The International School of Brussels

Between 8:35 and 8:40 depending on the grade level.

Between 15:30 and 15:40 depending on the grade level. Students in PreSchool & PreKindergarten finish at 12:30 on Wednesdays.

To support our parents and students, ISB offers a flexible, safe, and fun after-school Supervision Programme for all students from Preschool to Grade 6. A range of fun and relaxing activities are available during Supervision with board games, drawing, and puzzles for older students, and a monthly activity theme for the younger students, which includes story time, sing-a-longs, and crafts.

Yes, we have more than 30 buses serving most parts of the city and surrounding areas. The ISB Bus Service is the most popular and sustainable means of transport for our students. The Bus Service is open to all students from Grades K to 12, and PK children accompanied by older siblings may also take the bus upon approval. For our students' safety and convenient tracking of the school buses, ISB uses the BatOnRoute application. This school transportation management system provides additional security and useful real-time information on all of our bus routes.

ISB provides daily hot meals in two on-site cafeterias. Menus are seasonal, varied, and reflect the school’s international community, with options for vegetarian and special dietary needs. The recently renovated dining spaces offer a modern and welcoming environment.

Yes, we have teaching assistants in our PreSchool through Kindergarten classes.

Every child, from age 3 to 18, is provided with access to age appropriate technology. In the Early Childhood Centre, this means digital cameras, educational games, and tablet computers are available for use in every classroom. From grades 3 to 5, students are engaged directly in one-to-one computing, meaning every student has their own tablet computer for use in the classroom, integrating technology and research skills into the curriculum to complement all units of study. Students in grades 6 and above are given their own laptops. These are used in class and at home, bridging the gap between home and classroom and ensuring students can be independent in their learning, which can occur at any time and in any place. AI and Personalised Learning: By using educational AI tools, such as our school-wide FlintK12 platform, teachers can create targeted chatbots that greatly enhance the student experience. Potential applications include support for test preparation, deeper content exploration, and immediate writing feedback – all provided in a secure environment designed to actively support learning, not supplant it. Transparency and trust have been key in developing ISB’s approach to AI usage – ensuring that each student who uses AI understands how to get the most from the tool, is aware of the biases and errors that can appear, and is transparent about how AI is used to support their learning.

Yes, distance learning was implemented for all grade levels during the countrywide lockdown of spring 2020. Currently, this is being used as a back-up teaching method for the rare occasions in which campus closures, due to snow or other reasons, would exceed one day.

No, we are an international and inclusive school that is made up of students from around the world with all different types of religious and non-religious beliefs.

We are an international and inclusive school that is made up of students from around the world with all different types of religious and non-religious beliefs.

USA (19.5%)

17.5% Belgian students. A number of our Belgian students are repatriates who attended international schools elsewhere before moving back to their home country.

The ISB Plus Programme of after-school activities enables all students to discover their passions outside of the classroom. Our co-curricular programme directly supports the school’s mission, introducing students to a range of interests that provide opportunities for personal development beyond the curriculum. The programme includes approximately 90 different activities, which run everyday, over three seasons. Activities fall under five general categories: Art, Outdoor, Active, Interests, and Languages. Activities include Art, Chinese, Chess, Climbing, Coding, Cooking, Dance, Drama, Fashion and Textile, Fencing, Math, Martial Arts, MUN, Music, Robotics, Science, Soccer, Speech and Debate, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga, amongst many more!

As students move through the ISB journey from ECC to HS, they will have the opportunity to pick from the full offering of 15 sports. Our programme is age and grade-level appropriate, making sure each student is engaging with athletics safely. Swimming lessons are available for Lower School students up to Grade 5, and sports such as track, cross country, and tennis are available for students in Grades 6 and above. The available sports are: American Football, Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Rugby, Soccer, Softball, Special Olympics, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball.

ISB Athletics has over 50 competitive teams, enabling students to test multiple activities and try out a different sport each season, in order to find their true passion. ISB is a leading member of the International Schools Sports Tournament (ISST) Organisation, a network of top international school athletics programmes from across Europe. Since its founding in the late 1950s, ISB Athletics has grown into one of Europe’s largest and most respected programmes, with our student-athletes having won over 100 ISST Championships.

Two Libraries; a Theatre with a Lights booth and several rooms for rehearsal, classes, and costumes and stage design; STEM & Science Labs in both Lower and Upper School; several Music rooms; 5 Visual Arts rooms; and 2 Design & Tech rooms.

ISB has some of the finest athletic facilities amongst international schools in Europe. Featuring two gyms, two athletics fields, a running track, a fully equipped fitness room, a fully equipped Strongbox outdoor gym, Dojang for Martial Arts, a Tennis Bubble, indoor rock-climbing walls, and a dance studio.

English is the main language of instruction and communication at ISB. It is therefore important that all students become proficient in the academic language of the classroom. ISB offers an ELD programme (English Language Development) to enable students to acquire the level of literacy in English needed to access the curriculum in all subjects. An assessment is done upon entry and students will then receive the appropriate ELD programme (Foundational, Intermediate, and Bridging). Ongoing assessments allow students to move between levels as their English language skills improve.

In addition to French and Dutch across all grade levels, ISB offers a unique Home Language Programme, integrated during the school day and within students’ timetables. This programme was implemented in the Lower School in the 2024-25 school year, offering language lessons in the five languages most spoken at home by ISB’s Lower School community – Korean, Spanish, Hebrew, Swedish, and Japanese. From 2025-26, ISB extended this programme to the Upper School as well, supporting students throughout the school in maintaining their linguistic and cultural identity. Bilingual Programmes: In the Middle School, all students in Grades 7, 8, and 9 who have reached a C Level of language competency in French may choose to take one or more immersion courses beyond the French language course. Starting in the Elementary School (Grade 5) and continuing into the Middle School, our programme of Science and Social Studies in French has been in place for 30 years and is amongst the most popular offerings at ISB. Students can take their Science and Social Studies courses in English or in French, as the course content and approach in the French-taught courses is identical to the programme of study offered in English. Taught by teachers who are subject specialists in Science and Social Studies, this bilingual programme benefits and is designed for both students who are learning French as a second language and for native speakers who wish to continue their studies in their home language. In High School, apart from a substantial programme of language acquisition and development courses in English, Dutch, French, Japanese, and Spanish, students can take the IBDP Core Course Theory of Knowledge in English or French. Furthermore, approximately 50% of the students following the IB Diploma Programme at ISB receive bilingual diplomas, which is almost double the global percentage of bilingual diplomas awarded.

At ISB, learning support is available for any students with learning differences, including students who exhibit a greater need for challenge or extension opportunities. Services include Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Educational Psychology/Educational Testing, School Counselling, College and Careers Guidance Counselling, English Language Development Classes, and Home Language Classes.

All students are supported in typical classroom settings by teachers who differentiate instruction and provide necessary accommodations and modifications. Additional to their differentiated teaching practices, students are also supported via the following facilities: - In the MS & HS, there are Learning Support Centres equipped as a suite of small classroom spaces and offices separated by large windows that allow for testing accommodations to be administered while direct instruction is delivered in another area of the centre. In the ECC and ES, each Learning Support Teacher has a small classroom where they provide in-class support in a collaborative model, which is established through flexible grouping opportunities. - Students with moderate support needs are supported through co-teaching and in small groups in the Learning Support Classrooms or Centres described above. - Six specially designed Intensive Learning Support classrooms equipped with adapted working spaces, sensory integration spaces, and some with shared kitchen spaces for life-skills teaching. - Students may be served in Speech Language Therapy rooms in sectional spaces, within the classroom, or other social environments or collaboration spaces. - Occupational Therapy is delivered in a spacious separate clinic equipped with an outside sensory path. The building is equipped with a ceiling hook that allows for different kinds of swings to be attached, crash pads, soft PE-type equipment, and a table for writing and fine-motor activities. The Occupational Therapy clinic is located in the Chalet, but occupational therapists can also work in classrooms.

Our programme of education is differentiated as of Kindergarten. We have standards and norms we expect students to reach for each grade level, however, there is no ceiling and many of our students perform and work well beyond the grade-level expectations. Students with extraordinary talents, passions, and ambitions in fields such as Athletics, Arts, STEM, amongst others, are supported with the resources and flexibility they need in order to excel at their passion while maintaining high academic standards. ISB ensures that student athletes, artists, or scientists who are often following demanding training or competition schedules benefit from a tailored school programme that allows them to keep up with all the important areas of their education while they are following their passions. The school also supports highly talented students to follow subjects at higher levels, both inside the ISB curriculum and beyond, by putting them in contact with higher educational institutions and programmes for gifted students.

Yes. Students across all school sections have access to educational psychologists and to other targeted support as part of the school's Counselling Programme.