Parent's Review of AICS Amsterdam International Community School in Amsterdam, Netherlands

What is the name of your child's school? (Please report on one school per survey.)

AICS Amsterdam International Community School

In what town or city is this school located?

Amsterdam

How would you describe this school? (i.e. American, British, International, Local, etc.)

International

What grade levels are represented at this school?

Age 4-18

How do most children get to school everyday? (bus, train, walk, etc.)

Metro, bike, walk, car.

How would you describe the facilities at this school? What extra-curricular activities are available?

Poor.

What has this school done to help your child transition from the curriculum in your home country into the curriculum in your new country? Are there programs to prepare your child for repatriation?

Nothing. The school's curriculum is not made available to parents and was created in an ad hoc manner. The school's current head of primary is interested in educational research and treats the school as an experiment. She does not believe in spelling tests, mental maths tests, formal grammar lessons etc so these are simply not taught. For a child transferring back into a system with higher standards of numeracy and literacy this is disastrous.

How would you describe the social activities available for parents through this school? Are there parent-teacher organizations?

The school is chaotic and disorganized.

What advice would you give to someone considering enrolling their child in this school?

Don't. The educational standards are low and inconsistent, with some teachers being much better than others. The curriculum is very undemanding and bright children are bored at the slow pace. The school doesn't care that many primary children are being transferred out because of unhappiness with the educational standards as they have a long waiting list. Complaints from parents were ignored during the three years my child was in the school. In secondary the standards seem even lower and very few are graduating from the DP program with enough points to enter a good university. The private international schools in the Netherlands are extremely expensive but this school is not a viable alternative. We are leaving Holland after many years living year in part because of this school: our employers do not pay the fees at a private international school and we cannot afford these for two children. By returning to the UK we will get a far better education at any state school than this school would provide for the fees we pay them.

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