Relatively young school
De Meergronden, a secondary school in Almere, near Amsterdam, in the heart of Holland, offers its pupils a bilingual curriculum. De Meergronden is relatively new: it was founded in 1978 and is situated in Flevoland, Holland’s new province entirely reclaimed from the sea.
Fresh opportunities
Starting a new school provides all kinds of new opportunities. De Meergronden is a dynamic school with a professional and involved team which invests in a good relationship with pupils on a basis of equivalence. We think education should be pupil-centered and we offer education made to measure. De Meergronden offers room for individual development so that pupils can nurture their talents. De Meergronden is a school in the middle of society, a place where young people work intensively, enjoying new knowledge and experiencing and developing their personal qualities. Society changes rapidly. Growing up is not easy at this moment. That is why we want our school to be a safe place, in which we work on a deeper understanding of society and individual responsibility.
"De Meergronden is situated in Flevoland, Holland’s new province entirely reclaimed from the sea."
Streams and division
De Meergronden offers a wide range of qualifications, varying from education for special needs to bilingual courses and the equivalent of A-levels. De Meergronden offers vocational training in construction, business and administration, care and welfare and vehicle fitting and machinery.
The bilingual curriculum
De Meergronden started the bilingual curriculum some years ago. It
was felt that the use of English was increasing in further education in
The Netherlands. Bilingual upper school offer pupils an excellent
foundation. Eventually pupils will become near-native speakers.
Apart from their “normal” certificate (A-levels), pupils sit for the
International Baccalaureate [read more
about IB]. In the first and second year approximately half of the
lessons are in English and taught by native speakers and specially
trained teachers. Eventually pupils will attend the examinations for the
International Baccalaureate in English and the regular Dutch final
examinations for their other subjects. During the programme De
Meergronden offers all kinds of extra-curricular activities in which
English is spoken and/or with an international flavour.
The school coöperates with
other schools in Europe.
The Little Victorians workshop for the first year bilingual students. Read more
about
this workshop.
Extra-curricular activities
Apart from teaching as many subjects as possible in English, we organise projects with schools abroad: exchanges and training for example. We have several contacts with similar schools throughout Europe which offer bilingual education, in order to exchange students. We offer an educational trip to England where pupils stay with English families. The extra-curricular activities in Holland consist of visiting museums, attending theatre performances and visiting foreign companies. Naturally we speak English during these activities. And: Every year The Phileas Fogg Theatre Company is invited to de Meergronden to organise The Little Victorians workshop for the first year bilingual students. Read more about this workshop.
"Eventually pupils will
attend the examinations for the International Baccalaureate in English"
