Children can start kindergarten when they are about 2.5 years old. You can enrol you child from the age of 1 onwards.
Primary school begins at the age of 6, while secondary school is for children aged between 12 and 18 years old.
Children are required to go to school from the age of 5 onwards.
At public schools in the Flemish region of Belgium, classes are taught in Dutch (except language classes). In primary schools, there are no special classes for non-Dutch speaking children, but many schools will offer extra support with learning Dutch. Children at secondary school who don’t speak Dutch have the opportunity to take Dutch classes in the education system for non-Dutch-speaking newcomers (Dutch: “onthaalklas voor anderstalige nieuwkomers”, OKAN).
Most schools do not provide extracurricular activities, but each community offers additional sports, music and other leisure activities outside school hours.
All information about schooling, costs, general rules and habits can be found on the website of Atlas Integratie en Inburgering Antwerpen. Atlas offers information and support to newcomers and organisations from the city of Antwerp. On their website you can consult the Information Guide for non-Dutch-speaking underage newcomers and their parents which explains how to find a school for your child in Antwerp. The information guide is available in 12 languages.
You are free to choose your child’s school. Even if your child is not yet registered in the municipality or has no residence documents, he or she can still attend school. Antwerp has a lot of schools, divided into different school groups and education providers:
- GO! onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap (Antigon)
- Provenciaal Onderwijs Antwerpen
- Stedelijk Onderwijs Antwerpen
- Vrij Katholiek Onderwijs Antwerpen
- Overleg Kleine Onderwijsverstrekkers
Antwerp also has some international schools:
Please note that you will pay high registration fees at these schools, while the public schools are free of charge (no enrolment fee, you will only pay for certain expenses).
Schools for the current school year
On the website ‘scholenzoeker Antwerpen’ you will find an overview of all schools in Antwerp (in Dutch). You can contact the school of your choice to find out whether they still have places available.
Schools for the next school year
Children can be registered for the first year of primary or secondary school using the online registration system.