How can my child be enrolled into the Bilingual Program?

Kindergarten

Your child is considered to be of kindergarten age if they are 3-6 years old.
You can find information about the pre-booking process for the Daisy and Colourful Kindergartens on the websites of our partner kindergartens (in Hungarian):
http://www.szazszorszepovi.hu/hu/jelentkezes

Óbuda Daisy Kindergarten and Colourful Kindergarten only accept district residents. Their catchment area covers the entire 3rd district of Budapest.
The head of kindergarten decides on the admissions.

The following conditions must be met for a child to be enrolled in the kindergartens:
the child
- must reach the age of three by the 31st of August
- must be toilet-trained
the child and one of her/his parents must have a registered address in the 3rd district. A temporary address is also acceptable. In this case, a certificate issued by the healthcare visitor is needed, proving that the child’s habitual residence is at the given address.

One month after the application, you will receive a notification via email whether or not your child will be enrolled in one of the kindergartens.

Foreign language scholarship at the kindergarten
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If your child is already in kindergarten, and you would like to transfer from another kindergarten or move to Hungary from abroad:

The condition for later admission is whether there is a vacancy in the group corresponding to the age of your child.
Your child speaks at least one of the two languages taught in kindergarten at native speaker level when entering.
You can indicate your interest by filling out the Contact form.

Primary School

The primary school partners of the Bilingual Program are public educational institutions, so admission decisions are made by their school administration. The most important information about the school enrollment process has been collected here.

How do I know if my child is of compulsory school age?
Children in Hungary are required to attend school if they reach the age of 6 by 31 August.

How do I know my child is ready for school?
A 6-year-old child can only remain in kindergarten in justified cases; kindergarten teachers inform the parents of the child about school maturity. If necessary, the Education Service decides on the lack of school maturity at the request of the kindergarten and/or the parent.

Can I enroll my child in any school?
The compulsory school age child is admitted to the compulsory school of residence, but it is possible to choose another institution.

The primary school partners of the Bilingual Program are public educational institutions, and, therefore, primary school enrollment is carried out in accordance with the rules applicable to public educational institutions, which are set out in “20/2012. (VIII. 31.) EMMI decree on the operation of educational institutions”.

11. Section 22 (7)
(7) * The Nkt. For the purposes of Section 50 (6), a home is considered to be a home if the student uses a property located in the catchment area of the compulsory school, and such property has been lodged in the personal data and address of citizens register as the student’s place of residence or stay for more than three months before the first day of school enrollment. If this is not the case, or if under any circumstances it can be concluded that the student is not habitually resident in the registered place of residence or stay, the school principal is entitled to require the parent of the student applying to the school to prove that they live in the district, and within 15 days of the receipt of the summons, present a statement from the territorially competent nurse certifying the use of the nurse’s care.

How do I know which school we belong to according to where I live?
The list of streets belonging to the catchment areas can be found on the website of the municipalities.

Can my child be enrolled in the Bilingual Program if he/she does not belong to the school district by place of residence/stay?
If the family chooses another school, you should expect the institution to enroll children from your area primarily based on catchment area.

In Óbuda (Budapest, 3rd district) there are children who attend kindergarten in the Bilingual Kindergarten Program in two of our partner institutions, therefore, the priority order of enrollment in the Bilingual Program is the following:

The child:

has an address or place of residence in the chosen school’s catchment area
attends Daisy/Colourful Kindergarten, and his/her parents made a statement regarding the chosen school by 1st of February 2021
his/her older sibling is already in the chosen school’s Bilingual Program class
speaks English if she/he does not come from Daisy/Colourful Kindergarten
attended Bilingual’s English language prep course (if pandemic allows it to be held)

Among our partner institutions located in Óbuda-Békásmegyer, Óbudai Nagy László – Zápor and Pais Dezső Primary School do not have a designated catchment area.

Budakeszi: admission takes place according to 20/2012. (VIII. 31.) of the EMMI

Megyeri: admission takes place according to 20/2012. (VIII. 31.) of the EMMI.
Within this, the school administration also takes into account the order of arrival of the previously submitted Letters of Intent. The Letter of Intent form can be downloaded from the school’s website.

What happens in case of over-registration?
If the primary school is unable to fulfill all admission applications in the order given, due to lack of places, it will decide by drawing lots among those in the group concerned.

Is language proficiency required to begin primary school in the Bilingual Program?
It is not required but can be an advantage in the enrollment process.
Native English teachers start teaching English completely from scratch and adapt the pace of progress to the children.

Will you organize a Bilingual prep course for children coming from non-partner kindergartens?
In recent years, we have organized these according to parental needs. In 2021, it will depend on the pandemic situation whether we can start preparatory sessions.

If the prep course can be held:
Classes are held from March through May, 10-12 times, once a week, from 4 p.m., on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday by a native English-speaking teacher. The fee for the course is HUF 25,000, which will be 100% deducted from the first service fee for admitted children.

When do I have to register my child for school?
Registration takes place on centrally designated registration days. (2021: April 15-16)
Schools will inform interested parents about the exact steps of enrollment on their website.

After making admissions decisions, the school administration also informs the parents of the children admitted and the Bilingual Program. A representative of the Bilingual Program will then contact the parents of the children admitted to the school for the purpose of concluding a contract. The Bilingual Program provides a bilingual educational service, you can find information about the service fees here: https://bilingual.hu/en/enrollment-info/service-fee/

Does my child need to know English/Hungarian to join the Bilingual Program?
A high level of knowledge of at least one of the languages taught (at near native speaker level) is required to start primary school studies.

How many first-grade classes will start?
This is determined by the environment of the school. Institutions will try to start classes according to emerging needs.

Do we know who the teachers will be?
Usually, the class teacher of the 4th grade of a school year will be the first-grade teacher the following year. Our partner institutions will present the teachers of the incoming first grade at parents’ info nights – if this decision has already been made by then.

How many native English-speaking teachers will teach my child?
Children will have a native English-speaking Main Class Teacher and another native English-speaking teacher in the split group English classes in first grade, and possibly some other subject teachers (e.g. for music, physical education). Later, more subject teachers will also teach them.

My child is already a school student, and we want to change schools in Hungary.

The enrollment process will be the following:

Please fill out the Contact Form, indicating your child’s date of birth and address.
Based on this, we will contact the school of your choice to see if there is free place in the class of your child’s age.
If there is a vacancy, our native English-speaking Head of Education will assess your child’s English language skills in a friendly interview, as our experience is that incoming children often have lower English language levels than children studying in the Bilingual Program. If our Head of Education determines that child will most probably be able to catch up, we will recommend that the child join the Bilingual Program at the partner institution.
Part of the school enrollment process is the conclusion of a contract with Bilingual Nonprofit Kft., which operates the Bilingual Program. The process ends with the payment of the first service fee.

We live abroad and will move to Hungary soon. What is the process if we want our child to study in the Bilingual Program?

The languages of the Bilingual Program are English and Hungarian. If a family decides that it is important for their child to have a high level of knowledge of both languages and cultures, then the Bilingual Program is the best place to study for your child.
Please fill out the Contact Form and provide
- the birth details of your child
- country of origin
- address in Hungary
English and Hungarian language level
Based on this, we will contact the school of your choice to see if there is free place in the class of your child’s age
If there is a vacancy, the school assesses the child’s subject knowledge and level of Hungarian. In our experience, there may be differences in children’s subject knowledge due to differences in the education systems of various countries
Our native English-speaking Head of Education will assess your child’s English language skills in a friendly interview (if they are native English speakers, for reference).
Switching schools and countries is most often stressful for children, so in order to reduce the additional burden, the school and Bilingual only recommend that the child join the Bilingual Program if we consider that they will be able to catch up.
Part of the school enrollment process is the conclusion of a contract with Bilingual Nonprofit Kft., which operates the Bilingual Program. The process ends with the payment of the first service fee.

High School

The Bilingual Program is only available for high schoolers at Európa 2000 High School. The aim of the school is to raise students with a European mindset, education and an open mind, who cultivate a high level of English knowlege during their studies and use it confidently and freely.

For more information Click Here.