HEALTHY LIVING AT THE CENTRE OF EUROPE

The British School of Brussels, known to the whole school community as BSB, was founded in 1969 and occupies a wooded site near the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren, about 25 minutes by car from central Brussels. It offers a British education based on the UK (English) curriculum, and takes students from 3–18 years of age with the choice of the International Baccalaureate Diploma or A-levels at the age of 16–18.

Our situation in the capital of Europe also means we can offer an extra dimension: a truly European experience. The school's ethos embraces the cultural diversity of our students in promoting respect for each other's languages, traditions and beliefs:

• Sixty per cent of our students are from the UK, and we have over 65 nationalities on roll
• French lessons start from age five and German, Spanish or Dutch is taught from age 11 
• Educational field trips take advantage of the wealth of resources in the area, with residential school trips taking place from Year 4 upwards to the Netherlands, to France, to Germany and to the UK.

Students also have opportunities for European travel when they participate in study weeks, field courses, sports fixtures and competitions such as the Maths Olympiads.

Sport
As in most schools following the British curriculum, sports are central to school life. Physical education in the curriculum and extra-curricular sport are both very popular and successful areas of school life. The sense of well-being they bring contributes very positively to our ethos. Both ‘sport for all’ and ‘competitive sport’ are important at BSB.

The rationale of the BSB sports programme is to:

• Encourage a healthy lifestyle
• Promote courtesy, respect for others, co-operation and sportsmanship 
• Instil self-esteem, pride in performance and in the school 
• Give all students the opportunity to participate in competitive sport 
• Encourage athletic excellence 
• Forge and strengthen links between schools and the local and international community.

At BSB, we believe in encouraging our students to maintain a high level of fitness and to develop skills that will enhance their leisure and recreational time in adult life. We offer a wide range of team games and individual activities. Even those not normally sporty can take part in our charity events, such as the ‘Family Fun Run’ or the ‘Cowboy Walk’ for infants.

The school participates in the International Schools Sports Tournaments (ISST), with particular success in hockey and rugby. BSB also participates in the Belgian leagues for hockey and rugby and in individual matches with UK partners. Parents offer tremendous support in the extra-curricular activities and enable the school to become involved in many sporting competitions. Thanks to parents' involvement and generosity, we are able to host many visiting teams on a reciprocal basis, offering students another view of different lands and cultures. Sports activities include football, hockey, cross-country running, rugby, swimming, gymnastics, cricket, tennis, athletics, basketball, table tennis, squash, netball and trampolining.

Our excellent sports facilities include:

• Two gymnasia
• Two indoor multi-purpose sports halls
• Extensive all-weather playing fields with floodlighting 
• Four outdoor tennis courts 
• Dance studio.

The all-weather floodlit playing surfaces for hockey, rugby and football are state-of-the-art (as used by the French National Rugby team), and they were amongst the first of their kind in Belgium.

Many of the school's facilities can be booked by individuals, families or groups and visiting teams out of school hours. BSB at evenings and weekends is alive with a buzz of family and community activity.

Healthy eating
Naturally, with all this energy being used, a healthy intake of food is needed every day, and this can be found in our self-service cafeteria. Run by Sodexho, a large international catering group, about 500 hot meals are served every day. Fresh food is prepared on site in the modern kitchens, offering a wide selection of healthy and tasty hot meals as well as a well-stocked soup and salad bar.

Our hot-lunch menu is ever-changing so that we provide variety to our students and staff and, in order that parents may make an informed choice, the cafeteria menu is published a week in advance in the ‘School Messenger’. There is always a vegetarian option, and the chef is happy to discuss other dietary needs with parents or students. Parents are always welcome to sample the food in the cafeteria by arrangement.

Sample menus might include:

• Turkey roulade with mushroom sauce  and parisienne potatoes, or the vegetarian option mozzarella and broccoli strudel
• Steak with iceberg lettuce, garlic sauce and chips, or cauliflower burger for the vegetarians 
• Celeriac soup, lamb with mint and couscous, or vegetarian falafels
• Tomato soup, fillet of fish with parsley pureed potatoes, and cheese croquettes as the vegetarian option.

During the last two years, the school has set up a cafeteria-users group. This is composed of students, staff and parents who meet every half term with the chef to discuss developments regarding the cafeteria. In common with many schools, BSB has decided to phase out unhealthy fizzy drinks. These have now been replaced with water, fruit juice and milk. Students are also allowed to drink water in the classrooms, which has been shown to increase concentration and focus. There are water fountains installed in every building to allow students to fill their water bottles.

In response to a request by students, paninis were introduced and these hot toasted sandwiches with healthy fillings are now a very popular item. Next on the agenda of the cafeteria-users group will be the matter of Fair Trade products and how their use can be increased in the cafeteria.

The British School of Brussels is proud to be a school where our holistic approach actively encourages healthy bodies and healthy minds.