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My son is 18 months old and therefore would normally start school (I think) in September 2013. We currently live in Etterbeek but should be moving to Brabant Wallon before he starts school. So, I'm wondering what to do about registering him for maternelle. Will I already be able to register him for school in the area in which we're most likely to be living? Do you register at more than one school, ro do you just pick one? And lastly, are certain primary schools "feeder schools" for certain secondary schools, like in the UK? I'm always reading about the problems with secondary school registrations in Wallonia, so I'm not sure if I should pick a primary/maternelle based on which one I like most, or based on which secondary school it feeds into.... Any advice from people who have been through this before would be most gratefully received! I'm interested in communal or catholic schools, but not private ones.
You son could start school in September 2012 and not 2013 at the age of 2 1/2. A minority of schools will have already opened enrolments for September 2012 although the majority do commence from January, you will need to start researching ASAP in the area where you plan to live, in Brabant Wallon I think all schools do their own enrolments, which means you could register at several schools, although given the pressure for school places, this would be a bit selfish, but many parents do it. If you do wait until September 2013, be aware most school places will go to children who started in 2012, your choices will be more limited. Priority from a primaire to a secondaire looks as though it is currently being phased out, just sibling priority, but who knows what will be the enrolment procedures for secondaires in 2022? If you are still in Brabant Wallon in 11 years time, at least pressure for secondaire school places in that area are unlikely to be as bad as it is in Brussels region. So it really would be folie to choose a maternelle now on what secondaire your child made end up at in 11 years time.
