← Back to homeBritish International School of Brussels
Brussels, Belgium · est. 2000 · Private
Illustration · Brussels
The British International School of Brussels (BISB) is a small British primary day school for children aged 3 to 11 in central Brussels, midway between the European Commission and NATO. It was founded in September 2000 and celebrated 25 years in 2025. The Infant Department occupies a historic building on Avenue Emile Max, and since 2009 the Junior Department has been in a building on Avenue Emeraude nearby. Teaching is in English following the National Curriculum for England adapted to an international student body; there is specialist support for non-English speakers, and French is taught from Reception. The school calls itself a United Nations Global School and emphasises sustainability. The school year follows the calendar of the francophone state schools: five blocks of 7 or 8 weeks and roughly 7 weeks of summer holiday. Parents are kept informed through the school app and the Headteacher's Friday newsletters; the Headteacher is Helen Prescott.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $9 829–28 526 a year
8 700–25 250 EUR
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Registration fee
≈ $847
750 EUR
About the fees Annual tuition for the 2026-2027 academic year: Pre-Nursery and Nursery mornings only (five mornings) 11650 euros, afternoons only (four afternoons, not Wednesday) 8700, full days 20350; Early Years 3 (Reception) 21400; Years 1-2 23750; Years 3-6 25250 euros.
Admissions "We accept enrolments throughout the school year." Parents fill in the enquiry form on the website, after which the school arranges an appointment; open days are held several times a year. A place is secured by paying the registration fee, the deposit and 10% of the annual fee. The school speaks of its "international student body" and offers "specialist support for non-English speakers"; the website states no other admission conditions.
Stages and year groups Grades Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Reception, Years 1-6. The Early Years Foundation Stage of the English National Curriculum: Pre-Nursery and Nursery (ages 3-4) and Reception, called Early Years 3 in the fee schedule. Then Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2, ages 5-7) and Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6, ages 7-11) following the National Curriculum for England adapted to an international student body: English, Mathematics and Science plus themed topics covering History, Geography, Design and Technology, IT, Art and Music, with comparative religious studies. From Reception pupils have four French lessons a week, specialist Music twice a week, blocks of swimming, tennis blocks for Key Stage 2, and an outdoor education programme (orienteering, archery, hiking). The school ends at Year 6 and has no secondary classes.
Address Avenue Emile Max 163, 1030 Brussels
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
COBIS · membershipThe school is a member of COBIS. It is a primary school following the National Curriculum for England, ages 3 to 11.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
COBISCouncil of British International Schools
An association of British schools abroad with a quality inspection of its own. It has nine membership categories, and the word "accredited" appears in seven of them, although COBIS does its own inspection in one: in the rest it recognises an accreditation granted by somebody else.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to this organisation but has not been through its accreditation. The difference matters: membership is usually paid for and has no external inspection behind it. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: Two buildings a few hundred metres apart, midway between the European Commission and NATO headquarters: the Infant Department (ages 3-7) is in the historic building on Avenue Emile Max (the Acorn building, included in historical tours), and since 2009 the Junior Department (ages 7-11) has been in the building on Avenue Emeraude. Two libraries: the Infant Library at the centre of the Acorn building and the Junior Department Library with an interactive screen and a stage for debating, music and cinema. Swimming takes place at the NATO pool and tennis at a local sports centre.
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The school speaks of experienced teachers and assistants and small, cosy classrooms. The Our Team page lists 13 staff members, including Nursery Teacher Alison Davies. Music is taught by a specialist, and French is taught from Reception to Year 6. The school does not publish teacher qualifications, class sizes or the student-teacher ratio.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy ratified by the Board is published on the website, together with the Staff Code of Conduct and a Whistleblower policy. The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Alison Davies, with Jane Still as Deputy DSL. The policy is based on the UK guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education; the school works with the local partners SOS Enfants, Schaerbeek Police and Schaerbeek PMS.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)60 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)65 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country