Your child is in the final year of primary school (6e primaire) and will sit the CEB in June. This exam marks the end of primary school and the move to secondary school, and it often worries children as much as their parents. Here is how to help your child prepare, step by step, so they arrive ready and confident on the day.
What is the CEB?
The CEB (certificat d’études de base, the primary school leaving certificate) is a common external exam taken by all pupils of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which runs French-speaking education in Belgium. The same questions are asked on the same day in every school and marked according to the same criteria.
You have nothing to arrange yourself: if your child is in 6e primaire at a recognised school, the school registers them.
The exam covers four areas:
- French (reading, writing, comprehension);
- mathematics;
- science (éveil scientifique);
- history and geography (éveil historique et géographique).
The questions cover the skills built up throughout primary school, not only the year 6 syllabus. That is what makes the CEB demanding: topics from years 3, 4 and 5 need revising too.
CEB 2027: dates and pass mark
For the 2026-2027 school year, the CEB takes place over four mornings: Monday 21, Tuesday 22, Thursday 24 and Friday 25 June 2027. Results are sent to schools on Monday 28 June 2027.
The pass mark changes this year. From June 2027, your child needs:
- at least 50% in each subject assessed;
- and an overall average of at least 60%.
Until 2026, 50% in each part was enough. This higher bar makes regular preparation all the more useful, especially in the subject where your child feels least confident.
If the exam is not passed, all is not lost: the jury or the class council can still award the CEB on the basis of the pupil’s school record.
How to prepare your child for the CEB
There is no single recipe, but a few principles help almost every child pass the CEB calmly.
Start early
Because the CEB covers several years of learning, last-minute revision is not enough. A few short sessions a week, from the second term onwards, strengthen the basics without overload.
Build a simple revision plan together:
- list the main topics in each subject;
- spread them over the weeks left before June;
- plan short sessions (20 to 30 minutes) rather than long evenings;
- leave some slack to come back to what remains difficult.
Your child then knows what to work on and when. They feel more motivated and avoid the stress of too much material in too little time.
Get notes in order
Before revising, check that your child’s exercise books and summaries are complete. If lessons are missing, ask the teacher or the parents of a classmate.
Parent-teacher meetings are also the right time to ask which skills your child still needs to work on. The teacher sees their work every day and can tell you where to focus.
Fill the gaps
Every child has strengths and weaker spots: fractions, unit conversions, verb conjugation, reading maps… An old gap cannot be filled in a few days, which is why it pays to spot it early in the year.
If a difficulty persists, targeted support can make the difference. Private tutoring in primary school lets your child rebuild a concept from the ground up, at their own pace. If you are short of time in the evenings, regular homework help also helps them stay on track.
Practise on past papers
The CEB has its own format: a portfolio of documents, long instructions and questions that combine several skills. A familiar concept can look new when it is worded differently from how it was taught in class.
Past CEB papers are published by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, together with their marking guidelines. They are the best practice there is. We explain how to use them in our article CEB: past papers from previous years.
To get the most out of them:
- print the paper and have your child sit it in real conditions, within the set time;
- teach your child to read the whole instruction and find the useful documents in the portfolio;
- mark it together using the official guidelines, and note the mistakes that keep coming back;
- redo the missed exercises later, to check the concept has been mastered.
Vary the way you revise
Revising does not mean rereading exercise books over and over. A child of 11 or 12 remembers better when active: explaining a rule out loud, drawing a diagram, solving an everyday problem (a recipe, a journey, a budget).
Every child learns in their own way. Our article on the 8 types of intelligence offers ideas for adapting revision to your child’s profile.
On exam day: breathe!
Your child has planned their revision, put their notes in order and practised on past papers. They are ready.
In the last few days, a few simple habits help them give their best:
- the evening before, a light review is enough: the material is already learned;
- a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast;
- school supplies ready the night before (pencils, ruler, set square, compass…);
- reassuring words rather than pressure: the CEB is one step, and your child tackles it with everything they have learned.
After each morning, let them unwind. There is no point redoing the exam at home: better to think about the next one.
A coach to support your child up to the CEB
At My Sherpa, an educational advisor chooses a coach suited to your child’s needs. In private lessons, at home anywhere in Belgium or online, the coach goes back over shaky concepts, practises CEB-style questions and helps your child organise their revision.
Your child then approaches the exam with method and confidence, and starts secondary school on solid foundations.
