The new Isala Van Diest secondary school opened its doors on Tuesday 27 August in Neder-Over-Hembeek. The active learning secondary school welcomed its first 96 pupils in a temporary annexe. It will reach its full capacity of 700 students by 2027, when work on the permanent building is completed.
The first day of school began at 08:00 for almost 100 students in the first year of secondary school. They were divided into four classes in a temporary building on number 116 Avenue des Croix de Guerre.
In September 2025, the school will expand from four to eight classes, with a total of 192 pupils in the first two years of secondary school. 12 classes will eventually move into part of the final building located near the annexe in September 2026. Work on the building is scheduled to be completed by the start of the new school year in 2027.
The school's total budget is around €31 million, including €6.4 million in subsidies from the French Community Government (FWB). The remainder of the cost is to be covered by the City of Brussels, whose public education department established the school, naming it after Belgium’s first female doctor and academic, Isala van Diest (1842-1916).
The school will use active teaching methods, which foster an approach to learning through self-discovery and personal assimilation by seeing each pupil as 'actor-author' of their learning journey. Students are assessed continuously, based on regular tests and exam sessions, and combined with self-assessment.
"Active learning methods are accompanied by success-focused teaching that favours the identification and correction of mistakes, enabling each student to develop appropriate strategies and tools," said the office of Faouzia Hariche, alderwoman for French-language Public Education in the City of Brussels.
