Education in The Netherlands

If you intend to relocate to the Netherlands and need to find a school for your children, the following information will help you out in understanding the Dutch educational system and getting an overview of the plenty of options to choose from.

The Dutch Education system consists of Primary, Secondary and higher education. Primary education starts with kindergarten at the age of four and as from the age of five, children are obliged to attend school on fulltime basis. In total, primary education lasts for eight years, after which pupils are advised the most appropriate education to pursue. Parents can choose between three types of primary:

• Public schools which fall under the authority of the municipality and do not include or teach particular religions and convictions.
• Schools based on certain educational philosophies.
• Schools based on a particular denomination.

In the last year of the Primary Education, pupils together with their parents have to choose a type of secondary education. Generally, they are guided on the right track mainly by a test called CITO-toets. There are three types of studies to pursue:

• MAVO (lower general) programme lasts four years and is job orientated.
• HAVO (upper general) programme lasts five years and prepares students to a university of professional education.
• VWO (pre-university) curriculum lasts six years, it is more intensive and prepares students for university