Schools in Amsterdam for Australian families

The real choice in Amsterdam isn't "good school or bad school". It's how long you're staying, and that decides almost everything else.

The short version

Amsterdam has three broad options: free Dutch schools, partly subsidised international schools in the Dutch International Schools (DIS) network, and fully private international schools [3][4].
Private international fees run well above €20,000 a year per child. The International School of Amsterdam lists €22,815 to €32,755 for 2026–2027 [5]. Subsidised DIS schools cost a fraction of that, but have entry rules about how long you'll stay [3][4].
Dutch primary school is free, children can start at 4, and school is compulsory from the month after they turn 5 [6].
Amsterdam allocates places at its primary schools through a central system with set deadlines. Kids arriving from abroad mid-year apply directly to a school instead [1][2].
Non-Dutch-speaking kids from age 6 usually spend about a year in a newcomer class before joining a regular class [2][3].

Step one: decide how long you're staying

Most of the advice you'll get boils down to one question. Are you here for two or three years on a posting, or are you settling in?

If you're...	Usually the best fit	Why
Here 1–3 years, kids over 7	DIS or private international school	English teaching, curriculum that travels back to Australia [3]
Here 3+ years, or open-ended	Dutch local school	Free, in your neighbourhood, kids become fluent [3][6]
Kids aged 4–5 on arrival	Dutch local school is very doable	Young children usually start without Dutch [3]
Teenagers, short stay	International school	Moving into Dutch secondary at 13+ means a year of bridging class first [3][7]
Planning to go home for Year 11–12	International school with a curriculum Australian schools recognise	Easier transfer of results and subject choices

Australian parents tend to underestimate how good the Dutch local option is for younger kids. Plenty of Aussie families put a 4-year-old into the school down the street and are fielding Dutch corrections from them by Christmas.

The three types of school

Dutch schools (free)

Government-funded Dutch schools must all meet the national core objectives, though they come in many flavours: public, Catholic, Protestant, Montessori, Dalton, Steiner and more [3]. There's no tuition. Schools may ask for a voluntary parental contribution for trips and extras, and you pay for small things like a gym kit [6].

Primary school runs over eight groepen (groups). Groups 1 and 2 are play-based, and formal reading, writing and maths start in group 3. Children leave around 12 [6]. Some schools are bilingual, teaching in Dutch and English almost equally [3].

Dutch International Schools (partly subsidised)

The DIS network is a group of Dutch government-funded international schools that teach in English for children aged 4 to 19 [4]. Because they're subsidised, fees are much lower than private schools. Amsterdam's own guide puts them at around €5,500 per child [3], but check each school's current fee schedule.

The catch is eligibility. A child must meet at least one condition, and the one that applies to Australians is this: the child has a non-Dutch nationality and a parent working in the Netherlands for a limited time [4]. If you've told everyone you're here forever, expect questions. For the IB Diploma Programme in the last two years, students also need sufficient English and the right prior schooling level [4].

In and around Amsterdam, families commonly look at the Amsterdam International Community School and DIS-type international schools in Haarlem, Almere, Hilversum and Laren. Each sets its own waiting list rules, so apply as early as you can.

Private international schools

Fully private schools charge the full cost. Amsterdam's official guide quotes €12,000 to €24,000 a year per child [3], and the top end is now higher. The International School of Amsterdam in Amstelveen lists 2026–2027 tuition from €22,815 for nursery to €32,755 for Grades 11 and 12 [5]. They mostly teach the International Baccalaureate, while British schools follow the British curriculum and some offer IB too [3].

If your employer is paying, check your contract. Under the Dutch expat scheme (the 30% ruling), employers can pay international school fees tax-free, which our tax guide explains.

How Amsterdam hands out primary school places

Amsterdam doesn't let schools pick and choose who comes in at age 4. It runs a city-wide admissions system with fixed deadlines and priority rules [1].

If your child is turning 4

Apply around their third birthday. Children can start school the day they turn 4 [1][6].
Find your priority schools. Your child gets priority at the eight schools closest to home, measured by walking distance. A few schools (such as Geert Groote and some Steiner schools) give priority to every child in Amsterdam [1].
Rank at least five schools. Fill in the preference form in order. You hand it in at your first-choice school [1].
Meet the deadline for your child's birth range. For 2026–2027, children born 1 May to 31 August 2023 apply by 5 November 2026. Earlier birth ranges closed in March and May 2026 [1].
Accept the offer in time. You must confirm the place before the deadline in the offer letter, or it goes to the next child [1].

Older siblings help. A child whose older brother or sister is already at the school is guaranteed a place there, as long as you list it first [1]. Over 90% of children have recently got their first choice [1]. Address matters, so if you're still flat hunting, it's worth checking which schools are close to the place you're about to sign for. The city's Schoolwijzer site shows schools near any address.

If you arrive with an older child

The age-4 deadlines don't apply to kids who arrive from Australia aged 5 or 9. For them, the city's newcomer process applies [2]:

Find a school near your home on Schoolwijzer.
Contact the school with your child's name, date of birth, the date you moved to Amsterdam, your address and whether your child speaks Dutch.
Go to the intake interview. The school either enrols your child or registers them for a newcomer group [2].

If the school is full, it should help you find another. If a school doesn't respond, the city's compulsory education team (Leerplicht) can step in [2]. And remember: once your child is 5, attendance is compulsory, so don't leave them at home while you sort out the international school waiting list [6].

Newcomer classes: the year that makes it work

Children aged 4 and 5 usually go straight into a Dutch class without speaking Dutch [3]. From about age 6, children who don't speak Dutch generally join a newcomer class (nieuwkomersklas) or an international language class [3]. In Amsterdam, this lasts about 40 weeks, and then your child returns to their "main school" [2].

At secondary age, the equivalent is the international bridging class (internationale schakelklas, ISK). It focuses on Dutch, and pupils usually move into regular secondary school after one or two years [7].

Dutch secondary school and the age-12 stream

This is where the Dutch system differs most from home. There's no comprehensive high school. In the last year of primary (group 8), each child gets a school advice, and most also sit a national test. That advice decides which track they enter [6]:

Track	What it leads to	Length
VMBO	Pre-vocational, then vocational college (MBO)	4 years [7]
HAVO	Senior general, then university of applied sciences	5 years [7]
VWO	Pre-university, then research university	6 years [7]

Moving between tracks is possible, but the sorting happens much earlier than in Australia, where most kids stay in one school until Year 12. Children who've lived in the Netherlands for less than four years with limited Dutch may be exempt from the group 8 test [6]. School is compulsory until the end of the school year in which a child turns 16, and to 18 for those without a basic qualification [7]. Amsterdam secondary places are also allocated centrally; the city's schoolkeuze020 site has the timetable.

Keeping the door home open

Your kids will probably come back to an Australian school one day. A few things make that easier:

Keep school reports and work samples, translated if they're in Dutch. Australian schools place by age, but they'll want to see where your child is up to.
Know your state's rules. Enrolment ages and Year 12 certificates differ between states. Ask your future school what it needs well before you fly.
Plan around senior years. Moving in the middle of Year 11 or 12 is hard in any system. The IB Diploma is generally recognised by Australian universities, but check with your state's admissions centre.
Keep English literacy strong if your kids are in Dutch school. A weekly reading routine at home pays off later.
Register citizenship for babies born here before you go home. See our guide on citizenship by descent.

Smartraveller notes that everyone over 14 in the Netherlands must carry ID, which includes teenagers on their bikes to school [8].

Want to hear which schools other Australian families chose? Ask in Cooee Netherlands, our Facebook group for Australians in the Netherlands. Members share waiting list stories, newcomer class experiences and which schools ring back.

Schools in Amsterdam: international, DIS or a Dutch local school?