Dutch school vacations and holiday dates (2024)

FAQs

How many vacation days are in the Netherlands school? ›

The Ministry sets compulsory school holiday periods like Christmas (2 weeks), May holiday (1 week) and the summer holidays (6 weeks) which must be adhered to by primary, secondary and special education schools. The Ministry gives only advisory dates for the spring (1 week) and autumn (1 week) holiday.

Pupils attend school Monday through Friday. School hours in primary school are from 8:30 to 15:00 with an hour-long lunch at 12:00. Wednesdays are half-days and children go home at 12:00. School hours for secondary school students start at 8:30 until about 16:00–17:00, depending on the day's schedule.

Spring (Voorjaarsvakantie – one week) May holiday (Meivakantie – one week, usually spread across April/May) Summer (Zomervakantie – six weeks)

Q: Which country has the most school holidays? In most countries, the longest break in the school year is during summer, lasting between 5 and 14 weeks. In Ireland, Italy, Lithuania and Russia, summer holidays are normally three months, compared to six to eight weeks in Britain, The Netherlands and Germany.

Hard to give up flexibility

But that argument is imprecise because that high number stems from the fact that only Israel has a six-day school week. While students study 219 days annually in elementary schools and 209 days in middle schools, students in OECD countries go to school just 185 days a year on average.

Annual leave

The statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 20 days is four times the agreed working time per week for each year of employment. These statutory days are in addition to public holidays of which there are normally seven each year. In practice, most employees are entitled to 25 days.

One of the most celebrated days in the Netherlands is King's day. During King's day, the whole population takes on to celebrate the birthday of the King; Willem Alexander. On the day of the celebration, the whole Netherlands is “painted” orange.

A typical school day in primary school consists of about five hours of learning (mostly math and Dutch), one break from 9:30 to 10:00 and a lunch break from 12:00 to 13:00. A typical school meal is bread with cheese or peanut butter. In primary school, each class has one teacher.

What month does school start in the Netherlands? ›

The Netherlands academic year usually starts in august or september, and finishes in june or july. But, depending on the zone where the students belong to (north, south or center), the dates can vary. With this, the vacation period is distributed to prevent all families from going on vacation at the same time.

Public schools in the Netherlands

Public schools are government-funded and all children, including expats, can attend them free of charge. However, most schools will ask for what is known as a 'parental contribution' (ouderbijdrage). This covers activities such as excursions and other extra-curricular activities.

The summer holiday falls in the July/August months, though the precise weeks vary by region. In fact, many school holidays are staggered strategically so that all the kids in the country aren't taking vacation at the same time. This reduces congestion for transportation and lodging, by spreading out holiday trips.

France and Spain are very popular destinations, but Italy, Portugal, Greece and Turkey are popular as well. Judging by the number of cars with Dutch license plates that can be seen on the roads, both Switzerland and Denmark are popular destinations, in winter and summer respectively.

There are a total of 10 (11 every 5 years) public holidays in the Netherlands: New Year's Day – 1st January. Good Friday – Varied date but always a Friday. Easter – Varied date but always a Sunday.

The statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 20 days is four times the agreed working time per week for each year of employment. These statutory days are in addition to public holidays of which there are normally seven each year. In practice, most employees are entitled to 25 days.

Overview of statutory paid holidays

Full-time employees are entitled by Dutch law to a minimum of 20 days (four weeks) of paid leave per year. This is based on a calculation: four times the number of hours worked per week. Part-time employees are also entitled to four times the number of hours worked per week.

If you want to stay in the Netherlands for longer than 90 days, you may need a residence permit. In many cases you will also have to apply for a long-stay visa before you travel to the Netherlands. This visa is also called an authorisation for temporary stay (MVV).

There are 7 public holidays recognised in The Netherlands, these include national holidays like Good Friday and Easter Monday plus two public holidays celebrated solely in The Netherlands. There are also additional regional public holidays observed in specific states in the Netherlands.