Are you considering home education for your child, or is your child already preparing for the central exam board? In Belgium, the rules depend on the Community where you live. Here is how home education works, how the exam boards of the French-speaking Wallonia-Brussels Federation and of the Flemish Community work, and how to support your child.
Home education in Belgium
In Belgium, education is compulsory from age 5 to 18. School itself is a choice: the Constitution gives parents the freedom to educate their child at home, themselves or with a person of their choice.
Families choose it for different reasons:
- a child who no longer feels at home at school;
- one or more years of delay to catch up on;
- high-level sport or art, with training during the day;
- a family trip lasting a year or more.
Leaving school has consequences. Your child loses the structure and the group that school provided. Keep up group activities (scouts, sport, music, drama) and a regular work routine.
An important point in both Communities: a year of home education leads to no diploma. Only the exams of an exam board (jury or examencommissie) and the external exams confirm the level reached.
The rules depend on where you live
What counts is where the child lives, not the language in which they learn. A child living in Wallonia is declared to the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. A child living in Flanders is declared to the Flemish Community, even if they follow a French-language programme. In Brussels, parents choose: they declare home education either to the Wallonia-Brussels Federation or to the Flemish Community.
French-speaking education: declaration and compulsory certificates
In the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, home education must be declared every year, by 5 September at the latest, to the home education department.
From age 12, your child must have obtained certain certificates to continue home education (age on 31 August):
- the CEB (end of primary school) at 12;
- the CE1D (end of the first stage of secondary) at 14;
- the CE2D (end of the second stage of secondary) at 16.
If your child has not obtained them, you must attach a reasoned request for an exemption to the declaration, with a learning plan. A committee reviews it. Adjustments are also possible for a child with a learning disorder or a disability.
The general inspectorate checks your child’s level: a check is compulsory at ages 8 and 10, and others can take place at any time. An unjustified absence means the child must be enrolled in a school for at least one year.
The central jury of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation
The “jury central” is the common name for the secondary education exam boards of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Without attending school, a student can obtain:
- the CE1D (end of the first stage, i.e. year 2 of secondary): French, mathematics, science, modern languages, history and geography;
- the CE2D (end of the second stage, i.e. year 4 of secondary), in general, technical or vocational education: French, mathematics, science, modern languages and one subject or option of choice;
- the CESS (end of secondary school), which gives access to higher education.
The CEB is taken at the same time as pupils in schools: registration closes on 30 April. For the CE2D, two exam sessions are held each year; for the CE1D, one. If your child is aiming for the CESS, our article on preparing for the CESS explains these exams.
Flemish side: thuisonderwijs and the examencommissie
In the Flemish Community, home education is called thuisonderwijs. The declaration is made every year, by the third school day of September at the latest. Switching from school to thuisonderwijs during the school year is not possible.
Exams are taken before the examencommissie (often called the “centrale examencommissie”, formerly the “middenjury”). Deadlines are set by school year:
- registration with the primary education exam board by the school year in which the child turns 11;
- the primary education certificate (getuigschrift basisonderwijs) by the school year in which the child turns 13;
- registration with the secondary education exam board by the school year in which the child turns 15;
- the first stage of secondary education certificate by the school year in which the child turns 16.
A missed deadline or a failed exam means the child must be enrolled in a school. The inspectorate can also carry out checks: two unsatisfactory visits in a row, or a refused check, have the same consequence.
For secondary education, candidates first watch a compulsory online information session, then register on the candidate platform. The examencommissie provides no lessons: it publishes vakfiches that describe, subject by subject, what candidates must know and be able to do. The exams, mostly digital, take place at its exam centre in Brussels.
Preparing for the exam board in 4 steps
1. Set a realistic goal
Choose the exam and a deadline based on your child’s current level, pace and the time they can devote to it. For example, a pupil who leaves school in year 3 of secondary can aim for the CE2D within two years.
2. Gather learning materials
On the French-speaking side, you build a learning plan with your own materials (textbooks, books, online platforms): the home education department provides none. The e-learning platform of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation is a useful complement. On the Flemish side, the vakfiches serve as the syllabus.
3. Draw up a schedule
At school, regular tests set the pace of work. Exam board exams are spread out over time, a bit like at university. A precise schedule, based on the exam dates and the amount of material, prevents everything being left to the last minute.
4. Give support and find help
Preparing for an exam board is more like a marathon than a series of sprints. Your child needs encouragement, and someone who follows their progress and reminds them of their goal.
They will also have questions about the content. Some preparation schools offer daytime group lessons for the exam board. Private tutoring offers a tailored programme, limited to the difficult subjects, with a flexible timetable. Working on study skills often helps a pupil who learns alone.
Going back to school afterwards
Your child can go back to school. They join the year their certificates give access to: with the CE1D, for example, they can enrol in year 3 of secondary.
Check which subjects they did not follow at home (Latin, a second language, a technical option) and plan a catch-up before the new school year.
A coach to prepare for the exam board
At My Sherpa, an educational advisor reviews your child’s situation with you and chooses the coach who suits them. Lessons take place at home anywhere in Belgium or online, and our team welcomes you in French, Dutch or English. For any other question, see our frequently asked questions.
