Groevenbeek Christian Secondary School
Groevenbeek Christian Secondary School is located in Ermelo and Putten, two small towns with a population of roughly 26,000 each, situated at the centre of the country, about 70 km from Amsterdam. Our students primarily come from Ermelo, Putten, Harderwijk and the nearby villages.
Groevenbeek Christian Secondary School is part of the Dutch system of publicly-funded Christian and non-denominational schools. It is headed by a board of directors, supervised by a board of parents.
This way parents have a significant influence in the main policy of the school. Nevertheless, the national government, which provides funding, ensures by means of law and regulation that the quality of education is maintained.
Although we are a Christian school, this does not mean that we do not accept students involved in different religions or non-religious students. Neither are we related to any specific church. Rather, it means that our values and standards are based on the principles of the Bible, which serve as our source of guidance en inspiration. We strive to express these values in our personal relationships and school prayers and think that it is important to guide and educate pupils to become well-balanced young people with a sense of self-worth. Furthermore, we have celebrations, programs in religion and we are active in charitable events.
The school provides all levels of education for secondary school students in four different departments: the 'tvwo' (our bilingual department) and the 'vwo' both prepare students for university, the 'havo' (preparing for schools of higher professional and vocational education) and 'vmbo' (preparatory vocational school for secondary vocational education
Our way of education is based on the cornerstones versatility, compassion and confidence.
A key aspect in the education that we provide lies in the differentiation in level, learning style and rate of the individual student. This way, students get the opportunity to develop their own unique talent in a safe school environment in which all students feel appreciated and become part of a successful learning experience. Students are able to focus on technology, culture, sports, or languages. Through this, students are intrinsically motivated, as they approach common themes through the focus of their interest. We are currently extending the differentiation to the next stage: adapt the level and rate to the needs of individual students within one subgroup. Ultimately, each student has his/her own program, yielding optimum results. The challenge lies in the redefinition of the teachers' competences, requiring a transition from traditional tutor to coach.
European and International Orientation have been an important part of our program. We attribute high priority to relationships with international schools in other countries, since we strive to prepare our students for a fast-paced world in which international borders are rapidly disappearing. For the tvwo, vwo and havo sections, international relations and exchange programs have been part of our program for the past 15 years. Altogether, these exchange programs involve about 300 students each year. Recently, we have successfully started an exchange program at the vmbo department as well. Most exchange programs are organized within Europe. Lately, we have literally broadened our horizon to Asia and Australia to find new partner schools. This resulted in an exchange program with a school in China (Zhenjiang) and a school in Australia (Melbourne).
To this end, Groevenbeek is still looking for equally ambitious schools, interested in becoming our partner in exchange programs in which students will be provided with 21st century skills, preparing them to become world citizens.
