Registration
Starting Primary School
When your child turns four, an exciting milestone begins: starting at primary school! In Amsterdam, the registration and assignment of places at nearly all schools generally follows the same process.
Important Information
Registration
Around your child's third birthday, you will receive a preference form and a brochure from the municipality of Amsterdam explaining the admission policy (early November 2024). ou register your child by submitting this form at the school of your first choice.
Getting Acquainted
Are you curious about the Europaschool? Sign up for one of our information sessions, including a tour! We organize sessions in both Dutch and English. You can register by emailing info@europaschool.espritscholen.nl or by calling the administration.
View the available dates below and discover which primary school is the best fit for your child.
Priority Schools
Your child has priority over the eight nearest primary schools. The schools that qualify are determined by the walking distance from your child's official residence to the primary school.
When you enter your home address and your child's date of birth on the website schoolwijzer Amsterdam, you will see whether our school is a priority school for your child.
What You Need to Do
If our school is your first preference, please submit the preference form (no copy or scan) at our school.
- This form will have your child's name, date of birth, and residence address pre-printed. If there are errors, please correct them on the form.
- Fill in at least five primary schools in order of preference. Number your first preference as 1; your second preference as 2, and so on. You can choose both priority schools and non-priority schools.
- Please note: Even if an older sibling is already attending our school, it is necessary to submit this form to us. In this case, it is not required to indicate multiple preferences.
- Submit the fully completed and signed form at our school.
- Once we have processed your preference form, we will send you a proof of registration (by post/email).
Check this proof of registration and contact us immediately if there are any errors.
In some cases, it may be necessary to provide written documentation during the registration.
This applies in the following situations:
- The pre-printed residence address on the preference form is incorrect;
- You are using a preference form without pre-printed personal details of your child (blank form).
No Preference Form?
Download the preference form here or pick one up at the administration of our school. In this case, always bring a proof of address so we can verify the address and personal details of your child.
A Place in Primary School
After the submission date, in March, June, and November - under the responsibility of the school boards - the citywide placement of all registered children will be carried out automatically.
If there are enough places at a school, all registered children will be placed. In recent years, more than 90% of children received a place at their first-choice school.
If there are more registered children at a school than there are places available, a lottery will be necessary. If your child is not assigned a place at our school, they will be eligible for the next preferred school(s) you specified. Each child will be offered a place at the highest possible preference school.
Assigning places
The allocation of places in all schools proceeds in the following order. For the first preference, this is as follows:
1. An older sibling is enrolled at the school when your child turns 4 years old; your child has a guaranteed place.
2.a. The child has a VVE affirmative indication and attends preschool education at the preschool affiliated with the school and has the school as a priority school.
b. The child attends an Integrated Child Center (IKC) at least twice a week by the time of their second birthday and has the school as a priority school.
3. The parent of the child has an indefinite employment contract at the school.
4. The child has the school as a priority school.
5. The child has no priority for this school.
Then, the registered children who have not been assigned to their first preference will be placed as follows:
6. The child has a priority school as their second to eighth preference.
7. The child has a non-priority school as their second to eighth preference.
8. The child lives outside Amsterdam.
Registration
After placement, you will receive a letter from the school where your child can be enrolled. This letter will state the final date by which you must inform the school that you wish to accept the reserved place for your child. Make sure to complete this registration on time. Your child will only have a definitive place at this school afterward; the official registration will follow as soon as they turn 4 years old and begin attending school.
Exception:
If it becomes clear that your child requires special support that our school cannot provide, it may be decided not to admit your child. In consultation with the parents, our school will then arrange for another school that can provide this support.
More Information
For questions about the admission policy, you can also contact the helpdesk of the BBO (the collective school boards):
T: 020 244 6345
E: toelatingsbeleid@bboamsterdam.nl
On the BBO website you can find more information about, among other things, available capacity and the results of past placements.
Getting Acquainted
A new student will first get acquainted with the school before turning four years old. In principle, they come on a Tuesday morning and a week later on a Wednesday. Then, in the third week, the student will begin full days, or, if necessary, mornings first, in consultation with the teacher.
The determination of the acclimatization period takes vacations into account. A child will generally not start getting acquainted just before a longer vacation, so everything will be postponed until after the vacation.