Types of institutions

The first stage of secondary education includes two grades. The first grade is divided in an A and B-stream.

The A-stream is organized for most pupils with a certificate of primary education.

The B-stream is destined for pupils without a certificate of primary education or for pupils who are less apt at predominantly theoretical education. This first school year functions as a bridging class between primary and secondary education. After the first grade, B-stream pupils can continue with a pre-vocational year or they can move to the first grade A-stream.

The second grade of the first stage builds upon the A-stream and offers in addition to the basic curriculum various basic optional subjects. It prepares the pupil to choose in the second stage for a course of study in general (gse) or technical (tse) secondary education or secondary education in the arts (sea).

An alternative pre-vocational second grade B-stream offers in addition to the basic curriculum a choice from various programmes which are called occupational fields. It prepares the pupil to choose in the second stage one of the courses of study in vocational secondary education (vse).

A school is obliged to offer in the first stage both the first as the second grade. The school board can choose freely whether it offers the A-stream, the B-stream or both. It is also the school board which decides which basic optional subjects and/or occupational fields it wishes to organize in the second grade, after consultation with the school community to which the school belongs. The introduction of a new school year, a new basic optional subject or a new occupational field in a school is dependent on the programming norms.

Approximately 130.000 youngsters, or 32% of pupils in secondary education, are enrolled in the first stage.

Geographical accessibility

Schools with a first stage are in the various educational networks quite equally spread over the Flemish territory. The legal programming norms allow for the establishment of new schools under certain conditions where certain favourable norms (namely lower minimum numbers of pupils) are applicable to guarantee a spreading over the entire territory.

Admission requirements and choice of school

Parents and pupils are free in their choice of school (see 2.1.2 for additional info on the topic). The Flemish Government offers a tool to find a suited school.

Admission requirements

The following admission requirements are applicable for the first grade of secondary education:

• First grade A: certificate of primary education or certificate of first grade B
• First grade B: (minimum) age of 12 years
• Second grade: certificate of first grade A
• Pre-vocational year: certificate of first grade A or B or age of 14 years

The admissions committee can deviate from these general rules.

The detailed admission requirements are laid down in a decision of the Flemish Government of 19 July 2002 and explained in circular letter SO 64 25/06/1999.

Choice of school

Parents have, in consultation with the pupil, the right to an enrolment in the school of their choice. The enrolment is valid for the duration of the entire school career (‘guaranteed school career’) unless the school governing board or the parents decide to deregister the pupil. The right of registration, the procedures and the priority regulation are applicable (see 2.1.2. ‘Freedom of choice of school and right of registration’ for more information). Parents must in writing declare themselves in agreement with the school regulations and the educational project.

A school can under certain conditions refuse the enrolment of a pupil, when:

• the pupil does not meet the enrolment conditions on the day of the actual enrolment;
• the enrolment of the pupil aims at allowing the pupil alternately to go to various school in that school year;
• the capacity of the school is exceeded;
• the level in which the pupil wants to enrol has been declared full;
• the pupil in the current school year, the previous school year or the year preceding that has be deregistered from the school as a result of a final exclusion as a disciplinary measure;
• the pupil has been deregistered elsewhere as a result of a final exclusion as a disciplinary measure;
• the pupil has specific educational needs.

The application of the right to register in secondary education has been explained in circular letter SO/2012/01.

Age levels and grouping of pupils/students

Characteristic for secondary education is that fact that the teaching programme is taught by various teachers. Every teacher gives one or more subjects in function of his qualification. The maximum / minimum class size and the filling of these classes with pupils of various age groups belongs to the autonomy of the school or school group. 

Student admission to a certain grade and course of study within that grade (which consists of one class or several parallel classes) depends on the admission requirements. One of these admission possibilities, which is also the most common one, is admission based on previous education. Since a student sometimes has to sit over a year (if not passed) or can change the course of study in his/her curriculum and therefore sometimes has to resit their year, class groups are not always composed of students of the same age.  

Organisation of the school year

The school governing board has a large autonomy for what concerns the organisation of the school day, school week and the school year in secondary education.

The school year starts on 1 September and ends on 31 August. This period of 12 months is interrupted by various holidays in which classes are suspended:

• Autumn holiday (1 week)
• Christmas holiday (2 weeks)
• Spring holiday (1 week)
• Easter holiday (2 weeks)
• Summer holidays (2 months)

The non-holiday periods are dedicated to classes and other educational activities which are put on a par with classes such as work placements, work-based learning, school excursions and examinations. Existing regulations determine the spreading of classes on a daily and weekly basis, but a school board can deviate from this for well-founded reasons as long as this does not impair the normal class volume on a yearly basis nor impedes finishing the learning programmes.  

The regulation on the organisation of the school year has been explained in circular letter SO 74 12/06/2001.

Organisation of the school day and week

School week

Classes in secondary education are spread over 9 half days taught from Monday to Friday. Work placements are not taken into account here. Within that period of time fulltime secondary education is organized during at least 28 teaching hours of 50 minutes. The total number of weekly teaching hours which is financed by the government depends on the stage and type of secondary education, with a maximum of 36 hours. A school board can draw up teaching tables which exceed the governmental maximum in case it finances the additional teaching hours itself.

School day

Classes start at earliest at 8 o’clock and end between 15h and 17h. There is a lunch break of at least 50 minutes. The number of teaching hours per half day has only been laid down on a weekly basis.