Maastricht schools: UWC’s IB or Dutch bilingual education?

For a child already following international education, UWC Maastricht offers continuity from primary through the International Baccalaureate’s senior programmes. For a child preparing for Dutch secondary qualifications, Porta Mosana College offers havo and vwo, including bilingual options.

UWC is at Discusworp 65. Porta Mosana’s published address is Oude Molenweg 130, in Maastricht-Oost. Compare each journey from your home rather than assuming two Maastricht schools have the same practical catchment.

UWC: first establish day or residential eligibility

Day pupils start from age four and live with their families in the Maastricht region. Residence nearby alone is not enough. The school’s eligibility rules set out four routes:

• A non-Dutch pupil with a parent temporarily employed in the Netherlands or border region.
• A Dutch pupil educated abroad for at least two years.
• A Dutch pupil accompanying a parent on an overseas employment move within two years, with evidence.
• A Dutch pupil entering the IB Diploma with a havo diploma or promotion certificate to vwo Year 5.

For families living across the border, UWC also advises checking the home country’s education rules, particularly in Germany. Obtain an eligibility decision before building your relocation plans around the school.

Residential places are a separate selection route through UWC for ages 16–19, studying the Diploma Programme or Career-related Programme. They are not boarding places for younger primary or middle-school pupils.

The 2026/27 annual day fees are €8,360 for primary, €12,260 for middle years and €12,690 for the senior programmes. Residential fees are €43,575 including tuition, accommodation and meals while campus is open. Day applicants pay €810; final-year senior examinations cost €900. Need-based residential scholarships exist, but the school offers neither day scholarships nor sibling discounts.

Porta Mosana: bilingual teaching, Dutch diplomas

Porta’s tweetalig onderwijs (TTO) uses English alongside Dutch within havo, atheneum and gymnasium. Havo prepares for higher professional education; atheneum and gymnasium are vwo routes preparing for university, with classical languages in gymnasium.

The school describes approximately 65% English-medium lessons in the lower years and 35% in the upper years. Pupils still work towards Dutch qualifications. The additional IB English certificate is not the full IB Diploma.

This is the better comparison if your child wants Dutch schooling with substantial English, rather than an English-medium international curriculum. Ask about the required primary-school recommendation and placement of pupils arriving from another system.

The published TTO contribution remains €475 for 2025/26. It is voluntary: non-payment cannot exclude a pupil from TTO. Ask for the 2026/27 figure and separate trip costs.

Plan the next application

For transfer from Dutch primary to secondary school, the national 2027 application week is 25–31 March. Permitted earlier regional applications require a final school recommendation and receive no priority over that week’s applications. Confirm Porta’s local arrangements; older-year transfers have a separate process.

UWC says it provides no school transport or on-site childcare. Check those arrangements alongside the route to school. The Maastricht overview and Netherlands guide support the wider search.

Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.