Category: member spotlight

 

Unusual beginnings

Whilst the Da Vinci International School was founded in 1997, its history goes back much further as the dream of founder, Ms Ilse De Souter.

Ilse had a life-long dream to be an educator. From a very young age, she was clear that this was her one and only aim. So, it’s not a surprise that her first role when she left education was for the, now defunct, EEC International School in Antwerp. A role she stayed in for the duration of her four-year contract.

It was then that fate would intervene. As Ilse was considering her next move, she was contacted by first one, then many more of the parents of her EEC students. The children were part-way through their two-year A-level course, and their parents knew that having a consistent teacher during this time was the surest route to success. Still looking for her new role, Ilse quickly found herself with seven children taking classes in her front room.

By the second year this grew to over 40 students, well beyond the capacity of her home.  It was at this point that the Kindergarten and Primary school Ilse attended as a child became available. With the support of some of her ex-teachers, she was able set up the Da Vinci International School at this location in the Verbondstraat in central Antwerp.

Taking students from ages 2.5 to 18, the school quickly grew again. But always retained a focus on quality education and community, living their motto:

“Opening hearts, minds, and doors to the future.”

DVIS has been a centre for Edexcel and Cambridge education systems over the years. Quickly becoming an exam centre and known for excellence in education. And, whilst this is true, you’ll still find Ilse at the door each morning, welcoming the students to school.

A strong future for your children
The Da Vinci International School offers the very highest quality of education. This is achieved in part by the school maintaining a student to teacher ratio of around 6 to 1. This ensures a personal, focussed attention on the needs of each and every student.

 

DVIS offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme across all ages at the school. For over 50 years, the four age-banded programmes of the IB have developed to deliver excellence in all aspects of a child’s education.

The aim of the IB is to develop well-rounded individuals who can respond to today’s challenges with optimism and an open mind and never has this been more important or relevant.

This curriculum is offered by over 5,800 schools across 162 countries. With a standardised approach at its core, this enables expat to move their children from one school to another, with minimal disruption to the child’s education. This can be a different school in the same country or on a different continent. By choosing an IB school, you can be assured of a consistent, quality education for your child.

No where is this standard better exemplified than at DVIS, where students have achieved a 97% pass rate in the last exams before entry into University or higher education.

This is in-part due to the close-knit team of teachers and staff at the heart of DVIS. With several teachers having been with school for over 20 years. This includes the current headmaster, Ian Stanley.

Beyond the classroom, DVIS offers comprehensive after school and extra-curricular activities. These include field trips, international travel, sporting trips and cultural trips to discover Belgium.

More than just a classroom

DVIS is so much more than a school, however. With 87% of students coming from expat families, the school is a hub of community for the parents as well.

With support from the School’s External Relations and Admissions lead, Manou Cohen, the school not only encourages but provides opportunities for parents to meet, make friends and support each other.

The most visible of these are the weekly Parent Teacher Association meetings on a Wednesday. Over 40 parents meet for a coffee and discussion of the school, questions, concerns and planning. Then, with the work done, they often retire for a brunch and chat.

The team at DVIS also organises a Christmas show, and seasonal markets, which parents are actively involved with.

Manou also helps with connecting parents from similar cultures with each other. Enabling new arrivals to access a pool of checked information to make their arrival and settling in Belgium that much easier. Need a Russian-speaking Doctor? One of the parents will know one. Not sure where to find a specific food? Someone can help.

For expats moving to Belgium with children, finding a suitable school for your children can be a major concern. But, if you’re relocating to Antwerp, it’s well worth having a chat with Ilse and Manou at the Da Vinci school. The school offers a comprehensive, world-class education which, crucially, can be continued if you need to move again.

More than this, the team also offers support for your family in moving to a new country. A ready-made community of people who uniquely understand and have experienced exactly what you’re all going through. If you’d like to know more about the Da Vinci International School or would like to speak to them to find out more, we recommend you check out their website here.

 

 

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And this time of year, through into the summer, is their busiest time. With 3 to 5 visits per day, his team will often work on weekends to meet the deadlines laid out by the client, rental agent and even moving companies. Coordinating with everyone involved to do the best job he can with the time allowed.

GMFC focuses on deep cleaning for expatriates who are leaving a rental -property. It’s his aim to ensure that, when they hand back their keys, the landlord gives them back all of their deposit.

The deposit problem in Belgium

Renting a property in Belgium is similar, in many ways to other countries, with most landlords requiring a deposit equivalent to two-month’s rental, plus a month’s rent in advance.

So far, so good.

However, at the start of your tenancy the landlord will complete an inspection report. This is usually conducted by a third-party, with the costs involved shared by both the landlord and tenant.

When leaving, the tenant will agree an inspection date with the landlord, who will then have a third-party complete the exit inspection report. Based on this, the landlord may, and frequently does, keep some or all of the deposit based on the condition of the property.

Whilst some allowance for wear and tear may be made, poor maintenance and cleaning will be penalised. Gianluca and his team are finding that the frequency and size of these penalties are only increasing each year. Losing your deposit is not the nicest of ends to your time in Belgium!

So, how did Gianluca come to make it his mission to reverse this trend? That’s a story that starts some time ago…

Opportunity Calling…

In 1996, Gianluca started working for his brother’s industrial cleaning company. For the next 15 years, he learnt the industry. From large scale site cleaning to window cleaning, they dealt with high-end, business clients.

What happened next, they really weren’t equipped for. “Around 2008, we started to receive a lot of requests for end of tenancy cleaning”, but as an industrial cleaning company, the company wasn’t well suited to deal with this type of request. So, seeing an opportunity, in 2010, Gianluca decided to see if he could make a business helping these people out.

Over the following years, the business grew rapidly. Working not just for the tenants themselves, but also for landlords, relocation agents and the multinationals who were employing the expats. It was clear everyone was invested in getting the deposit back. The expats want the money back and the landlord wants the property ready for the next tenant.

Start right, end right.

It became clear, in the early days of GMFC, that simply doing the exit clean was not the way to ensure success. Moves are often delayed or run over time, so it’s frequently the case that the team has less time than needed to deal with the issues they find.

These issues start on the day that the expat moves in. As they settle into their new home, new job and new country, their thoughts aren’t on the exit inspection, and why would it be?

Without care, and regular maintenance, the problems begin to build. So, by the time that Gianluca and his team arrive, often the day before the exit inspection, they need to firefight, and do the best they can. That leaves little time or space to do everything to get 100% of the deposit back.

That’s why Gianluca expanded beyond the pre-exit inspection deep clean.

GMFC now offers a comprehensive suite of maintenance and care services for expats throughout their tenancy. Handyman, painting and renovation services are available, as are gardening services, for those who don’t have time.

By taking care of the issues as they occur, expats can save themselves money, keep their home in a nicer condition and ensure that all of that deposit is coming back to them.

Success built on a spotless reputation.

Under Gianluca, GMFC has grown to a company of around 15 team members, which can double in size in the busy periods. Working smart, Gianluca has a set of hand-picked contractors who come in to help when the work floods in.

And flood, it does.

With 14 years in the industry, GMFC has a client list any business would be proud of. Large corporates including Exxon Mobil, GSK, HSBC, Sony and BP trust his team to get the job done. So do international bodies including NATO and the embassies from Iceland, Latvia, Slovenia and Norway.

But they’re not just about the big guys. GMFC work for many individuals, and they tackle properties of all sizes, from studio apartments to large houses. If you need their help, they’ll be there.

 

ABRA is proud to have Gianluca and the GMFC team as members of our association. In fact, they joined us in the year they were founded, fourteen years ago, so we’ve been with them from the very start.

If you need GMFC’s services, you can contact Gianluca here or find out more about them here.

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