Netherlands counts 248 excellent schools

This year 248 schools in the Netherlands can call themselves excellent, 49 more than last year, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science announced on Monday.

A school is considered excellent if its quality of education is very good and it excels in some way, such as its lessons fitting very well with the situation in its neighborhood, or its way of teaching being inspiring, innovative and motivating. An independent jury assess whether a school deserves the recognition, and the Inspectorate of Education awards the predicates, which are valid for three years.

This year 16 primary schools, 31 secondary schools, and two special education schools were added to the excellent list. The Netherlands now counts nearly 250 excellent schools - 83 in primary education, 141 in secondary education, and 24 in special education.

"These schools show that they give everything they have" Minister Arrie Slob of Primary and Secondary Education, which falls under the Ministry of Education, said. "I am proud of the people who together make excellent schools. Teachers and school leaders have worked hard for this."

"It is a fantastic experience for the jury members to see how schools are working on excellent education", jury leader Titia Bredee commented. "Every student deserves teachers and school leaders who are committed to them."

The list of excellent schools can be found here.