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Working at ESH

The European School The Hague is a fantastic working environment, located in the international heart of The Hague. ESH Primary is conveniently situated in between the city centre and the beach, and ESH Secondary is just a 10 minute bike ride from Central Station. The Hague is a cosmopolitan city with a large expat population and as such offers excellent housing, health and transport facilities.

Our new staff are warmly welcomed by our professional, sociable and very international team. In certain circumstances, teachers hired from abroad may be eligible for the 30% tax ruling, and we may be able to provide free education for up to two children.

Applicants must be EU citizens or have a valid permit to work in the Netherlands. All appointments are subject to the successful completion of an interview, trial lessons, identity checks, criminal record checks, and references. Unless stated otherwise in the job advertisement, initial employment is for one year, followed by a permanent contract subject to satisfactory appraisal and completion of paperwork, and acceptance and approval of your qualifications by the Dutch Government.

Professional Development

Professional development delivers benefits to our teachers, their profession and our pupils. Our goal is to ensure our teachers are up-skilled, and have learning opportunities to keep pace with the current standards in education. Teachers have 5 INSET days per year and two induction days per year. Staff at the ESH are involved in continual, on-site professional development opportunities called Professional Learning Community’s.

Professional Learning Community (PLC)

PLCs are groups of educators who meet regularly to share expertise, work collaboratively, expand their teaching strategy toolkit to enhance the learning skills and experiences of students. Under the guidance of the Assistant Deputy Director and PLC Organisers, the PLC is integral to our school learning culture and professional development.

The ESH is a school which encourages everyone to be the best they can by developing skills they already have or by learning new ones to benefit the children, parents and staff and all within the European framework.

Moira O'Hare - English Section Leader


Living in the Hague

The Hague is a great place to live and work. There are more than 50.000 internationals living in the city, and more than 160 intergovernmental and non-governmental international organisations are housed in The Hague. It is truly an international city in the heart of The Netherlands.

In 1899, the first international peace conference was held in The Hague. It was the beginning of a special role for The Hague as the international city of peace and justice. Nationally our city is known as ‘the Hofstad’, serving not only as the seat of government where vitally important decisions affecting the future of the country are taken every day, but also as the residence of the Dutch royal family... you might cross paths with the king or spot the prime minister biking to work, just like everyone else.

The International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, Eurojust, Europol and the OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) are all based in The Hague. There are more than 130 NGOs here, such as Unicef and Oxfam Novib and most foreign embassies. And with the international campuses of The Hague University of Applied Sciences, and the universities of Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam, the city attracts a steady stream of highly educated talent.

The Hague is the only large Dutch city on the sea. Live here and you have access to an 11 kilometre stretch of beach. It’s the place for sports like beach volleyball and kite surfing. In fact, it’s the best surfing beach on the North Sea, with good waves and a laid back atmosphere, all this located within fifteen minutes from school!

There is a wide choice of cultural venues with the city hosting 20 museums, 14 concert venues, 8 theatres and plenty of festivals. For food-lovers there is an abundance of places to try out from high end restaurants to world cuisine or restaurants on the beach.

With excellent accessibility by air, rail and road, the world is close at hand when you’re in The Hague. Conveniently situated between Schiphol Airport and Rotterdam-The Hague airport (30 min by road and rail) and has two major train stations connecting to Brussels, Paris and London.

Information for foreign nationals working in the Netherlands