Belgium · Liège
Waha is a municipal secondary school combining French-language education with Freinet methods. Families choose between an active-pedagogy route and immersion in English, Dutch or German. Confirm the child’s exact route and an available place before relying on the immersion label.
Athénée communal Léonie de Waha is a municipal secondary school at Boulevard d’Avroy 96 in Liège. The City of Liège is its organising authority.
It is separate from the municipal nursery and primary school in the same building. That distinction matters because the primary school begins English immersion, while this profile covers the secondary school.
Waha offers French-language general secondary education through two broad routes. One follows active Freinet pedagogy without subject immersion. The other teaches selected subjects in English, Dutch or German.
Both routes lead towards the Certificat d’enseignement secondaire supérieur (CESS). Waha does not offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma or an English-only curriculum.
This is a day school. Families must arrange housing and daily care independently. The school’s building history says its former boarding facility closed in 1981.
Waha suits a pupil who can study the French-community curriculum and benefits from cooperative, project-based work. Its Freinet methods operate alongside subject timetables, formal assessments and external examinations.
The school describes workshops, cross-curricular projects, educational visits and class councils. Pupils take part in decisions about their learning environment and work together on practical tasks.
Families wanting immersion should treat it as a language pathway within a French-language school. It does not replace French, and a school place does not automatically include an immersion place.
Waha says teachers appointed to established posts complete two additional years of Freinet training. This is the school’s account of its staff requirement, not an independent measure of teaching quality.
The first two secondary years form the first stage. The published immersion grid gives the same 32 weekly periods for English, Dutch and German:
| Subject | Periods |
|---|---|
| Philosophy and citizenship | 1 |
| Ethics, philosophy and citizenship, or religion | 1 |
| French | 6 |
| Mathematics | 4 |
| History in the immersion language | 2 |
| Geography in the immersion language | 2 |
| Intensive study of the immersion language | 4 |
| Science in the immersion language | 3 |
| Physical education | 3 |
| Technology | 1 |
| Visual arts in 1re, music in 2e | 1 |
| Latin | 3 |
| Reading workshop | 1 |
| Total | 32 |
Latin and the reading workshop are included in the published total. The grid does not mark Latin as optional.
In 3e and 4e, the immersion table displays routes built around Latin, stronger science, economics or social sciences. It says there are five routes but shows four columns, so confirm the current combinations.
In 5e and 6e, the immersion grid displays ten combinations using mathematics, sciences, Latin, languages, history, communication, economics and social sciences. Weekly totals vary between 34 and 36 periods.
Waha also publishes active-pedagogy timetables without subject immersion. Options expand after the first stage. The exact combination available depends on the pupil’s year and route.
The final school award is the CESS, Belgium’s French-community upper-secondary certificate. The school also describes a final research project, the travail de fin d’humanité, which immersion pupils write in their target language.
History, geography and science are taught in the target language during the published first-stage route. French and mathematics remain in French.
The balance changes later. The current third-stage immersion grid places history in the target language but lists geography separately. Families should check the timetable for the child’s precise option combination.
The official 2026–27 immersion-school register lists Waha for English, Dutch and German. It does not show capacity by language or year.
Waha calls its model “early immersion” and says its immersion pupils have studied through immersion since third nursery. However, the official admissions FAQ says pupils may begin immersion in first secondary without primary immersion.
Those statements do not fully explain Waha’s own selection practice. Ask whether a new applicant’s prior education and target-language level meet the school’s requirement.
For 2026–27, the initial first-secondary registration period ran from 2 February to 6 March 2026. Applications submitted during that period were not ranked by arrival time.
Registration resumed on 20 April 2026. Later applications are recorded chronologically after those from the initial period, and the earlier priority categories no longer apply.
The official FAQ warns that immersion places are usually limited. A pupil may obtain a place at the school while remaining on a separate waiting list for immersion.
Waha’s form still shows the February–March dates. Its current homepage instead invites families seeking a late reorientation to arrange an appointment with school leadership.
Ask the school about the relevant year, route and language. No 2027–28 dates or current Waha capacity were published when this profile was researched.
The first-secondary procedure uses the formulaire unique d’inscription (FUI), the common application form. A child outside a Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles primary school does not receive one automatically. The family can request it from the registration service or generate it through Mon Espace Inscription.
The general part must be delivered in person to the first-choice school; completing an online section does not finish the application. Ask the school about appointments and keep the receipt confirming the submitted details.
For entry after 1re, contact Waha directly. Its public pages do not give a separate assessment process, French threshold or document list for later-year applicants.
A school offer does not grant Belgian residence status. International families must arrange immigration, accommodation and adult responsibility independently. Belgian compulsory schooling runs from age five to 18, but a particular school or immersion place can still be full.
Waha describes peer tutoring, additional challenge work and written plans to address individual learning gaps. It can agree reasonable adjustments based on an expert assessment. The written agreement involves the pupil, family, school leadership and psycho-medical-social centre.
The school also says it receives pupils in an integration process who need specific support. These statements do not establish the staffing, facilities or provision available for a particular child.
No dedicated French-as-an-additional-language programme was found on the reviewed pages. Ask for a written support plan and confirm physical access before accepting a place.
Smartschool carries schedules, course materials, messages and attendance information. The school also describes newsletters, parent meetings and individual appointments.
Waha is an official municipal school, not a private-fee international school. Belgian government guidance says compulsory public and subsidised schools may not charge tuition.
Families can still pay permitted costs, including some supplies and excursions. In French-community education, parents should receive a written estimate before the school year.
The school’s supporting non-profit helps fund trips and workshops. Its existence does not show what an individual family must pay or which assistance is available.
The school does not advertise boarding. Its current pages also do not publish a school-bus service, meal arrangements or a complete daily timetable.
The Liège guide compares local options. The Belgium guide explains the wider school system.
Official pages and documents we read. If a figure matters to your budget or your application, open the link and confirm it is still current.
Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.
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Liège has French-system schools that teach some subjects in another language. The child’s age and previous immersion experience matter more than a general request for an English school.
7 minStart with the qualification your child would actually receive. Then check its subjects, language demands, and recognition in the countries where they may study next.
7 minStart with your child and the family's likely plans. Define the non-negotiables, verify the school's claims, compare three realistic options and visit with specific questions.
7 minTuition is only one line of the budget. Separate charges from advance payments, record what each figure includes, and ask the school to confirm your calculation in writing.