International School Twente

It’s a wonderful school with brilliant teachers! Most importantly it’s a school which helps and supports children with their individual learning in their own pace and ability.

Our son has been attending IST primary for about 2.5 years now, joining when he turned 5. Like regular Dutch schools kids as young as 4 are accepted, though for us that seemed too early. It’s been a great experience so far, and we are very happy with the school. The level of commitment and dedication by all teaching staff is fantastic, and that enthusiasm also helps greatly to get parents to commit time and energy, be in in preparation of (the many) activities and festivities that take place throughout the year, or in helping new expat parents feel at home. IST being an international school comes with challenges, of course. One is turnover: at times parents only stay in the Netherlands for 6 or 12 months, meaning that the class composition changes frequently. Then again there are families like ours that have no plans to move away. At times new kids arrive with poor English. However, remedial teaching and extra attention is offered, and new kids we have seen reach good speaking levels within half a year. In Secondary this is likely more problematic given the more diverse and advanced subjects, but at the level our son attends it’s fine. What we like a lot about IST is that kids are placed at a given level based on their abilities. There is a total of 4 groups – A to D – and in each group there are kids spanning 2-3 years of age. We are now in IST C and have kids ranging from 7 to 9. Kids are moved to the next level when they are considered to be ready, which is great. Also, IST A and B – for the younger kids – always have 2 teachers, and with classes typically as small as about 15 the kids get a large amount of personal attention. The school also works with (Dutch) interns, who are placed for several weeks in a class, hence the staff/student rate, also to offer personal support, increases further. Teaching itself heavily focuses on comprehensive, multi-perspective understanding, something we have loved from the very beginning. For 10 weeks a given subject (or IPC [International Primary Curriculum) unit), is addressed, which is then looked at from a range of disciplines (art, history, science & technology, geography, physical, education, society, music, ICT, and international) – fantastic way to connect knowledge. All core subjects are taught in English, while kids have 2 hours of Dutch per week, and also art, music and sports/PE are taught in Dutch, hence kids learn the extra language quickly. In the afternoons extra courses are offered, including by parents, who offer courses in French, Chinese, German etc. Overall it’s a very international atmosphere, with many kids speaking more than 2 languages, and intercultural values and understanding are given great importance. We definitely recommend the school!

International school