of the ticket
- the email will also contain practical information about the arrangements for registering at the school.
- A serial number for a school that starts with an R
- this is the number for the school where your child is on the reserve list. The reserve list starts with number 1.
- when places become available, students on the reserve list will be contacted in the numbered order of their reserve list. The order of the reserve list will remain in place until the fifth school day in October.
- For students with an R number, the email contains an attachment with a refusal document. You must keep this proof. If places become available at this school later, the school will contact you to register. The school will always respect the order of the list with the R numbers.
To sum it up:
- T number means: I have an allocated place in the school
- R number means: I have a reserve number on the school's waiting list
Enrollment from the second and within the school year
If you would like to enroll your child in a new school during the school year then you need to contact the schools directly to see if there are open places or not. To enroll your child in the second year or further, the same applies, contact the school directly.
Additional information
- Dedicated page on the City of Leuven website
- Online enrollment tool for secondary school
- Flemish education system on Eurydice
- School holidays in Belgium
- List of schools in Leuven
- Questions or complaints: onderwijs@leuven.be
Useful Dutch vocabulary
basisonderwijs = elementary school
middelbare school = secondary school