education system
Be yourself, always!
Van Maerlantlyceum Eindhoven is a safe school with a pleasant atmosphere where bullying is considered simply unacceptable. At our school nobody is excluded, we respect each other. You can always be yourself here, regardless of who you are, what you believe in or where you come from. Would you like to know more? We are more than willing to answer all your questions!
Discover & explore
Are you curious by nature and do you like to discover things and enjoy conducting experiments? At our school you can do just that! We offer a wide range of courses. In addition to the regular lessons, we offer extra-curricular courses like creative drawing, additional language courses (Cambridge English and Spanish), programming courses, Robotics, and technology. You can also let your creativity run wild in our own so-called Makers’ Lab.
Furthermore
from day one onwards you will learn how to do scientific research as acquiring and developing research skills is part of the curriculum, just like art & technology and digital literacy. You are also invited to philosophise with your peers and actively participate in cooperative debates during the Van Abbe Debat. And there is more: every schoolyear the Plato Project offers our students the opportunity to investigate and explore a subject of their own choosing and personal interest for two hours a week during school time.
Of course, we also stimulate our students to engage in sports activities. Besides that, we consider enhancing creativity to be particularly important: feel free to participate in our annual musical performances, become one of the dancers in our school ballet or sing along in our elementary students’ choir!
Learning both
inside and outside school
Van Maerlantlyceum is a so-called Brainport school: we maintain close contact with both schools for Higher Education and Universities as well as with well-known companies in the fields of design, entrepreneurship, and technology in the Eindhoven region. During physics lessons pupils visit ASML, and during Van Maerlant Week a variety of entrepreneurs, scientists, and artists lecture at our school. Moreover, several experts from Philips offer guest lessons and workshops about, amongst others, programming via Jet-Net!
Do you excel in beta subjects?
Then participating in SensUs, a TU/e university competition for smart secondary school students, might be interesting for you! SensUS offers you the opportunity to immerse yourself in technology and experience the benefits of design-oriented education.
Van Maerlantlyceum is also an official Olympiad school. We received this national quality mark because we have been participating in no less than seven annual Olympiad competitions for many years. Olympiads might very well be the best way to become really good or even better at science subjects for students! Would you like to join?
A clear focus on the world around us
Furthermore, we have a clear focus on the world around us, both nearby and further away: we annually organise an internationally oriented week which involves international exchanges with schools abroad. And moreover, there are international trips on the programme for students to participate in.
Laptops as well as books
At Van Maerlantlyceum every student has a laptop. This allows you to study at your own pace and focus on your specific study needs as much as necessary: you can easily get ahead on a subject you already understand very well, or practise some more in order to finally tackle that difficult mathematical problem. Using computers is of course also really convenient when you have to work together on a project.
Of course...
...we do not use laptops all the time. We do not want you to get square eyes! Your teacher will tell you when using your laptop is allowed and when not. Furthermore, each student has to bring a novel to school every day of the week as all Dutch lessons start off with ten minutes of reading. Studying at Van Maerlant thus involves laptops, textbooks, novels... teachers indicate when bringing your books is necessary, so do not worry: you do not have to lug around a schoolbag that is way too heavy.
Every student is different
Every student learns in a unique way. Together with you, we determine your individual learning path, tailored to your individual wishes and personal progress. Furthermore, together we keep track of what you can already do well and define what parts of the curriculum you need to pay extra attention to. Teachers adapt educational material to the specific needs of individual students.
Making mistakes is allowed at our school, or better yet: making mistakes is necessary in order to make progress. You do not have to be perfect. At school, we help you to become the absolute best version of yourself. And as your school career progresses you get an increasingly decisive say in how to achieve just that!
Learning together
At our school, we study together: both in class settings and in smaller groups, using either laptops or books. At our school, teachers educate their pupils, but it is also via cross-curricular projects and assignments that our students gain knowledge on specific subjects, inside and outside school.
Less exams, better learning
Does the thought of all those tests at secondary school already make you nervous? There is no need for that, because during the first year you regularly get so-called ‘practice tests’. That way you discover what you have already mastered and what you still need to work on. Hence, real tests will not offer you stressful surprises. We do not over-test, there is a limited number of tests per schoolyear – that way there is little test stress!
Furthermore, your classmates and you see your mentor one hour every week, during which you can discuss homework, class dynamics and potential problems with specific subjects. During so-called Van Maerlant hours you can choose which support lessons you would like to attend. This way you will be able to get extra help from teachers to master difficult subjects.
The final exams
Van Maerlantlyceum offers good education. Our success rate is high: in 2021 94% of our VWO pupils and 94% of our HAVO pupils passed their exams. Excellent tutoring pays off: every pupil is supported by a mentor, who coaches him or her on the journey towards the final exams.
Educational Awards
Asking questions, designing, inventing solutions, and researching. That is what we find important at Van Maerlantlyceum. All this leads to beautiful results: our pupils have regularly won prestigious prizes for their ‘profielwerkstuk’ (a collaborative research paper written in the final year of secondary school) such as the KNAW Education Prize, Sensus High School project competition, Van Melsen Prize and OMO Profielwerkstuk Prize.
KNAW Prize for two Van Maerlant pupils
We are enormously proud of David Chen and Stevan Pavlović! These two VWO pupils were extraordinarily successful in the national KNAW Education Prize contest last year. With their paper ‘The Knee Tendon Reflex’ they won first prize in the Nature & Technology category, impressing the members of the jury with their successful attempt to translate a biological system into mathematics. This way they created a program to diagnose the health of the nervous system of a tested patient. According to the KNAW jury, the system the boys designed is ‘almost ready for the market’.
Tailor-made first year (brugklas)
Being exactly in the right place: that feels good. We do everything we can to take care that our pupils will experience just that in their first year at our school. We have three types of first year classes: Havo, Atheneum and Gymnasium. What is the difference?
First Year Havo
Lessons and tests are at Havo level.
Lessons in first year Havo begin with a short instruction after which you can work on your own (homework) assignments at your own pace. After first year Havo you can continue your educational career in second year HAVO.
You can be admitted to first year Havo if your primary school advises you to do so.
First Year Atheneum
Lessons and tests are at VWO level.
After first year Atheneum you can either continue your educational career in second year Havo, second year Atheneum or second year Gymnasium, depending on your results and motivation in year 1.
You can be admitted to First Year Atheneum if your primary school advises you to go to either first year HAVO/VWO or first Year VWO.
First Year Gymnasium
Lessons and tests are at VWO level.
In addition to the main subjects, subjects such as Robotics and Classical Language - and Culture are included in the curriculum in first year Gymnasium. In comparison to first year Havo and first year Atheneum some subjects are taught in fewer lessons per week in first year Gymnasium. Latin and Ancient Greek lessons start in second year Gymnasium.
You can be admitted to first year Gymnasium if your primary school advises you to go to first year VWO.
Our Students
We are proud of our HAVO students!
At our HAVO department there is great social commitment. We work with a team of permanent mentors, who ensure that every HAVO pupil is in clear focus. During mentor lessons, much attention is paid to group formation and social welfare. Career guidance is also given extensive consideration. What am I good at? What do I still want to learn? How do I make an excellent choice with respect to the rest of my educational career?
During HAVO lessons instruction time is limited so that students have ample time to work independently on (homework) assignments, which are practically minded as much as possible.
At Atheneum and Gymnasium
Each student follows his or her own path!
At our VWO department, a lot of customization is possible. If you want an extra challenge, you can do a Plato project, participate in an Olympiad, or take part in the SenSus project. During extra study hours and Van Maerlant hours teachers give additional support if needed.
Gymnasium
At our Gymnasium you experience the true Gymnasium feeling
Do you like history and mythical stories? Is learning easy for you? Then our Gymnasium department is the right choice for you. At our Gymnasium you get an extra challenge, and we organise study projects every year. Every school year of your Gymnasium educational career you work on a project that has been especially designed for you.
And there's more!
During Dutch classes you learn how voice your opinion; during the Mytilene debate your fellow pupils and you engage in a vivid debate. During maths classes you learn how to program, during Art & Technology classes you create things that are myth-related and moreover, you learn to calculate with hieroglyphs you have created yourself! In the third year you are introduced to a special kind of geography: GeoFuture
20-80 learning
At our Gymnasium department, we apply 20-80 learning. This way education is made even more valuable and interesting; 80% of class time you attend regular lessons while 20% of your school time is spent on cross-curricular projects that help to think outside the box, challenge you to set new goals and make your own choices. This concept offers opportunities for a truly personal learning route, hands-on learning, differentiation and customisation. 20-80 learning generates a proven better transition to college or university.
Latin and Greek
In first year Gymnasium you get to know all about the gods of the ancient Greeks and Romans during Classical Culture classes. You also get a taste of the Latin and Ancient Greek language, so that you are well-prepared for second year Gymnasium.
On the road
As a Gymnasium student, you explore ancient civilisations at home and abroad. The highlight of your educational career at our school is the cultural trip to Trier in the pre-exam year.
Never alone, always supervised and supported
Learning (as life in general!) involves trial and error, so it is nice to have guidance when you need it. At Van Maerlantlyceum your class mentor has a key role in this. He or she will have a preliminary discussion with you and your parents every school year. This way you know what to expect and you can discuss things that are important to you.
Your mentor
Throughout the year your mentor will keep an eye on your well-being, on class dynamics and on your school achievements. Do you need extra guidance? Then your class mentor will contact our support team consisting of student counsellors, a remedial educationalist, coaches and, if necessary, authorities outside the school, like the Community Health Service. Do you have a non-Dutch background and maternal language? Then our NT2-teacher can work with you on improving your Dutch language skills.
Furthermore, during the weekly mentor hour in the first year, the mentor teaches you all you need to know about good study habits and helps you to acquire specific study skills, because learning also has to be learned.
Extra-curricular activities
We offer a variety of extra-curricular activities, including debating – you are invited to vent your personal opinions on a variety of subjects during fierce debates, like for example the renowned Van Abbe-debat. But we also have a school ballet, a choir, an orchestra and we organise well-attended music evenings every year!
What's more? We are a Brainport school, AOS school and Eco school. Van Maerlantlyceum is part of Ons Middelbaar Onderwijs (OMO), a governing organisation for schools for secondary education in the Dutch province of North Brabant