Overcrowded European Schools in Brussels: An Immediate Alternative from the International Schools Network

The European Schools in Brussels have been facing a long-standing overcrowding crisis that now concerns the entire educational ecosystem of the capital.
Oversized classes, temporary prefabricated structures, extended waiting times for newly arrived families: pressure on existing infrastructure continues to grow as the European and international community in Brussels keeps expanding. Against this backdrop, a consortium of international schools based in Brussels publicly issued, in early May 2026, a proposal presented as immediate and financially neutral.

According to information reported by the international schools that signed the joint statement and relayed by the Belgian press, some classes in the European Schools now host around thirty students, and several cohorts are housed in temporary prefabricated structures. These conditions raise concerns regarding safety, educational quality, and learning conditions, all of which are particularly sensitive issues for expatriate families who consider schooling a central factor when settling in Brussels.
To address this pressure, a new European School is planned in Neder-Over-Heembeek, with an estimated capacity of around 3,000 students. The project, however, follows a financial trajectory comparable to that of the Laeken site, whose construction costs exceeded 88 million euros. Given the current budgetary context, both in Belgium and at the European level, the opening of the new site is not expected before 2030.

A group of international schools active in Brussels, including Ace of Brussels, BIS, BJAB, Courtyard, ISF, BEPS, and MIS, states it can absorb a significant share of the demand as early as the next academic year. The consortium indicates it could welcome at least 500 additional students in September 2026, and up to 1,000 additional students in September 2027, which represents roughly half of the capacity envisaged for the future Neder-Over-Heembeek facility.
The proposal rests on three main arguments. The first is speed of implementation, with places available as early as September 2026 rather than around 2030. The second is the containment of public spending, since the solution would allow Belgium to avoid co-financing infrastructure whose cost could exceed 88 million euros. The third is the improvement of learning conditions, with students enrolled in the international network spared the constraints associated with overcrowded establishments and temporary structures.

The proposal calls for two adjustments from the European institutions. The first concerns the reallocation of part of the existing budget already dedicated to the education of European staff children towards funding this transitional solution. The consortium mentions the possibility of offering harmonised reduced fees for families of EU personnel, several participating schools having indicated they would be willing to examine adapted fee arrangements.
The second adjustment relates to curriculum flexibility. Families could opt for internationally recognised programmes such as the International Baccalaureate or the Cambridge curriculum, presented as credible and continuous alternatives to the European Schools system.
A petition has been launched on Change.org inviting Belgian authorities and European institutions to open a structured dialogue on this proposal.

This initiative draws attention to a sometimes underestimated reality of the Brussels educational landscape. Beyond the European Schools, the capital benefits from a dense network of international establishments able to welcome students of all nationalities and to deliver internationally recognised curricula. British schools, American schools, bilingual programmes, IB and Cambridge curricula, international Montessori establishments: the offering covers the full range of educational pathways sought by expatriate families settled in the Brussels region.
For more than twelve years, internationalschools.brussels has listed and presented the leading international schools in Brussels and its surroundings, with the aim of helping families identify the establishment that best matches their family and professional plans. At a time when demand continues to grow strongly, this network is set to play an increasingly central role in welcoming international families to Belgium.