Secondary schools

If you are relocating to the Netherlands with children 12 years and up, you will be looking at secondary schools. After 8 years of primary education, children in the Netherlands start 4, 5 or 6 years of secondary education (depending on the type of school). There are basically 3 types of secondary education: preparatory vocational secondary education (vmbo, 4 years); senior general secondary education (havo, 5 years) and pre-university secondary education (vwo, 6 years). After successfully taking the final secondary-school exams students can go on to vocational education or higher education. Instruction and exams in these schools are in Dutch. There are, however, bilingual and English-language alternatives to be found in bilingual secondary schools and international schools. One international school happens to be next to TU Delft and is the continuation of the international primary school programme. The education system comprises both public and private secondary schools; the distinction is often based on religious or ideological principles.