← Back to the rankingInternational Primary School Hilversum
Hilversum, Netherlands · est. 1986 · State
Illustration · Hilversum
International Primary School Hilversum (IPS Hilversum) is a partially subsidised Dutch International Primary School for children aged 4 to 12, from Early Years to Group 8. It opened in 1986 as the international department of the Dutch primary school Violenschool, with fewer than ten students, and has had its own name since 2006; legally the school still shares the licence of the Violenschool. It is an authorised IB World School offering the Primary Years Programme; the language of instruction is English, and all students learn Dutch as the host country language. It usually has around 400 students from about 50 countries, families speak 46 languages at home, and about 92% of children do not speak English as a first language. After Group 8 students move on to international secondary schools with the MYP in Hilversum and Laren, to an international vmbo stream or to Dutch secondary schools; Group 8 students do not take the Dutch CITO examinations.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 875 a year
5 200 EUR
Languages of instruction
English
Registration fee
≈ $395
350 EUR
About the fees The fee for the 2026-2027 school year is 5200 EUR for entry between 1 August and 31 October; later entry costs 4600, 3900 or 2250 EUR, and leaving during the year costs 2250 to 5200 EUR depending on the month. The FAQ page still gives a fee of 4600 EUR for 2023-2024. The school explains that the government subsidy covers only part of the costs of the international department.
Admissions As a Dutch International Primary School, IPS Hilversum may enrol children aged 4 to 12: children of non-Dutch nationality temporarily resident in the region; Dutch children with written proof that within one to two years they will continue their education abroad at an international or English-speaking school; Dutch children returning to the Netherlands who have already attended international education or education in English for a number of years. Steps: first contact, an online application with the child's passport, school reports for two years, a confidential teacher recommendation and proof of temporary residence (preferably an employer letter); the committee decides whether the school can provide the education the child needs and, if so, invoices the 350 EUR fee. There is no general admissions test or required interview, but additional information, an interview or a language assessment may be requested. Children are placed by age as of 31 October; Early Years takes children from age 4 when a place is available, and they must be toilet trained. Applications are accepted all year and up to a year in advance; for 2026-2027 places are available in all age ranges.
Stages and year groups Grades Early Years, Group 2-8. The IB Primary Years Programme from Early Years to Group 8 (ages 4-12), with the PYP Exhibition in Group 8. Teaching is in English, Dutch as the host country language at all levels; children after Group 2 with limited English receive EAL support. Ages: Early Years from 4, Group 2 ages 5-6 and so on to Group 8 ages 11-12.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years Programme.
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
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: PYP (ages 3-12). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·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 roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
✓Staff training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school calls safeguarding a top priority: it has a comprehensive inclusion policy, all staff receive formal safeguarding training, and the school is recognised as a child safeguarding school for training its staff. The Student Support Team works with class teachers to plan the support a child needs.
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 data55 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 data60 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