British School of Brussels

Established	1970
School type	British School and International School
Principal	Sue Woodroofe
Location	Tervuren, Belgium
Campus	15 acres (6.1 ha)
Athletic Leagues	ISST, GISGA, IAPS
Website	britishschool.be

The British School of Brussels (commonly abbreviated to BSB), is an international school in Belgium. It occupies a site of about 15 acres (6.1 ha) surrounded by woodland near the Royal Museum of Central Africa in the town of Tervuren, east of Brussels. It has over 1,700 students on roll, within the age range of 1–18 from approximately 70 nationalities currently enrolled. BSB consists of two schools: Primary and Secondary.

BSB has a bilingual English/French programme. English and French mother-tongue teachers teach students aged 4–13 in a 50/50 timetable covering both languages.

History

The British School of Brussels was founded on 5 December 1969 by a group of businessmen led by Sir Dick Pantlin CBE, just as the UK was preparing to join the European Union. Pantlin went on to become the chairman of the board of Trustees and Honorary President of the school with Leslie Firman, the group's secretary. For its first few months it occupied temporary premises in the Rue de la Loi in Brussels. The School first opened on 15 September 1970 with 213 pupils aged 5–13 and 16 teaching staff including the first headmaster, Alan Humphries. On 9 December 1970, the Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the first building on the campus, then called Building 1.

In 2006 all buildings were renamed after famous Belgian people or fictional characters such as Victor Horta and Tintin.

Primary

The Primary School curriculum is open for ages 1–11, and includes the Early Learning & Development Centre, Kindercrib, which is the school's day care service.

Secondary

The Secondary School goes up to the age of 16 at which point the students take either nine or ten IGCSEs. Post-16, students are given the option to study for English A Levels, the International Baccalaureate Diploma or Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) vocational courses in Business, Hospitality and Sport.

Facilities

• A Design and Technology workshop
• A Post-16 Centre, Careers, and Business Suite
• A purpose built 240-seat Theatre
• A multipurpose hall (Rubens Hall) seating 250
• A modern Science and Mathematics block
• A self-service Cafeteria seating 330
• A Modern Languages suite
• A specialist ICT Suite
• A purpose-built Lower Primary complex and Early Years Centre
• An extended staffroom
• A fully equipped Recording Studio

Sports

The British School of Brussels has a range of on-site facilities. The Gym contains basketball and netball courts but is also used for other sports. The school has four outdoor astro-turf tennis pitches, two squash courts, two hockey pitches and a football/rugby pitch which can also be used for cricket.

External links

• BSB website