🇧🇪 Belgium — French Community (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles)
This page describes how schools in Belgium — French Community (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles) grade pupils, from the first year of primary school (year 1, about age 6–7) to the end of upper secondary, and how to build the same system in MarkBook. Back to Find Your Country.
Check the current rules
This description comes from public sources (ministry pages, national laws, Eurydice) read in October 2026. Rules change with reforms, and schools often have local rules. Check the current official text for anything your school reports to the ministry.
How pupils are graded
Before year 1: Maternelle (ages 2.5-5; the last year is compulsory since 2020) is not graded with marks.
| Years | Stage | Scale | Pass | Recipe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | Enseignement primaire (primary, P1-P6) | No national scale. Each controlling authority (pouvoir organisateur) sets the scoring system; most schools use points or percentages per subject (higher is better); some use letters or words in P1-P2 | 50% by common practice; CEB currently 50% in each part | School decides |
| 7-8 | 1er degré du secondaire (first stage of secondary, S1-S2, common core) | School-set points per subject (e.g. /20, /100) or percentages | Usually 50% per subject (school practice); CE1D 50% per test until 2026 | School decides |
| 9-12 (13 for vocational 7th year) | 2e et 3e degrés du secondaire (upper secondary, S3-S6; S7 in vocational) | School-set points or percentages per subject; year outcome expressed as orientation attestation AOA / AOB / AOC | Usually 50% per subject (school practice); decision by the class council | School decides |
Values in 2e et 3e degrés du secondaire (upper secondary, S3-S6; S7 in vocational)
| Value | Local word | English |
|---|---|---|
| AOA | Attestation d'orientation A | Year passed, promotion without restriction |
| AOB | Attestation d'orientation B | Year passed, promotion restricted to certain forms/streams |
| AOC | Attestation d'orientation C | Year failed, must repeat |
The year. Since the 2022 school-rhythm reform (decree of 30 March 2022): the year runs from late August to early July in about five blocks of ~7 weeks of school followed by 2 weeks of holiday (two-week autumn and carnival breaks). Frequency and form of reports are set by each controlling authority; secondary schools usually hold one or two exam sessions (often December and June), with a possible September session decided by the class council.
Averages and rounding. Not regulated nationally. Schools typically sum points per subject (daily work + exams, with weights set in the school's 'règlement des études') and express a percentage per subject and overall. The class council judges the whole file; it is not a pure average rule.
Passing the year. The class council (conseil de classe) decides progression and certification (Missions Decree art. 95). Secondary: AOA / AOB / AOC at the end of S3-S5. Certificates: CEB (end of P6, by a school jury if the external test is failed), CE1D (end of S2), CES2D (end of S4), CESS (end of S6). Pupils and parents may inspect tests and appeal.
Conduct. No official conduct grade; behaviour and attitudes are reported in the school's own report format.
Differences between regions or school types. The French Community covers Wallonia (except the German-speaking area) and French-language schools in Brussels. The scoring system differs by network and controlling authority (WBE, official subsidised, free/Catholic SeGEC), so report layouts and weights differ by school.
Common practice that is not official. Points per subject, percentages, and a 50% pass per subject are near-universal practice but are school rules, not national law. Some primary schools use letters (TB, B, S, I) or smileys in the early years.
National exams.
- CEB (Certificat d'études de base) (year 6 (P6)): Percentage; pass currently 50% in each part
- CE1D (Certificat d'études du 1er degré) (year 8 (S2)): Percentage; pass currently 50% per test
- CESS external tests (TESS) (year 12 (S6), 13 (vocational S7)): Percentage; pass currently 50%
Words you will meet
points / cote (mark), pourcentage, moyenne, bulletin (report card), période (term block), session d'examens, conseil de classe, attestation d'orientation, règlement des études
Set it up in MarkBook
Use a points scale with free maximum per assessment and show subjects as percentages (pass 50%). Columns per period: daily work (travail journalier) tests and, in secondary, an exam column for each exam session (December, June). Subject result = sum of points / sum of maxima, as a percentage with 1 decimal; weights between daily work and exams as in the school's règlement des études. Add a year-end descriptor column for AOA / AOB / AOC in S3-S5, and certificate result columns (CEB, CE1D, CESS) with a 50% threshold that becomes 60% when the reform applies.
There is no national scale to copy for this country. Use the recipe for your school's own scale on Set Up Any Grading System.
Before you rely on this page
Confidence: medium
There is no national scale, and every value is school practice. The move from a 50% to a 60% threshold (2026 or 2027) is not confirmed. Present this as 'the school decides' and not as a rule. No national scale exists, so values are school practice. The start date of the 60% threshold differs between sources (June 2027 per July 2025 press; '2026-2027 school year' per Infor Jeunes) and the decree's final adoption was not confirmed. A later minister announced wanting to align the calendar with Flanders again; whether that happened is not confirmed. The tronc commun extension timetable (to S3) was not checked.
Sources (5)
- Eurydice Belgium (French Community): Assessment in primary education (official)
- Eurydice Belgium (French Community): Assessment in general lower secondary education (official)
- Eurydice Belgium (French Community): Assessment in general upper secondary education (official)
- Infor Jeunes: Attestations d'orientation et sanction des études
- BX1: CEB, CE1D, CESS — relèvement du seuil de réussite à 60% validé en gouvernement (18 July 2025)