Going to primary school

All children between the ages of 4 and 17 have a right to education. Are you new to the Netherlands? If so, register your child at primary school (4-12 years old) or secondary school (12-17 years old) as soon as possible.

If you enter your child's date of birth in the form on the procedure page, you will read when you need to do what to register your child.

These rules were made to ensure a clear, fair and equal way of applying and placement for primary school for all children. In addition, these rules were made so that schools can better plan for their school/classes. The Amsterdam school boards, in consultation with the municipality, decided to do this in 2013.

You can download a new blank preference form from the Amsterdam School Boards (BBO) site and print it out, or pick one up at a primary school. When submitting the preference form, you must submit valid proof of address. A valid proof of address is, for example, a purchase deed, rental contract, an extract from the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP) or the shelter contract or something similar.

Your child has priority at the 8 schools closest to his or her officially registered residential address. Enter the postal code, house number and date of birth of your child. Then you can see which schools these are. In addition, some schools have specific requirements for the admission of students. They may do so, for example, on grounds of freedom of religion or beliefs. 

The distance is calculated by the Research, Information and Statistics Agency (OIS) of the City of Amsterdam using the established school database. The calculation is made based on Open Street Maps (OSM) and the Large-Scale Topography Registry (BGT). These are used to calculate walking distances between residential addresses and the schoolyard entrance. This calculation method is more accurate than that of, for example, Google Maps.

The calculations are made by the OIS once a year between July and September. The calculation remains valid for an entire school year. Even if there are interim changes, such as the construction of a bridge. Unless a school is closed. The distances shown are binding, unless there has been a deviation from the agreed calculation method due to an error.

Almost all primary schools in Amsterdam participate in the joint admission policy. Out of 210 primary schools in Amsterdam, 10 schools do not participate in this. For the 2023-2024 school year, these are the following schools:

Centre: ASVO
Zuid: Amsterdamse Montessorischool (AMS), Willemsparkschool, Cornelis Vrij, Peeterschool, Hildebrand van Loonschool, 1e Openluchtschool, 2e Openluchtschool, Buitenveldertse Montessorischool (BMS), Cheider.

Would you like to register your child for one of these schools? Then please contact this school.
In addition, some schools have specific requirements for the admission of students. They may do so, for example, on grounds of freedom of religion or beliefs. These schools do participate in the admission policy, but make it clear that they have requirements. These are: bgs Veerkracht (Reformed), Rosj Pina (Jewish), Crescendo and De Morgenster (Evangelical). 

​If you indicate only one preference for a school and this school has more applications than available spots, there is a chance that your child will be excluded. In that case, your child will be dependent on the spots available after the placement.

Indicating more preferences increases the chances of your child being placed in a school of your preference. The advice is to indicate at least five preferences.

You will receive notice of placement within two weeks after the deadline. You will receive this notice from the school where your child was placed.

All steps of processing and posting the applications are recorded by the system in a digital log. The placement and possible draw will take place in the presence of representatives of school boards, participation council, project management and municipality. The method used for this has been extensively tested and proven to be reliable over a long series of placements.

These rules were made to ensure a clear, fair and equal way of applying and placement for primary school for all children. In addition, these rules were made so that schools can better plan for their school/classes. The Amsterdam school boards, in consultation with the municipality, decided to do this in 2013.

Have you not received a notice two weeks after the deadline? Then please contact the school where you submitted your preference form. 

You can file a complaint with the school board of the school where you submitted the preference form. The school board is responsible for handling the complaint.​

After the closing date, you can only choose from the schools that have spots left at that time. A list of schools that still have spots can be found on the BBO's website.