Terneuzen Schools

Welcome on board and soon in the Netherlands 

As Dow chemicals have more experiences in these situation like yours, you re not the only one, I would suggest to contact their HR department and see what they can do for you. Terneuzen is a small city and far away of the bigger cities where international schools are located. Public transportation is not bad but very time consuming.

annemarie8655 wrote:

Hi

My husband is currently working at Dow Chemicals and me and the kids are at home in england we have been thinking of all moving over but have lots to consider before making any decisons. Has anyone had any experience of this? Our children are nearly 11 and 9 so my son is due to start uk high school in september we would prefer to send them to an international school at first but cant find any in the area they all seem to be nearer to Amsterdam?

Any help will be appreciated

Thanks
Anne-Marie

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

This subject (Terneuzen) has been discussed before; you can use the Forum search function (top right-hand corner) and just enter Terneuzen, then search, you'll get the previous threads.

A couple of points, Terneuzen is practically in the middle of nowhere - for a good reason, it's basically a massive chemical plant with a town on the side (it's not quite that bad, but I hope you get my gist).  It has a lot of expats working there, some say because they can't get any Dutch or Belgian people to live and work there.

Schools - International Schools are mouth wateringly expensive and the nearest ones aren't tax deductible because the schools are just over the border in Belgium and your husband's skilled worker visa only offers tax breaks in the Netherlands, so you'd pay for the whole cost, unless you use a Dutch international school, which is quite a commute in what is probably the worse rush-hour traffic in the whole of Europe (I've read stories of mum's spending almost the entire day doing the school commute with the kids).

Dutch state schools are very good, but your 11-year-old will be hitting the streaming exams at age 12; the problem will be that if he doesn't peak and write native level Dutch, he will be streamed into the lowest level (MBO), which is not a bad thing by itself, but it means he will struggle to get a University place.  Your 9-year-old should have enough time to learn Dutch and pass the exams.

Other options - unless you are seriously considering living in Holland for the future, then perhaps leaving the kids with grandparents?  UK boarding schools?

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi Anne-Marie,
We are in a similar position and I am curious what you ended up doing?

Hello,
What are the options for Britain schools close to Ternuzen?

Dear Enete,  what did you decide

@annemarie8655 hi Anne, I hope you're well. I'm in the process of deciding to move to Terneuzen. Can you share your experience if you already live in Terneuzen? For a person who is not very social but family oriented, would you advise I take the leap? I'm currently interviewing at Terneuzen and so I'd like to know what lies ahead 🙏🏽