Dutch primary and secondary education is free, with schools typically asking parents for a small voluntary contribution (ouderbijdrage) for extra activities, such as school trips and cultural excursions. Schools also usually provide textbooks. Dutch schools offer relatively little in terms of extra-curricular sports facilities. Most Dutch children belong to a sports club outside school.
In this section
Options for internationals
Several options are available for international children.
- There are a range of newcomer schools or classes at both primary and secondary level, which help students to learn the Dutch language before streaming into regular Dutch education.
- Some Dutch schools enrol international children into a regular Dutch class but provide additional help to those still learning the language.
- Bilingual education may be an option in certain schools, usually only for children with some level of Dutch. It is important to note that all the final examinations are in Dutch.
- There are also some international schools in the region which offer education in English or bilingual education for foreign students who are in the Netherlands temporarily.
Language-friendly schools
Some Dutch and international schools in the region are accredited language-friendly schools. These schools aim to create an inclusive and language-friendly learning environment for all students. Each school has developed a language-friendly school plan adapted to their own needs. For the most up-to-date list of language-friendly schools, visit Language-friendly school.org. Visit each individual school’s website to find out more about their particular language-friendly school plan.
School holidays
The school year begins in August and is broken up by holidays. Some holiday dates are fixed by the government, and the timing of others are at the school’s discretion. It is therefore possible that you could have two children in different schools with different days off!
To avoid major traffic jams during holiday periods, school term dates vary by region and by type of school. The summer vacation, which is 6 weeks for primary schools and 7 weeks for secondary schools, is staggered across three national regions: north, central and south. Brabant belongs to the southern region (regio zuid). The autumn and spring holidays are often staggered as well.
The list of school holidays can be found here.