Festive opening of the renovated and expanded Boodschapinstituut in Schaerbeek

On Wednesday 20 October 2021, the renovated and expanded Boodschapinstituut in Schaerbeek was inaugurated in the presence of Minister Sven Gatz. The school was able to acquire the adjacent former convent building of the Sisters Annuntiaten and convert it into a modern school building. Subsequently, the existing school building was also renovated and a new sports hall will be built on the site, which now offers space for 440 students.

For the purchase (€ 1,000,000) and renovation (€ 1,700,000) of the monastery building, the Boodschapinstituut could count on an Agion subsidy of approximately € 2,000,000. The monastery now includes 10 modern classrooms, administrative areas, an exercise room for toddlers, 2 multipurpose rooms and spacious sanitary facilities on each floor.
The costs for renovation of the existing school building and the construction of sports infrastructure and sanitary facilities amount to approximately € 1,500,000. In addition, the Boodschapinstituut can count on a subsidy of € 1,100,000 from Agion. The classrooms are being renovated, the refectory is being expanded and a new kitchen is being installed in the building.
The Flemish Community Commission (VGC) has also made resources available for these renovations, totaling approximately €230,000.

Director Ann Claes is grateful for the transformation of the site: “We now have spacious and modern classrooms, and all the surrounding infrastructure is top notch. Many historical elements of the monastery building have been preserved, and yet this school is adapted to all the needs of quality and modern education. The
new sports hall will be the icing on the cake.”

“The Annuntiaten van Heverlee sisters took over the school in 1941 from a French sister congregation,” adds Roger Haest, chairman of the school board. “With the renovation and capacity expansion of the primary school and the Robbedoes daycare center, we can guarantee a permanent high-quality Dutch-language educational offer”.

Minister Sven Gatz, in the board of the Flemish Community Commission (VGC) responsible for Dutch-language Education and School Construction, was also impressed by the result. “With the VGC, we also saw an opportunity here to alleviate the already increased capacity pressure at primary schools,” said Minister Gatz. “After all, the Schaarbeek neighborhood of the school is very rich with children and the Spirous daycare center, which was also established through subsidies from the Flemish Community and the VGC, adjoined the school. For example, in Schaerbeek we are also continuing to work on expanding the capacity of Dutch-language education, for which demand is still very high.”