Welcome Back: Another School Year Begins

September 9th 2022

We were delighted to welcome back students, staff, and families to The British School in The Netherlands (BSN) for the start of the new school year, starting with our annual Welcome Day event on 2 September.

Welcoming new families into the BSN community

We kicked off with our Welcome Day event, which took place at all four campuses: Junior School Leidschenveen, Junior School Vlaskamp, Senior School Leidschenveen and Senior School Voorschoten. It provided our new students and families an opportunity to see new classrooms, meet with other new classmates as well as class teachers, and get to know the campus so that it didn’t feel quite so new anymore on the big day! There was also the chance to ask any questions they had, and mingle with other new families.

A big thank you to our wonderful Admissions Team, the BSN Family Association, Zein International Childcare, our campus staff and our student volunteers for their support in making the day a success.

I am delighted to welcome all the students, families and staff back on campus. I look forward to all the elements of school life, like community events, sports matches and fixtures, performances, Model United Nations conferences and concerts, that create lifelong memories for our young people.

-BSN CEO, Heath Monk

The first day (back)

The first day of school - while exciting - can also be nerve-wracking, especially if you are starting at a new school or in a new class. For Junior School Vlaskamp students, many former Junior School Diamanthorst students had recently joined Junior School Vlaskamp classmates following the amalgamation of the two Junior Schools this year. To support students in this transition, we organised a number of activities for both Junior School Diamanthorst and Junior School Vlaskamp students over the course of last year, enabling them to get to know their new classmates, teachers and campus. During the first two days of school, there were no specialist lessons, allowing students the time to get to know each other, their teacher, and their - for many students - new surroundings.

Junior School Leidschenveen was no exception - with both students new to the BSN and former Junior School Diamanthorst students joining JSL, the first week was all about teambuilding, with activities and projects aimed at getting to know one other.

Back-to-school advice

We asked staff, Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers what back-to-school advice they would like to give to our students who may be a bit nervous about starting school again – or starting at a brand new school!

Senior School Voorschoten Teacher and Eco Development Officer, Bethan Chewter, gave this advice to students:

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Also, remember that everyone is in the same boat as you!

Vicky van Assendelft, Deputy Headteacher at Junior School Vlaskamp:

“There will always be things that you don’t know or that you are unsure of, nobody has all the answers and that’s what makes school and learning so fun. Ask lots of questions, find the answers and have fun discovering new things along the way.”

We wish you all the very best for the new school year!