Music is a universal language, and especially, it appears, when it comes to children’s songs. That’s the premise of a project run by De Rand, the organisation that brings together families living in the Flemish municipalities surrounding Brussels. Five schools are taking part, involving 120 children aged eight to 10 in art projects and a joint concert based around children’s songs in Dutch and in English.

The five schools are the British School of Brussels in Tervuren, St Paul’s British Primary School in Vossem and the local municipal primary school, the local primary in Jezus-Eik, the Catholic school of Our Lady in Jezus-Eik. Each class will make an artwork on the theme of water, and practice a song in their own language. Finally, under the direction of the noted soprano Catrin Wyn-Davies, who now teaches music at St Paul’s, the children will perform a medley of their own and each other’s songs.

For the kids at St Paul’s, the collaboration is an extension of what they do anyway. “It’s a great start to the year,” says headmaster Brett Neilson. “We’re involved in a number of cross-cultural projects, and have very good relations with the Vossem primary. They often get involved in what we’re doing, like in the harvest festival for example.” The school, which has 90 pupils aged three to 10, about half from families where a language other than English is spoken, doesn’t teach Dutch, but does cooperate with local schools in Tervuren, Kortenberg and Hoeilaart when they’re teaching their children English.

In the assembly hall, a class of eight-year-olds brings a tear to the expat Scottish eye with a rendition of the Skye Boat Song, in front of their artwork: an enormous paper sailing ship. According to Tim, whose parents come from Slovenia and who is able to speak a little Dutch, the songs are going very well. He dismisses, in the way expat children have, any idea that learning to sing in another language might be a challenge. Katya (Dad British, mother Russian, “and I’m Hungarian myself”) explains proudly that she has had some Dutch lessons and used to speak quite well, but now she speaks more French.

At the Vossem primary, about 50m down the street from St Paul’s, the children of the second class proudly display the frog-pond they’ve made. Lucas explains, “We made the frogs out of round things and then painted them, but some of us didn’t because we had religion”. Lori, the most confident about remembering the words, leads them in a faultless performance of their song: "De Kikkertjes", Little Frogs.

The schoolchildren, together with members of the Brussels Light Opera Company, will be exhibiting their work and performing their songs at De Bosuil community centre in Jezus-Eik on 21 October at 15.30. All are welcome.

www.debosuil.be