European School Bergen is a classic type I European School, the sixth to open in the European Schools system: it opened on 16 October 1963 for families of staff at the newly opened EU Joint Research Centre in Petten. Today about 550 children from more than forty countries attend; about 30% are Dutch nationals, around half live in the Bergen and Alkmaar area and about a fifth travel from Amsterdam. The school has three language sections - English, Dutch and French: a child learns mostly in the section language, starts a second language (English, French or German) in primary year 1, a third in secondary year 1, and from secondary year 3 history and geography are taught in the second language. The curriculum leads to the European Baccalaureate; the school names mathematics and the sciences as a strength thanks to its link with the research centre. Alkmaar has been chosen as the location of a new school building that will replace the current one in Bergen.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $4 858–9 110 a year
4 300.46–8 063.45 EUR
Programmes
European Baccalaureate
Admits from
4 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English, French, Dutch
Languages taught
German, Spanish, Italian, Latin
About the fees Annual fees for Category III pupils, first child: 2026-2027 - Nursery 4300,46 EUR, primary 5913,21 EUR, secondary 8063,45 EUR (in 2025-2026 4195,57, 5768,99 and 7866,78 EUR). A second child pays 80% of the full fee, from the third child 60%. Children of staff of EU institutions are exempt from fees. Businesses can enrol employees' children under a special contract allowing their mother tongue (an official EU language) as Language 1: in 2025-2026 its fee is 17226,24 EUR. Families with a child enrolled before September 2013 should check their fees separately. The Little Europe creche is charged separately.
Admissions The school is open to all families where places are available: children of staff of EU institutions and agencies (Category I) must be admitted and are exempt from fees; others (Category III) are admitted where places are available and pay the ordinary fees; the school says there are places in all sections and at all levels and no waiting lists. A child must be 4 years old or turn 4 during the calendar year of entry. All applicants take screening tests according to age and level, and the school offers a trial day. Dutch children are also accepted, but each of their applications goes via the school to the Ministry of Education and must be approved by its inspectors. Pupils can join during the school year; the final year is open only to transfers from another European School, because the European Baccalaureate is a two-year programme. Applications start with the enquiry form on the website.
Stages and year groups Grades Nursery 1-2, Primary 1-5, Secondary 1-7. The European Schools curriculum in three sections (English, Dutch, French): two years of Nursery under the Early Education Curriculum (ages 4-6), five years of primary (ages 6-11; a second language from P1, European Hours in mixed language groups in P3-P5), seven years of secondary: S1-S3 (most subjects in the section language, a third language from S1 - Dutch, German, English, French or Spanish, Latin from S2, IT from S3, history and geography in the second language from S3), S4-S5 (foundation or advanced mathematics, a fourth language, economics; a two-week work experience programme in S5), S6-S7 - the two-year European Baccalaureate: 50% of the final mark from internal work and examinations, 50% from five written examinations (Language 1 and 2, mathematics, two electives) and three oral examinations. Latin students take the Latinum Europaeum at the end of S5. For Dutch pupils the school is the equivalent of VWO.
Address Molenweidtje 5, 1862 BC Bergen NH
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
European Schools · authorised programmeIt is a Type I European School run by the European Schools system; graduates sit the European Baccalaureate.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
European SchoolsThe European Union's European Schools (Schola Europaea)
An intergovernmental system of European Union schools with its own curriculum and its own certificate, the European Baccalaureate. It runs thirteen schools of its own, and national schools gain the status of Accredited European School after an audit with a visit by inspectors. The certificate is recognised for university entry in every EU country.
What the badge means for this school. The school runs the European Schools curriculum, and this can be checked in the system's lists at eursc.eu. The system's own schools are checked by inspectors from EU countries, accredited schools pass an in-school audit, and accreditation is renewed every three years. Whether the school awards the European Baccalaureate, and whom it admits, is stated on its own page. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →European Baccalaureate
The European Union's European Schools curriculum from nursery to the final year, with the European Baccalaureate as the leaving certificate. Teaching is in language sections, and a second language is compulsory from primary school.
What this means for this school. The curriculum and the certificate are set by the European Schools system, whose Board of Governors is made up of the education ministers of the EU countries. European Baccalaureate papers are marked by the teacher and an external examiner, and the certificate is recognised for university entry in every EU country and in several others. A school may award it only if it is one of the system's own schools or is accredited for the senior years.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Exam results The school says the European Baccalaureate pass rate is between 95 and 100%; pupils who fail usually repeat the year and then succeed. The school does not publish average scores by year.
Where leavers go: Delft University of Technology · Eindhoven University of Technology · University of Amsterdam (UvA) · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · Leiden University · Utrecht University · University of Groningen · Maastricht University · Erasmus University Rotterdam · University of Oxford · Imperial College London · University College London
and others, 20 universities in the school's list in allAlmost all graduates go on to higher education. In 2018-2025, 65% enrolled in the Netherlands, 10% in the UK and Ireland, 9% in France, 9% in other countries, and 7% took a gap year. Of Dutch section graduates 85% study in the Netherlands; of English section graduates 60% in the Netherlands and 17% in the UK and Ireland; of French section graduates 45% in France and 40% in the Netherlands.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Teaching staff
The school publishes neither the number of its teachers nor their qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
A school nurse and staff first-aiders are on site, and a psychologist works part time. The secondary school has a Care Team that supports pupils with social, psychological, physical and academic issues and offers preventive help. Educational support at three levels - General, Moderate and Intensive - follows the European Schools inclusive education policy.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data75 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country
Bergen, Netherlands · est. 1963 · State