On March 1 2014, the International School Delft (ISD) will open its doors to the international community.
Until now, parents in Delft who wanted their children to attend an international school had to travel to the Hague or Rotterdam.
Laurentius Stichting will change that when it opens ISD.
“Delft is an international region attracting many international companies and mobile families, many of which are travelling out of the area to seek international education,” says Joke Reijman, chairperson of the Laurentius Stichting.
The school is managed by Laurentius Stichting, a non-profit educational organization which manages twenty-four other schools throughout the Netherlands. ISD will be its first international school. Less expensive than other international schools in the area, tution is €4,000 per year per child and a €250 registration fee is also required.
The school will be open for children ages 0-12. ISD is partnered with Stichting Rijswijkse Kinderopvang to provide childcare for those children too young to begin formal schooling. Initially, there will be one class per age group but they expect to expand to three to four by the fall.
The main medium of learning is English, though Dutch courses will be offered. Courses will be taught by native speakers. The administration would like to also offer lessons in other languages as well in the future. The school will use an international curriculum, the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, designed to be easily transferable to other international schools.
Students will come from two backgrounds; either the children of international parents or the children of Dutch parents who have lived or are planning to live abroad. “We would like or develop a family-like community where the school not only serves as the centre for learning for the international community but also a hub where families can feel welcomed and supported,” says Reijman.
Initially the school will be located on Nassaulaan in Delft but it has plans to move to a location on the campus of TU Delft, hopefully by the fall.
ISD is already proving to be quite popular. According to Reijman, “Since we have announced that the school will open we have been inundated with enquiries and expressions of appreciation.”
Comments are closed.