English speaking (international) school in Zwolle

Hi again.

How old is your son? The only one I can find is the International School in Zwolle (link) but is for kids over age 12.  Local public schools for all children below age 12 will teach in Dutch, this can change once they get to age 12 when they stream the kids MBO/HAVO; the issue with this as far as you're concerned is that your son will have to speak fluent Dutch in order to get into a HAVO school.  Most ex-pat kids get along just fine at the local school, you'll be surprised how quickly they pick up the language.

I hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

My son is 14...he will be 15.in May

Hi again.

Then your son will not be streamed into an English-speaking public school; if you want an English-speaking school, then you will have to pay for one of the fee-paying schools.  As it stands, he will be streamed MBO which is less academic.

My advice is for you to go to the local school and seek further advice there.

I hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

@titienvogue hello, we just moved to zwolle and we have a 15 year old son. I am very interested what you have been through, and would like to listen your advices.

Hello, potentially relocating from London with a 5 year old. are there any bilingual schools in Zwolle or Deventer?

thanks

    Hello, potentially relocating from London with a 5 year old. are there any bilingual schools in Zwolle or Deventer?
thanks
   

    -@Walthamstow

I can't find anything for either place on the Internet and my wifes family (live in Deventer) aren't aware of any.  State schools teach in Dutch at that age.  It won't be a bad thing, our kids picked up Dutch relatively quickly and all their mates will be Dutch.

Oh thank you so much. she would have spent a year in UK primary school before moving. i wonder if she will pick up Dutch or she will just feel isolated. we are considering Deventer, Zwolle or Enschede. Do you know which one might be better for kids and school?

This is something we discussed last year; I commented on another thread (link), nothing has changed since then.

We lived in Enschede, it's where my wife grew up, we were married there, and I know it very well (we're over there at the moment, on holiday), so my choice is going to be biased to there, but I'm reasonably sure that the rest are equally well suited to expats.  My wife was born in Deventer, and they moved to Enschede with her fathers job, she speaks highly of it.

The issue you need to consider is finding somewhere to live, rental accommodation is in short supply and thus is expensive.  Assuming you are moving there for work, perhaps ask your employer if there is any assistance.

Hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

Hi all,

My son is 5 years old and he goes to Dutch local school.

My question is that I am working as a high skill migrant as maintenance engineer in food processing company and I am not sure how long I will stay in Netherlands because of the internal situation of the company as well as there is no international school or bilingual where we live. In this situation can anyone help me what should I do.

Regards,

Pankaj

    Hi all,My son is 5 years old and he goes to Dutch local school.My question is that I am working as a high skill migrant as maintenance engineer in food processing company and I am not sure how long I will stay in Netherlands because of the internal situation of the company as well as there is no international school or bilingual where we live. In this situation can anyone help me what should I do.Regards,Pankaj         -@patelpankaj49

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

In the circumstances you describe, you really have no option but to send your children to the local school; Dutch law does not permit homeschooling, so it's either an International school or local state school.  So, it's probably better that you make the best of your situation and send your children to the local school and encourage them to integrate and learn the Dutch language.  The other options of course is to find other work in the Netherlands, or quit your job and find other work in another country.

I hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team