Cities / Brussels / The Courtyard International School of Tervuren
The Courtyard International School of Tervuren
The Courtyard is a small, IB focused school in Tervuren, opened in 2018 in a 17th century Brabant building once tied to a Leuven University college. Around 210 students, ages 2 to 18.
In brief
The Courtyard is a small, IB-focused school in Tervuren, opened in 2018 in a 17th-century Brabant building once tied to a Leuven University college. Around 210 students, ages 2 to 18.
The school is built around three stated pillars: languages, sustainability and community. It is the first fully authorized four-programme IB continuum school in Belgium, running PYP, MYP, DP and CP, and offers genuinely bilingual streams in French-Dutch, Dutch-English or English-French. That language flexibility is rare in the Brussels market and is the reason many families choose it.
Parents describe attentive teachers, a low student-to-teacher ratio, and a green setting that the children clearly enjoy. Theatre productions and the inquiry-led IB style come up often. As a young school it is still building its alumni track record at Diploma level.
Subject choice at upper school and the depth of sports and extracurriculars cannot match BSB or ISB. Families who want personal scale and the language flexibility will read that as a worthwhile trade. Families who want a big-campus experience will not.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery (age 2) | 2 | €12,210 |
| K1 (age 3) | 3 | €13,708 |
| K2 (age 4) | 4 | €15,540 |
| K3 / Grade 1 (age 5-6) | 5 | €19,205 |
| Grades 2-5 (age 7-11) | 7 | €20,000 |
| Grades 6-7 / MYP 1-2 (age 11-13) | 11 | €22,089 |
| Grades 8-10 / MYP 3-5 (age 13-16) | 13 | €23,310 |
| Grades 11-12 / IB Diploma (age 16-18) | 16 | €23,400 |
One-time fees
| Item | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Application Fee (non-refundable) | €600 |
Reviews
- Pool is small but consistently positive. The Courtyard offers the full IB continuum (PYP, MYP, DP and CP) for ages 2 to 18 in a green setting on the edge of the Royal Park of Tervuren, 15 to 20 minutes from central Brussels and the EU institutions.
- Parent reviews emphasise individual attention. One parent described teachers as "amazing, very dedicated and enthusiastic about their role as educators".
- Bilingual delivery is the structural feature most often cited. Combinations of French-Dutch, Dutch-English or English-French are offered.
- One expat parent weighing Courtyard against Bogaerts and Euro School worried that the dual-language model and farm-school style could be "too much kumbaya type of thing" and questioned academic rigour. This is a single voice; no thread of similar concern surfaced elsewhere.
- Parent discussion of Tervuren schools refers almost exclusively to the British School of Brussels rather than the Courtyard.
Positives
- Bilingual IB programme. Three-language pairings and the full IB continuum across ages 2 to 18 are the consistent draws
- Class size and teacher attention. Parents on directory reviews highlight small classes and individualised attention
- Setting. Green campus in Tervuren, close to Brussels institutions but feeling rural
Considerations
- Academic rigour question. One expat-forum post questioned whether the nature-focused, dual-language model risked underweighting academic rigour
- Independent review volume. Review pool is small and skews positive; Reddit Brussels discussion of Tervuren centres on the British School rather than the Courtyard
Leadership
Mrs. Susan Kay
Sue Kay is the Founder and Head of The Courtyard International School of Tervuren. She established the school in 2018 with a vision to provide a high-quality, bilingual international education in English, French, and Dutch. A former head at the European School and a long-term resident of Belgium, she was inspired to create the school to offer an inquiry-based IB education combined with a strong co-curricular programme. Under her leadership, the school has grown into a full IB Continuum World School, incorporating unique elements such as forest and farm classes and a community-focused 'Eden Project' on the Duisburg plateau.