Funding, language and the right route
A privately run Dutch school is not necessarily fee-paying. Understand openbaar, bijzonder and international schooling first, then compare the language, qualification and admissions process that apply to your child.
Compare private and subsidised IB schools, Dutch secondary education and French primary education. Eligibility, campus and the child’s next qualification matter more than the international label.
The Hague offers five distinct international routes: a subsidised IB school in Kijkduin, an American school in Wassenaar, British campuses across the region, a European School, and a French lycée. Start with legal eligibility and the qualification your child needs, then compare campuses and total cost.
Rotterdam offers three quite different international routes. Harbour is an English-medium primary within BOOR, RISS is a subsidised international secondary with eligibility rules, and Nord Anglia is a fully private school from age three through the IB Diploma.
International School Utrecht is an English IB school for internationally mobile pupils. Utrechts Stedelijk Gymnasium is a Dutch public vwo school with Latin and Greek.
ISE separates international primary, Dutch-bilingual primary and IB secondary. Stedelijk College offers Dutch secondary qualifications with optional bilingual teaching, not the IB Diploma.
UWC Maastricht offers English-medium IB education and a residential senior programme. Porta Mosana combines Dutch secondary qualifications with bilingual teaching. They are different educational routes, not interchangeable international schools; age, eligibility and the intended diploma should guide your shortlist.
European School Bergen offers three language sections and the European Baccalaureate. Admission category, Dutch-nationality approval and the applicable fee table need separate checks.
ASH is a private day school in Wassenaar offering an American diploma with IB and AP options. Families should budget for annual tuition and capital fees, plus a separate enrolment charge. Special Education carries an additional annual fee.
AmsterdamAICS is a state-funded Dutch international day school for internationally mobile families. It offers the full IB continuum in English across two Amsterdam campuses. Statutory eligibility, available places and support capacity all matter before a place can be offered.
The HagueThe BSN is one private day school across four sites near The Hague. It offers British qualifications and IB choices, but the school decides campus placement. Check entry point, senior pathway and complete invoice together.
AmsterdamSpinoza Lyceum is a public, Dutch-medium Dalton secondary school in Amsterdam-Zuid. It offers mavo, havo, atheneum and gymnasium, with first-year admission through Amsterdam’s central matching system.
Bergen NHEuropean School Bergen is a day school for ages 4–18, with English, Dutch and French language sections and the European Baccalaureate. Admission rights and fees depend on the pupil category. Families paying tuition should resolve a discrepancy between the school’s own 2026–27 table and the central European Schools figures before accepting a place.
The HagueESH is an Accredited European School on separate Primary and Secondary sites. Category I pupils have a reserved place, while Category III pupils need statutory eligibility and space. Language placement is central to the decision.
RotterdamHarbour offers English-medium primary education in Rotterdam under Stichting BOOR. Its 2026–27 annual fee is €4,500, plus a €300 non-refundable application fee. Dutch is taught for two hours a week once a child’s English is sufficiently developed. The school warns that this may not prepare a child for a later Dutch-medium or bilingual school.
EindhovenInternational School Eindhoven has English-medium international education, a Dutch–English bilingual primary department and IB secondary education. The three departments share one school but not the same admissions rules.
AmstelveenAn independent English-medium IB day school for ages 2–18 in Amstelveen. Check grade-specific English requirements, learning support and the full cost beyond tuition.
The HagueISH offers subsidised, English-medium international education at one Kijkduin campus. First confirm that your family meets the statutory eligibility rules. Then check whether the year group, English phase and support provision fit your child.
UtrechtAn English-medium IB day school with subsidised provision and eligibility conditions. Confirm the current fees, entry date and commute before applying.
The HagueVincent van Gogh is a French state-system day school on two sites. The Hague teaches from petite section through Terminale. Amsterdam stops after CM2, so families there need another plan for secondary school.
RotterdamA private English-medium day school in Hillegersberg from age 3 through the IB Diploma. Budget for annual registration, support and transport as well as tuition.
MaastrichtA public Dutch secondary school with bilingual havo and vwo. The qualification remains Dutch, with additional certificates rather than the full IB Diploma.
RotterdamRotterdam International Secondary School provides subsidised English-medium education from Grade 6 to Grade 12. Students move from the Foundation Years to IGCSE and then choose the IB Diploma or Career-related Programme.
EindhovenStedelijk College Eindhoven at Henegouwenlaan is a Dutch public secondary school offering mavo, havo and vwo. Bilingual education is available in havo and vwo, but it is not an English-medium IB Diploma programme.
UtrechtA public Dutch-language gymnasium under NUOVO. Check the vwo recommendation, application year and support arrangements before choosing its classical-language route.
MaastrichtUWC Maastricht offers an English-language IB education from age 4. Day admission is restricted by Dutch eligibility rules, while residential applicants aged 16–19 use a UWC selection route.
Cities: Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Maastricht
The most useful first question in the Netherlands is not “Which private school is best?” It is “Which kind of school are we looking at?” A religious or Montessori school may receive public funding. An international school may be partly subsidised but still charge fees. A fully private school has another funding model again.
For a family staying in the Netherlands, a Dutch-language school can offer local friendships and continuity through the national system. For a temporary move, an international curriculum may make the transition easier. Neither choice removes the need to check eligibility, support and available places.
Openbaar onderwijs means public-authority education. These schools do not teach from a particular religious or ideological foundation. They may still use a teaching approach such as Montessori. Bijzonder onderwijs means privately run education, often with a religious, philosophical or educational identity. It does not mean special educational needs provision, and it does not by itself mean high fees.
Article 23 of the Constitution protects freedom of education. Both public-authority and privately run schools can receive State funding if they meet the conditions. The Education Inspectorate monitors educational quality. The government explains this distinction in its guide to public-authority and private schools.
Catholic, Protestant, Islamic and other religious schools are part of this system. So are schools with non-religious educational identities. Montessori, Dalton and Jenaplan describe pedagogical approaches; check the school’s actual governance and funding rather than inferring them from that label.
Ask how the school’s identity affects lessons and activities and what it expects from families. A description such as “Catholic” does not answer which celebrations or religious lessons your child would attend. Public schools also differ in teaching and support; they should not be treated as a single fallback option.
Ordinary funded primary and secondary education does not charge tuition. Schools may request a voluntary parental contribution for extra activities. Non-payment must not exclude a child from those activities. This is different from an international school’s tuition or a separate childcare bill. See the government’s explanation of voluntary contributions.
Particulier onderwijs usually refers here to fully private, non-State-funded schooling. Ask how inspection, examinations and recognition work, especially if your child may later transfer into funded education. A privately run funded school and a fully fee-funded school are not the same financial commitment.
Some international schools are fully private. Others are Dutch International Schools (DIS), with State subsidy and an additional parental fee. DIPS and DISS refer to Dutch International Primary and Secondary Schools. Subsidised does not mean open to every family who would prefer teaching in English.
The DIS admissions rules normally require at least one of these circumstances:
There is also an additional entry route to the final two-year IB Diploma Programme for pupils with a havo diploma or promotion to vwo Year 5. The international school must judge their English sufficient. Ask which rule applies to your child and what evidence is needed; eligibility does not guarantee a vacancy.
Independent international schools and European Schools have their own admission rules. A school accepting one family’s circumstances does not establish that a nearby subsidised school must accept them too.
Many children begin basisschool, primary school, at four. Compulsory attendance, leerplicht, starts on the first day of the month after the fifth birthday. It applies to children living in the Netherlands regardless of nationality and continues through the end of the school year in which they turn sixteen. Government explanation of attendance and qualification duties.
A five-year-old who cannot yet manage a full school week may stay home for five hours weekly, with notification to the headteacher. A further five hours require the headteacher’s permission. This arrangement ends at six; it is not a general right to choose part-time schooling. Official explanation of reduced hours.
At sixteen and seventeen, pupils without a startkwalificatie normally have a further education obligation, kwalificatieplicht. The qualifying minimum is a havo or vwo diploma, or mbo level 2 or higher. There are exceptions, including specified practical and special-education routes. The government guidance explains them and the permitted combination of work and vocational study.
Primary education has Groups 1–8. For a child newly learning Dutch, ask how language support works and whether a newcomer class is appropriate. BSO, or buitenschoolse opvang, is after-school childcare with its own place and registration. A primary-school offer does not guarantee a BSO place.
After Group 8, usually around age twelve, pupils move to voortgezet onderwijs (VO), secondary education. Vmbo prepares for vocational education, havo for higher professional education, and vwo for university education. Mbo is vocational education after secondary school. These are different routes, with transfer possibilities that need to be checked for the particular pupil.
A gymnasium is a vwo route including classical languages. An atheneum is vwo without that classical-language requirement. The first secondary year is often called brugklas, and schools differ in whether they offer single-level or mixed-level classes.
The primary school first gives a provisional schooladvies, its recommended secondary-school level. The pupil then normally takes the doorstroomtoets, a transition assessment, before the final advice. Legal exemptions to testing exist. A higher test recommendation normally requires an upward revision unless the school explains why that would not serve the pupil’s interests. Ask how the final advice, support needs and available school types fit together. Official school-advice guidance.
There is a national timetable for this transition. In 2027, the central secondary-school application week is 25–31 March. Some regions can accept applications earlier under stated conditions, once the final schooladvies exists. Early applicants in those expanded windows receive no timing advantage over pupils applying during the central week. This is different from primary-school or international-school admissions, which have their own procedures. Official 2027 timeline.
Tweetalig onderwijs (TTO) combines Dutch schooling with substantial teaching in another language, usually English. It can be a strong option for a pupil who can work in Dutch and wants advanced English while remaining in the national system.
TTO pupils still take the ordinary Dutch school-leaving examinations. They may also gain language or TTO certificates, but these are not a full IB Diploma. Nuffic, which supports Dutch bilingual education, explains the examinations and certificates.
Ask how the balance of teaching languages changes in the upper years and how the school prepares pupils for examinations in Dutch. For a child who currently knows little Dutch, TTO is not automatically a substitute for an English-medium international school.
These examples help distinguish routes, not rank schools or describe families’ actual touring behaviour. Check whether two schools serve the same ages and admissions circumstances before treating them as alternatives.
International School of Amsterdam, in Amstelveen, is a private IB option. Amsterdam International Community School, part of the Esprit group, offers subsidised international education at its South and Sandcastle sites. Compare their funding, entry eligibility and the campus assigned to the child, not only their use of IB programmes.
Het Dalton Spinoza Lyceum, on Peter van Anrooystraat, is a funded Dutch-language secondary school. Consider it if the child can learn in Dutch and the Dalton approach suits them. Admission follows Amsterdam’s secondary matching process, not an international-school application platform. For local primary schools, consult Amsterdam Schoolwijzer. See the Amsterdam guide.
American School of The Hague, in Wassenaar, and International School of The Hague, in Kijkduin, have different funding and curriculum arrangements. ISH is a subsidised international school. British School in the Netherlands adds a British route across four campuses and publishes 2026–27 fees.
Choose the relevant programme first, then confirm campus and journey. These locations are not interchangeable commutes. See the The Hague guide.
European School The Hague is an accredited European School, with its own institutional and fee-paying admissions categories and published 2026–27 fees. It is not one of the traditional European Schools directly governed through the same arrangements as Bergen. Check language sections and the school’s own rules.
Lycée français Vincent van Gogh, with sites in The Hague and Amsterdam, offers French schooling in the AEFE network, the French agency for education abroad. Its 2026–27 fees are published. It is a relevant comparison when continuity towards the French baccalauréat matters more than remaining in an IB programme.
European School Bergen, on Molenweidtje, is a traditional European School in the Netherlands, not Bergen in Norway. Its Categories I–III concern institutional eligibility and fee arrangements, not academic ability. The school’s 2026/27 table and the central Board’s Category III figures differ in the material reviewed. Ask which amount applies before budgeting.
Use the Bergen NH guide and official European Schools directory to confirm the school and its status.
Harbour International Primary, on Graaf Florisstraat, publishes €4,500 in annual fees plus a €300 application fee for 2026–27. For the next stage, examine Rotterdam International Secondary School, a subsidised secondary school in the Wolfert group. Its sites include Bentincklaan and Schimmelpenninckstraat, and its fees page links the 2026–27 booklet. Moving from primary to secondary still requires a separate admissions check.
Nord Anglia International School Rotterdam, on Verhulstlaan, is a private alternative with published 2026–27 fees. Compare its age range and curriculum with the Harbour/RISS progression before comparing the full family budget. See the Rotterdam guide.
International School Utrecht, on Van Deventerlaan, provides subsidised international primary and secondary education through the SPO and NUOVO school organisations. Its 2026–27 fees are in the Standard Terms and Conditions document; the first school day was 2 September 2026.
Utrechts Stedelijk Gymnasium, on Ina Boudier-Bakkerlaan, is a public standalone gymnasium within NUOVO. Choose this comparison for Dutch-language vwo with classical languages, not for an English-medium IB route. Its admissions page requires a vwo recommendation and publishes 8–31 March 2027 for teacher-led digital registration. This fits the possibility of an expanded regional period explained above. See the Utrecht guide.
International School Eindhoven has English-medium international and IB provision on Oirschotsedijk. Its Dutch bilingual primary provision is on Jan Luikenstraat. Check which stream and location you are applying for; 2026–27 fees are published.
Stedelijk College Eindhoven, on Henegouwenlaan, offers Dutch secondary education. Its regional digital application process for 2026–27 closed in March, while the contribution page reviewed is still labelled 2025–2026. Ask for the next procedure and current costs. See the Eindhoven guide.
UWC Maastricht, on Discusworp, offers day-school places from four and residential education from sixteen. Its 2026–27 fees are published. The residential programme is a distinct application and family-life decision, not simply boarding added to every age group.
Porta Mosana College, on Oude Molenweg, is a public havo/vwo school with English TTO. The contribution reviewed is €475 for 2025–26; a 2026/27 amount was not published there. Its IB English certificate is not the full IB Diploma. It is the more relevant option for Dutch secondary schooling with advanced English, provided the child meets entry requirements. See the Maastricht guide.
Choose Dutch public or privately run funded schooling if your child can access the teaching and your family wants a durable connection with the local system. Consider TTO for stronger English within that Dutch route. Choose international education when curriculum continuity is more important and the pupil meets the admission conditions.
Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.