Admissions

Conditions

European Schools were founded to meet the educational needs of the children of European Civil Servants. For the European School The Hague, these are the children of employees of Eurojust, Europol, EPO, ESA-ESTEC, EUSPA, EMA, Frontex and the European Commission. These children have a reserved place in our school and are referred to as Category I pupils.  For children of employees of other European Agencies/Institutions, Admissions will be able to provide information about whether your child(ren) also qualifies as a Category I applicant.

All other students are referred to as Category III students, and can be placed depending on availability.

As the secondary school is nearing full capacity, we have now reached the threshold where Category III applications and enrolments can no longer be accepted for the foreseeable future, with a minimum restriction in place for the 2025/26 academic school year.

NOTES:

Places in S6 are extremely limited and applications will be considered on a place by place basis due to the complexity of valid subject packages. Very few places available for L2 English applicants.
L1, L2, and L3 must all be different languages. The specific availability of L1 languages depends on current enrolments and staffing and will be checked at the time of application.
If there is a corresponding Language Section to the L1 selected, then that Language Section must match the L1. If the L1 is different to the Language Section selected, then the L2 must match.
- Examples: L1 English chosen – student must go into English Language Section.
- L1 Greek chosen, English Language Section chosen, student must study L2 English.
- Only exception is with Dutch in S1-S5 as this language is not offered as an L2. L2 Dutch is available in S6 & S7.
- If Dutch language section is chosen, and Greek (for example) as L1, then the L2 in this example can be English, French or German.
Current Mother Tongue Languages offered at ESH (not in every year level): English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Croatian, Greek, Czech, Polish, Finnish, Portuguese, Romanian, Latvian, Slovenian, Swedish, Lithuanian.
From S3, Maths and Science subjects taught in Section Language and Human Sciences taught in L2.

To explore Secondary 5 and Secondary 6 enrolment further, please submit an application as soon as possible through  OpenApply

Category III criteria is based on the Dutch Regulations for International Education (IGBO-Wet):

Conditions for eligibility of Category III pupils

Conditions for eligibility of Category III pupils

1.1 Has another nationality than the Dutch nationality and the pupils' parents, guardians or carers work in the Netherlands or the border area of the Netherlands on a temporary basis, or;
1.2 Has the Dutch nationality and was educated abroad for a period of two years or more, because at least one parent, guardians or carers worked abroad for a limited period of time, or;
1.3 Has the Dutch nationality and at least one of the parents, guardians or carers, as confirmed in writing by the employer, will be working abroad for at least two years and within two years of admission into the school. The pupil will live with this parent, guardian or carer.

Procedure

Prospective parents are invited to attend an information morning at one or both campuses: Primary and/or Secondary.

Information mornings

If you are not able to attend one of these sessions and would like to schedule an individual visit, please submit a Registration of Interest Form (see link below), together with school report copies (for students applying for Primary 1 - Secondary 6), and then contact the Admissions Office with a request to visit the school. 

Submit a registration of interest

Email the admissions office

How to apply?

A formal application is done through an external admissions portal called OpenApply. You will be required to create an account so that you can follow the status of your child’s application.

admissions portal

In the portal, you will be asked to also upload a number of documents, through a checklist. For each type of application and year group, different checklist items are required. We may also add additional checklist items if necessary (IEP's, etc.) Below is a list of the standard items:

Category I (children of European Agency/Institute staff members)

Copy of Passport
School reports from past two school years
Any additional documents related to special educational needs and/or medical related issues
Statement from European Institution confirming pupil’s Category I status (issued by your HR)
Pupil Information Request Form - to be downloaded through the portal and sent to the current (pre) school to be completed

Category III (all other pupils)

Copy of Passport
School reports from past two school years
Any additional documents related to special educational needs and/or medical related issues
Proof of Payment of the €300 registration fees (bank transfer). Please note that this fee is non-refundable.
Pupil Information Request Form - to be downloaded through the portal and sent to the current (pre) school to be completed
In most cases parents of Category III pupils are required to provide proof of their eligibility for international education in The Netherlands, as described in the admissions conditions.

When to apply?

Early Years applications are accepted for children from the age of 2, but are processed at a later stage.
We ask that applications for pupils to join at the start of the new school year be submitted by 1 April, prior to the start of the new school year. Any applications received after this date, run the risk of delayed placement, meaning that the pupils may not be able to start at the beginning of the new school year. After the 1st of April, please also submit applications, we will then inform you if there could be a delay in placement.
Applications for pupils to join during the course of the school year should be submitted as soon as possible.

Next steps

When you have created your parent accounts in OpenApply, you will receive an automatic confirmation email. This way, you know that we have received the application(s) and documents.
Once the application is complete (form and checklist items), the application is discussed and assessed by the directorate.
Via OpenApply, you will receive an update after the initial assessment. This may include a request for additional information, a meeting request, a confirmation of the placement offer or placement on the waiting list (Category III pupils). For Secondary School Applications, it is common practise to schedule language and mathematics tests for those children who are not transferring from a European School.
With the approval of the director, confirmation of enrolment letters are sent to parents, to sign and return in acceptance of the offer. You will receive a message via the portal with the letter and a new checklist item will appear, so that you can upload the signed letter.
The further arrangements such as class allocation, timetables and introduction days (Early Years) will be communicated at a later stage.

How long does it take?

When the required documents have been submitted, it can take up to two weeks to process an application, when applying for the current school year. This process may take longer for category III applicants, as availability plays a role as well.

If you are applying for the next school year, this can sometimes also take longer. In the event that more information is necessary or tests need to be planned, the process can be extended, depending on what needs to be discussed/assessed.

In cases where there is a discrepancy between the decision made by the director and parents’ request, the process can be extended even further for an additional evaluation. It is therefore very important to apply on time, in order to avoid delayed placement.

Additional information for Category III applications

Category III pupils can be placed upon availability. If a place is/becomes available, parents will be contacted by our admissions officers. For category III pupils, the time between submitting the full application and a placement offer depends on the availability and how far in advance parents are applying. If you are applying more than 1 year in advance, the application will only be processed at a later stage.

Apply now!