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BEPS International School
BEPS sells itself on family scale and family feel, and parents who like it really like it. The honest concern is whether the small size meets your child's needs at the upper end.
In brief
BEPS sells itself on family scale and family feel, and parents who like it really like it. The honest concern is whether the small size meets your child's needs at the upper end.
Founded in 1972, BEPS runs a primary campus on Avenue Franklin Roosevelt in Ixelles and a secondary in Waterloo, around 300 students total. Curriculum is full IB continuum, PYP through Diploma. Class sizes are genuinely small and that is the point of the place.
Parents praise the warm atmosphere, responsive teachers, and how quickly new arrivals settle. Children are described as happy to go to school and well known by name. For families who found bigger Brussels options impersonal, BEPS is the relief.
The flip side of small is thin. Subject choice at Diploma is narrower than at ISB or BSB, and sports and extracurriculars cannot match the big campuses. A strong cohort year matters more here than at a 1,300-student school. Leadership has been in place a long time, and how much that suits depends on what you want from a head.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Early Years 1-3 (ages 2.5-6) | 3 | €20,300 |
| Lower Primary Years 1-2 (ages 6-8) | 6 | €27,660 |
| Upper Primary Years 3-6 (ages 8-12) | 8 | €30,380 |
| Secondary MYP1-3 (ages 12-15) | 12 | €33,585 |
| Secondary MYP4-5 (ages 14-16) | 15 | €34,295 |
| IB Diploma / CP Years 1-2 (ages 16-18) | 16 | €36,590 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Registration Fee (non-refundable) | €600 | |
| School Development Fund | €600 | |
| Refundable Deposit (EY/Primary) | €800 |
Reviews
A small, long-established Brussels international with a strong family-feel reputation and a full IB continuum sitting alongside the IPC and IEYC. The campus by the Bois de la Cambre has just absorbed the old Lycée Molière building, bringing early years, primary and the growing secondary onto one site. Praise clusters around pastoral warmth, small classes and engaged teachers. Considerations are familiar for a school of this size: a young and still-maturing secondary, a stable Belgian leadership core that some find slow to shift, and the constant churn that comes with an embassy and EU parent body.
Positives
- Family scale and pastoral warmth. Parents talk about the small-school feel, teachers who know each child, and pupils who arrive home happy. The community atmosphere is the most consistent thread across positive accounts.
- Full IB continuum plus IPC. BEPS runs the IB MYP, DP and CP at secondary on top of the International Primary Curriculum and Early Years framework. A rare four-programme spread for a school this size.
- Setting on the Bois de la Cambre. The Avenue Franklin Roosevelt site backs onto the Bois de la Cambre and the ULB grounds. Outdoor learning, woodland walks and university sports facilities all sit on the doorstep.
- Unified campus after the Lycée Molière acquisition. Secondary, primary and early years now share one site, with a refurbished historic building adding science labs, art and design studios and collaborative workspaces. Capacity rises toward 450.
Considerations
- High annual turnover in the parent body. Embassy and EU postings drive heavy year-on-year movement in classes. Some parents flag that more than half a cohort can change between years; others see this as part of the international territory.
- Long-serving leadership. The senior team is stable and largely Belgian, which gives continuity but draws occasional criticism that the school is slow to adopt newer methods.
- Teaching staff mix. Most accounts are warm on individual teachers. A minority view points to less experienced hires and contracts that lag larger international competitors in Brussels.
- Fees against scale. Tuition runs at standard Brussels international levels despite a small footprint. One critical review judged the value sufficient for early years and lower primary but harder to justify higher up.
- Secondary still maturing. Secondary numbers are growing year on year and the DP and CP cohorts remain small. Subject breadth and peer group depth lag the larger established secondaries in the city.
Leadership
Pascale Hertay
Pascale Hertay is the General Director of BEPS International School, having joined in 2014. She has extensive experience in international education, having worked in schools across Abu Dhabi, Cairo, and The Netherlands, including serving as Vice Principal at the International School of The Hague. She is a specialist in the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), acting as a trainer and member of the IPC accreditation team. Under her leadership, BEPS expanded from a primary school to offering a full secondary curriculum, including the IB Middle Years, Diploma, and Career-related Programmes. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the ECIS Board of Trustees and holds a postgraduate qualification from the University of Bath.
Accreditations
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges 01
Academic results
- Result IB DP and IB CP 100% pass rate 2024.