DIS currently consists of more than 20 primary schools, the Dutch International Primary Schools (DIPS) and nearly 20 secondary schools, the Dutch International Secondary Schools (DISS). The schools are located in and around larger cities across the Netherlands. These schools are meant for children from international mobile families;  students with foreign passports who are temporarily moving to the Netherlands with their families for work and also students with Dutch passports returning with their families from a stay abroad.

Ownership of Teaching and Learning

When a student arrives, our staff quickly finds out what a student knows, what their skills and attitudes are. We then build on that. The student is the starting point, but the journey and the development of the student is very much a partnership between student and teachers. This partnership is at the heart of our schools.  For DIS it is a given that students are equal, yet very different and our schools do not just cope with that.; instead they fundamentally build themselves on this idea.

International Mindedness

Not only our students, but also our staff comes from all over the world. We work together with the idea that although we are all equal, we do not all have to be the same. Home languages, cultures and beliefs are celebrated in our schools. We are grounded in our own culture, yet curious about others. All children have different starting points and all parents have different expectations. Within DIS it’s not about passing a certain test or exam, rather about learning the skills to be an active and engaged global citizen who views the world around them with empathy.

Not only our students, but also our staff comes from all over the world. We work together with the idea that although we are all equal, we do not all have to be the same.”

Competitiveness  (‘Vestigingsklimaat’)

State-funded international schools are important for the competitiveness of the Netherlands. The availability of competitively priced international education plays an important role in the decisions for foreign companies to establish themselves in the Netherlands. That is why in 1983 the Dutch government decided to partly fund the cost of international education for children whose international parents moved to the Netherlands for work. These state-funded, or Dutch International Schools are always linked to a local primary and/or secondary school. While school fees for private international schools in the Netherlands and abroad can be as high as 30.000 euros per student per year, parents whose children are at a Dutch International School pay between 4500 – 9000 euros per child per year.