How do you register your child in the 1st year of secondary school in Brussels? This page tells you how and when to do this:
Which children should be registered?
1st year A (1A)
After primary school, your child enters the 1st year of secondary school. You register your child in either 1A or 1B. Your child can start in 1A if it has a certificate of elementary education. Sometimes it can also go to 1A without a certificate of elementary education.
Not sure yet whether your child will start in 1A or 1B? Then you can apply for a place in both.
More information about 1A (in Dutch).
1st year B (1B)
After primary school, your child enters the 1st year of secondary school. You register your child in either 1A or 1B. Does your child not have a certificate of elementary education? Then your child can start in 1B. 1B is for young people who prefer to learn by doing or for young people with a learning disadvantage.
Not sure yet whether your child will start in 1A or 1B? Then you can apply for a place in both.
More information about 1B (in Dutch).
Changing schools
Is your child changing schools...
- at the start of a new school year? Then you must apply for a place for your child before you can register them in a new school.
- during the school year? Then contact the new school and ask if there are still places available.
When to register?
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Prepare
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Prepare your application well: get to know schools, inform yourself about the procedure and gather the necessary documents. Learn more about what you can do to prepare.
Siblings and children of staff have priority, but there is no separate application period for them. Apply for a place at the same time as the other children. More information about priority.
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Attend an online information session
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During an information session you receive information about the registration procedure in (mainstream) nursery and primary education in Dutch. The sessions take place on Tuesday 14 March (7 – 8 p.m.) and Thursday 16 March (7 – 8 p.m.). The information sessions are organised by the LOP Brussel Secundair Onderwijs.
Read here how to attend an information session.
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Apply for a place for your child online
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Planning on registering your child in the 1st year of a Dutch-speaking secondary school in Brussels? Then you always have to apply for a place online first. Apply for a place between 27 March (10 a.m.) and 21 April 2023 (4 p.m.). Some children have priority.
Find out here how to apply for a place for your child.
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Register your child after applying for a place
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On 15 May 2023 you will receive an allocation notice via email. This states whether your child has a place or not. Did you get a place? Go to the school from 16 May to 12 June 2023 and register your child. Otherwise, you will lose the place reserved for you. Does your child not have a place? Then you are on the school's waiting list. The school will contact you when a place opens up.
Do you not have a place, or did you not apply for a place for your child? Then you can still register your child during the open registration period starting on 16 May 2023, but only in schools that still have places available.
Find out here how to register your child.
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Open registration
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Still looking for a place in a school for the 2023-2024 school year? Or would you like to have your child placed on the waiting list of a school? You can do so during the open registration period. This starts on 16 May 2023 at 9 a.m. Go to the school to register your child.
Please note: During the open registration period, registration takes place chronologically: whoever arrives first gets a place first. Moreover, no priority applies anymore.
See how many places are available: are there still places available in 1A or 1B in the schools in which you want to register your child?
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Start of school year 2023-2024
Still looking for a place in a school for the 2023-2024 school year? Contact the school where you want to register your child. Are there still places available? Register your child.
Is your child already on a waiting list? The school will contact you when a place opens up. The waiting list is valid until 6 October 2023.
Stay up to date
Want to stay informed about the registration procedure for the 1st year of secondary education for 2023-2024? If so, please provide your email address and/or mobile phone number below. You will receive information by email throughout the registration procedure, and you will receive a reminder at the start of the registration period by text message.
How to register?
Step 1: Prepare
Planning on registering your child in the 1st year of secondary school for the 2023-2024 school year? Then you always have to apply for a place first. Prepare your application well:
- Make a list of the schools of your choice.
- Inform yourself about the procedure.
- Check if your child has priority.
- Gather the necessary documents.
- Check the list of available places.
More information and tips on how to prepare your application.
Step 2: Apply for a place for your child
To register in the 1st year of secondary school, you must first apply for a place for your child. Applying for a place is not the same as registration. Applying means that you as a parent indicate online which schools you are interested in. After the application period, the computer distributes the pupils who have applied across the available places. Only after that, you know in which school you can register.
You can apply for a place from 27 March (10 a.m.) to 21 April 2023 (4 p.m.). Go to inschrijveninbrussel.be and the online application app to apply for a place for your child. The time of application is not important. It is not the case that the first one to apply gets a place first. However, it is important that you apply for a place for your child during this period.
Siblings and children of staff have priority but apply for a place at the same time as other children.
More information on how to apply for a place.
Step 3: Register your child
After applying, you will receive an allocation notice. This states whether your child has a place or not. Did you get a place? Go to the school from 16 May to 12 June 2023. Otherwise, you will lose the place reserved for you. Did you not get a place? Then your child will automatically be placed on the waiting list. The school will contact you when a place opens up.
Learn more about registering after applying and about what to do if your child did not get a place.
Who has priority?
During the application period, priority is given to:
- siblings of pupils and children of staff
- children with at least one Dutch-speaking parent
- children who have attended Dutch-language elementary education from the start of compulsory education (with reservation)
- pupils with a GOK or non-GOK profile
More information about the priority groups.
What if you did not get a place?
Did you apply for a place for your child, but did you not get one? Then your child will be placed on the waiting list. The school will contact you when a place opens up. You can also still register your child during the open registration period.
Did you not apply for a place for your child? Then you can register your child during the open registration period in the schools that still have places available. The open registration period starts on 16 May 2023 at 9 a.m. Check the list of available places to know in which schools there are still places available.
Learn more about what you can do if your child does not have a place.