Cities / Brussels / European School Brussels I (Uccle)
European School Brussels I (Uccle)
EU-funded European School in Uccle offering tuition-free places for children of EU institution staff, with fee-paying admissions available for other applicants.
Fees
Annual fees
| Year level | Age | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery (Maternelle, ages 4-6) | 4 | €8,741 |
| Primary (P1-P5, ages 6-11) | 6 | €12,019 |
| Secondary (S1-S7, ages 11-18) | 11 | €16,389 |
Reviews
- The site runs about 10% over its theoretical capacity. Secondary cohorts moving through the Uccle campus have been hit hardest by the squeeze.
- The school is the closest of the four Brussels European Schools to the southern EU-staff residential belt, and EU spouses describe it as the default for Commission families in Uccle and Auderghem.
- One former parent said "my husband worked in the Commission and our kid went to EEB1 in Uccle", framing it as part of a wider expat-bubble lifestyle in the southern suburbs.
- The Berkendael annexe in Forest splits the cohort across two sites, which the parents' association (APEEE) has flagged as disruptive in published position papers.
- Boris Johnson is a former pupil, which surfaces repeatedly among commenters on Brexit topics. It is signal about who the school serves, not about teaching.
- Critics and commenters on European affairs argue that the European Schools insulate EU-staff children from the wider city, with EEB1 named alongside the Woluwe site as the prime example.
Positives
- Multilingual outcomes. Adult alumni elsewhere credit the European Schools system for fluency in three or four languages.
- European Baccalaureate pathway. Recognised across EU member states, gives reliable university access without parents managing a private-school transcript.
Considerations
- Overcrowding. Around 10% over capacity at Uccle. Secondary students bear the brunt and a second site at Berkendael was added to absorb overflow.
- EU-staff default. Effectively the catchment school for Commission and EU-institution families living in the southern Brussels suburbs.
- Bubble criticism. Locals argue the school keeps Eurocrat children separate from wider Belgian society.
Leadership
Mr. David TRAN
David Tran has served as the Director of the European School Brussels I since September 1, 2022. He has a professional background in science and mathematics, having studied secondary education at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Prior to his leadership role at EEB1, he spent over a decade (2008–2020) teaching sciences at the Ecole Belge de Kigali in Rwanda. He returned to Brussels in 2020 to join the teaching staff at the European School of Brussels I before being appointed Director. He is particularly focused on inclusion, pedagogical innovation, and student well-being within the diverse, multilingual school community.
Academic results
- Result European Baccalaureate 2024 (Global) 99.42% success rate, avg mark 77.03
- Result EEB1 2018 98.79% pass rate, avg 79.30
- Result 2023 EB success rate across all schools 99.1%