Leuven School Brings Military and Police into Classroom for New Safety Course

The Heilige-Drievuldigheidscollege (HDC), a Catholic secondary school in Leuven, Belgium, is making history as the first school in the country to introduce a dedicated ‘Safety Thinking’ course, bringing military and police personnel directly into the classroom starting September 1, 2026. The pioneering pilot project, developed as part of the new Sportwetenschappen (Sports Sciences) study direction, aims to broaden students’ understanding of security-related topics.

A New Approach to Security Education

According to VRT NWS, third-grade students in the Sportwetenschappen program will receive weekly lessons taught by personnel from the Belgian defense forces, local police, and the governor’s office. The curriculum covers topics including geopolitics, data protection, radicalization, prevention, conflict management, law, deontology, and crisis management.

School director Frank Baeyens emphasized the educational philosophy behind the initiative. “Safety thinking wants to provide an answer to the observation that safety is a good that we must cherish,” he said. “While the interest among students for this theme is great, they never actually come into contact with it. We wanted to change that.”

The idea for the course originated about three years ago, developed by physical education teacher Seppe Ovare and physics teacher Pietro Caputo, who is also a prevention advisor and reserve officer in the Belgian army. As ROB TV reported in March, the regional broadcaster called it a “Belgian first.”

“We pitched the idea to actors such as defense, the local police and the governor,” Caputo said. “They were immediately won over.”

Not a Military Recruitment Tool

Baeyens was quick to clarify that the course is not intended to prepare students for military careers. “It is certainly not the intention to groom our young people for a career in defense,” he told VRT NWS. As a transition-oriented study direction, the school aims to prepare students for a broad range of higher education paths.

Students in the Sportwetenschappen direction can pursue higher education in Physical Education, Law, Medicine, Criminology, or Safety Sciences, including the Royal Military School, according to the school’s website.

Addressing Concerns About Militarization

The initiative has not been without its critics. Some parents have questioned whether the school is “going too far with that alarmism and war rhetoric,” as Baeyens acknowledged. He responded: “Our idea is exactly the opposite: you can only form an opinion about something if you have knowledge of it. This way we arm our students to draw their own conclusions.”

The course has also drawn attention from broader debates about the role of defense in Belgian education. A critical analysis published by De Wereld Morgen in June placed the HDC initiative within a wider trend of increasing militarization in Belgian schools, citing the introduction of the ‘Defensie en Veiligheid’ (Defense and Safety) study direction in technical secondary education and plans for a ‘military referendaris’ who would give presentations in schools.

A School Known for Innovation

This is not the first time HDC has made national headlines for educational innovation. In 2024, the school introduced Arabic as a subject in the 6th year of Modern Languages, a move that VRT NWS reported at the time as part of the school’s philosophy of intellectually challenging students and broadening their horizons.

The Heilige-Drievuldigheidscollege, founded in 1843 and run by the Josephite fathers, is located in the center of Leuven and has over 1,000 students. It offers domain-crossing transition study directions (ASO - general secondary education).

What’s Next

The school’s sister institution, ESND in Namur, will follow with the same program from 2027. As the pilot project launches this September, all eyes will be on how the integration of security professionals into the classroom is received by students, parents, and the wider educational community.

Baeyens remains confident in the value of the initiative. “This way our young people learn first-hand about topics such as data protection, geopolitics, prevention, conflict management, law, deontology and radicalization,” he said. Whether this pioneering approach will become a model for other Belgian schools remains to be seen, but the conversation it has sparked about the role of defense and security in education is already significant.