School Life

General Info

School Hours

Uniforms

Meals

After-school Care

The school is open from 7h45, and students should arrive by 8h25.

The day ends at 15h40 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and at 13h00 on Wednesdays.

All information pertaining to uniforms can be found here.

There are two recreation periods during which the children may have the snacks you provide from home.

The 30-minute lunch break is followed by 30 minutes of recreation. Year 12 and 13 students may go outside the school premises.

You have the option of sending a packed lunch with your child, or you may have lunch delivered by the online catering service, BoxBunny, four days a week.

The Secondary school does not offer after school care.

Extracurricular Activities

After-school activities were suspended in recent times due to health restrictions. The programme for the new school year will be announced shortly.

In the past we offered the following:

- Computer Studies
- Chess
- Maths Remediation
- Maths Club
- Italian
- Golf
- Cricket
- Rugby

School Activities

Music & Theatre

Music and drama are a big part of life at BICS, whether it be singing in the various choirs, playing in the orchestra, or individual lessons; every year there is a high–quality dramatic production. This year we performed Annie.

Education in music is most sovereign because more than anything else rhythm and harmony find their way to the innermost soul and take strongest hold upon it…

-Plato

See pictures

To enable our students to enjoy and participate in our rich musical heritage is a priority for BICS. In Years 8 and 9, students have a regular music class to introduce them to solfege and to some elements of musical history and appreciation.

Throughout their time at BICS, all students participate in choral music and plainchant in the context of weekly mass. Here they discover the riches of Gregorian chant and classic hymns.

Students who so wish are also encouraged to join the volunteer choir which rehearses several times a week during recreations. They prepare for several events during the year, including the Christmas concert. Choir members also sing at Sunday mass in the Eglise-Conventuelle de Sainte-Anne.

Students who participate in the theatre programme discover the joy of song and dance throughout the year, and in June share it with the whole community. The school also encourages students to discover the beauty and discipline of the opera by organizing trips to the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège.

Belgian Maths Olympics

See pictures

The Belgian Maths Olympics is divided into 3 categories: MiNi for Year 8 and Year 9 classes, MiDi for Year 10 and Year 11 classes and MaXi for Year 12 and Year 13 classes.

The competition takes place in three stages. Each stage takes place on a Wednesday afternoon: the heats take place at school and last 1.5 hours, the semi-finals take place at the University of Brussels and also last 1h30 then the finals take place each year at a different Belgian university.

The aim of the Olympics is threefold:

to arouse interest in mathematics through a competition, a great game that excites students, to emphasize the importance of problems in the mathematical education of students by proposing problems that call upon creativity, imagination and real abilities opening the door to the world of scientific research.

Winning a prize is an important achievement. For colleges or universities, it is an added bonus to having achieved A* grades in the Cambridge examinations. BICS participates in the Belgian Mathematical Olympiad every year. Since its participation in this competition, between 3 and 5 of its students have taken part in the finals every year and most have won prizes.

This year 2022, about 25,000 participants in the French-speaking region of Belgium took part in the competition. Of these 25,000 participants, 118 were selected for the finals.

And three students among the 44 winners are from BICS: Jeanne Robert received a 4th prize in her category (MiDi), Gianluca Oberreit got a 4th prize and Sen Han Chang a 3rd prize in the MaXi category.

Travel Studies

HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY

As part of his teaching philosophy, Mr. Walley  feels that History is best appreciated through a hands-on approach, and thus each year he organises a study tour with students to either Greece or Italy in order to share his passion. Students have the opportunity to learn first-hand the methodologies and tools for studying and interpreting the past, and the connection with modernity as we explore remains which are, literally and figuratively, the foundations for our own culture and society.

Mark Walley

Mr. Walley earned a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Liberal Arts from Bishop’s University, and subsequently pursued two Master of Arts degrees in Classics from Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Western Ontario. He has been involved in archaeological projects in Greece since 2010, and has spent many field seasons at Ancient Dion (Dion) and at the Athenian Agora (Athens). He has taught the IGCSE and A-Level programmes at BICS since 2014, and continues to travel and research antiquity in Europe and excavate in Athens.

See pictures

Ski Trips

Every winter, the school organises a ski trip. In recent years we have been going to the Dolomites in Italy. This exciting activity is available to all BICS students in the secondary school, and no prior experience is necessary

See pictures

Sailing Trips

Once every two years we organise a 3-day sailing trip for the A level students.

This takes place at Centre ADEPS/ Lacs de l’eau d’heure.

See pictures