Primary and Secondary School Curriculum 2012

Overview
Brunant's Curriculum for Primary and Secondary Education sets out the guidelines for the length of the school term, the hours a student must take and what areas of study they must complete. The current curriculum was first introduced in 1988 and last updated in 2012. The curriculum is issued in both Dutch and English, available in online form or in a printed copy which costs 5 euros.

The curriculum is used in a top to bottom approach, where the general areas of study are mentioned, but each parish and its schools will be able to select the details of that.

Changes for 2012 focus on introducing a minimal component of physical education to the curriculum to stimulate healthy activity.

Calendar
The school year in Brunant always begins in early September and ends in late June, with several holidays and breaks in between. Students are required to study every day from Monday to Friday. Students in the first cycle are at school five hours per day (25 weekly), including one hour of lunch break and one to two shorter breaks in between. Students in second cycle are at school six hours per day (30 weekly), with lunch and breaks and students in secondary education will be there for seven hours daily (35 hours weekly), inclusive of their breaks. A typical day begins at 8:30 and ends at 13:30/14:30/15:30.

The total study time for 2015/2016 is 182 days of study, therefore 728 hours for first cycle students, 910 hours of study for second cycle students and 1092 hours of study for secondary students.

Primary School Curriculum
The primary school curriculum is based on nine courses of study per year. In the second cycle students will study each course for a longer period daily.

Secondary School Curriculum
The secondary school curriculum is based around five common courses as well as a variety of elective courses in four areas of study. Students must take all the common courses (22 weekly hours), and for the electives take eight hours per week, recommended in two areas of study, which will gear students to looking at broad areas they may like to study in after their secondary education.