European School Brussels I, Uccle and Berkendael, the European Baccalaureate

European School Brussels I offers a multilingual education leading to the European Baccalaureate. It is a day school with two sites: Uccle and Berkendael in Forest. Berkendael has nursery and primary classes; secondary education is at Uccle.

For an eligible family, the attraction is continuity in a child’s dominant language alongside substantial study of other European languages. Admission is centrally managed, however. Your child’s language section, year group and application category determine which sites can be considered.

Eligibility comes before campus preference

The Brussels European Schools primarily serve children of European-institution staff. Even Category I families are not guaranteed their preferred school.

Category I admission rights do not remove the system’s capacity constraints. Section III of the 2026–27 policy says the Central Enrolment Authority cannot guarantee a place to every Category I applicant, despite making every effort. This is separate from the lack of a guarantee for a preferred school.

• Category I: children in the system’s defined staff categories, exempt from tuition. These include specified EU and European School staff, among other groups in the official admissions list. Accredited parliamentary assistants qualify; local assistants to Members of the European Parliament fall in Category III.
• Category II: children covered by a financing agreement. The agreement determines admission and fee rights. Eurocontrol staff children have a specific Category II* arrangement from Primary 1; it does not guarantee their first-choice Brussels school.
• NATO/UN arrangements: children of NATO international civilian staff and UN international civil servants can obtain application-form access under the central FAQ. Article 7.3 and Annex I place them after Categories I and II, but before other Category III applicants. A place must be available and admission must not require a class split. Specific fees apply.

Other Category III applicants must meet all four conditions in Article 7.4 for 2026–27:

1. A sibling attended a Brussels European School throughout 2025–26 and continues there in 2026–27.
2. The application concerns that sibling’s school/site, with a place in the required section and year.
3. The class does not already have 24 pupils.
4. The application is considered during the second or third phase.

A sibling alone is therefore insufficient. The separate NATO/UN route does not depend on this sibling condition. If the parent’s employment status may change, ask the Central Enrolment Authority how that would affect continued attendance and fees.

School stages and teaching languages

Nursery starts in September of the calendar year a child turns four. Primary 1 starts in the year they turn six. The system has nursery, five primary years (P1–P5) and seven secondary years (S1–S7).

Use the equivalence table in the General Rules when transferring from another system. Ask the director to assess any atypical age placement under Articles 49–50; do not assume that an older pupil is automatically eligible.

Language 1 (L1) is normally the child’s mother tongue or dominant language and determines the section. The director determines it from the application and, where needed, assessment. It is not simply the family’s preferred language of schooling.

There is a specific exception for pupils who have already completed at least two years of primary or secondary education in another language. Article 47(e) of the General Rules allows the normal language-section principle to be waived in that situation. The director decides; it is not an unrestricted parental choice.

Language 2 (L2) is a second language within the European Schools’ prescribed choices. Ask which subjects will later be taught through L2 and how the school supports a pupil joining with less experience.

A pupil without a language section for their mother tongue is known as SWALS, meaning “Students Without A Language Section”. They may join an English, French or German section while receiving L1 teaching in their own language under the policy.

For 2026–27, the policy identifies Croatian SWALS, Estonian from S6, Latvian and Slovak from S5, and Slovenian from P3. The applicable school/site still depends on the allocation rules.

Which sections are where in 2026–27?

The current enrolment policy distinguishes existing classes from the sites receiving new applications.

Site	Sections and stage limits in the policy
Uccle	Danish, German, English, Spanish, French, Hungarian and Polish; Italian from P3; Latvian and Slovak in S1–S4; Slovenian in nursery, P1 and P2
Berkendael	English, Spanish, French, Italian, Latvian and Slovak; German from P2; Greek satellite classes. Nursery and primary only.

For new applications, the following distinctions matter:

• Danish, Hungarian and Polish applications go to Uccle. Slovenian nursery, P1 and P2 applications also go there.
• Latvian and Slovak nursery/primary applications go to Berkendael; S1–S4 applications go to Uccle.
• English nursery/primary applications go to Berkendael, Evere, Brussels III or Brussels IV, not Uccle.
• German nursery/primary applications go to Uccle, Evere, Brussels III or Brussels IV. Existing German classes from P2 at Berkendael do not make it a new-application option.
• French nursery/primary applications can include both EEB1 sites, Evere, Brussels III and Brussels IV. Spanish applications can include both EEB1 sites and Brussels III.
• Italian nursery/primary applications go to Berkendael, Evere or Brussels IV.

At secondary level, German, English and French applications can be allocated to Uccle, Woluwe, Brussels III or Brussels IV. Spanish is offered at Uccle and Brussels III; Italian at Uccle, Woluwe and Brussels IV.

For joint EEB1 applications involving English or Italian pupils, a nursery/primary child and a secondary sibling can attend different sites. The younger child goes to Berkendael and the older child to Uccle. Other joint EEB1 applications are assigned to the same site under Article 5.6.

Planned changes when Brussels V opens

The policy schedules EEB5 at Neder-over-Heembeek for 2030–31. The Slovenian section at Uccle is then due to move together to Berkendael.

Greek satellite pupils at Berkendael are due to transfer to EEB5, with protected exceptions:

• Siblings of pupils enrolled in those satellite classes before 2023–24 continue at EEB3.
• Pupils already at EEB3 when EEB5 opens, including former satellite pupils, and their siblings are not transferred.

Ask for the projected progression of your child’s particular section. A primary place at Berkendael does not by itself promise secondary schooling at Uccle.

Applying

Start with the central portal and the EEB1 enrolment page. First request eligibility access, then complete and submit the application with the required documents. Receiving a form link is not an admission decision.

You state school/site preferences. The Central Enrolment Authority applies section rules, capacity thresholds, random ranking and any valid priority criteria. Article 8 sets out special priorities and their evidence requirements.

The ordinary application windows for 2026–27 have closed as of 4 September 2026. Processing continues: the second and third phases formally close on 9 September. The first phase’s eligibility window was 7–29 January; applications ran 7–30 January. A restricted fourth phase runs from 10 September 2026 to 18 March 2027 under Article 12. It is not a general late-application extension; confirm whether your circumstances qualify.

Existing pupils are automatically re-enrolled. Follow the school’s withdrawal procedure if leaving, rather than assuming that no new application ends the place.

Tuition and additional costs

The official 2026–27 fee table is guidance, so confirm the applicable charge with EEB1.

Category I is tuition-exempt. For a new Category II financing agreement in Brussels, the published contribution is €13,856.46 per pupil. The current-contract amount was still marked “to be announced” when reviewed.

Category III cycle	Enrolled before 2013–14	Newly enrolled from 2013–14 onwards
Nursery	€3,637.56	€4,457.80
Primary	€5,001.71	€6,129.55
Secondary	€6,820.51	€8,358.46

Books, meals, transport and activities are additional. Consult the parents’ service association and the site’s book lists for a complete budget. Tuition exemption does not make every school service free.

Capacity is a practical consideration too. The policy recorded 14,648 pupils across Brussels on 15 October 2025 and described every site except Evere as above theoretical capacity. Classes can reach 30 pupils; ask about the actual class your child would join.

Qualification and support

The final qualification is the European Baccalaureate, taken at the end of S7. It is not the International Baccalaureate, the Belgian CESS or the national diploma of the section’s country.

For a future university application, check recognition and required subjects for the intended course. Language combinations and subject levels matter alongside the name of the diploma.

Educational support follows the European Schools’ support policy. Ask the coordinator what can be provided in your child’s section, how support is agreed and whether specialist provision is available. A general commitment to inclusion does not answer an individual support question.

Our take

EEB1 is worth considering when your child qualifies for the system and can continue learning in an appropriate language section. It is particularly relevant for Danish, Hungarian and Polish pupils because those applications are directed to Uccle.

For English primary, assess Berkendael and the other permitted sites rather than planning around Uccle. Test travel to the actual site, including a possible second journey for an older sibling.

Compare ISB or BSB if you need a separately managed, fee-paying English-medium school. Compare Lycée français Jean-Monnet if you specifically want the French national curriculum. These are different admissions and qualification choices, not interchangeable campuses.

Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.