peer reviewed ; This study aims to understand the energy use performance gap of Passive House (PH) schools and nearly zero-energy schools (nZES). The study reports the results of a recent field survey conducted on thirty nearly zero energy buildings constructed between 2015 and 2020. An analysis of energy consumption (electricity and natural gas) and a walkthrough survey were conducted. A representative simulation building energy data set and a reference model was created. The average energy use intensity per school (primary and secondary) was 59 and 42 kWh/m2/year. The paper provides insights into the underlying causes of a discrepancy between predicted and measured energy use. Findings on energy needs and use intensity are useful in temperate and continental climates. ; [ZE-Schools] Zero Energy Schools in Belgium