The Princess of Orange, Princesses Alexia and Ariane, News Part 1 (May 2013-Jan 2019)


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The school year seems to begin earlier on mainland Europe than in the UK/Eire,all schools here are not back until Thursday week.
 
Probably asked and answered, but the girls have security around them on their way to school, no?
 
She's really cute with her patient wave for - I guess mom or dad? - as she drives off on the bike.
Is she going to the same school as her older sister?
 
She's really cute with her patient wave for - I guess mom or dad? - as she drives off on the bike.
Is she going to the same school as her older sister?

His majesty the king shot the instagram video (jn dutch "Z.M de Koning").
She indeed goes to the same school P.Amalia attends, Amalia is starting her 3rd year there..
 
Dutch Educational System

Won't the education of the princesses in Math and Science (what is more broadly called STEM in the US) be lacking somewhat in that kind of school ? I was checking the school's website out of curiosity and was not very impressed. If I understood it correctly, their pupils scored below the national average in subjects such as Math and even Greek and Latin, which are supposed to be their differential. In fact, the only subjects where the school was convincingly above the national average were French and, to a lesser extent, German ; all other subjects were only about the national average (sometimes slightly above) or below average.

Kwaliteit Gymnasium Sorghvliet

Am I lost in translation or is it the case that sending the princesses to a Protestant school was a more important factor than academics in the selection of that school in particular ?
Great question! The short answer is no, but let me try to explain :)

For a correct interpretation it is important to understand the Dutch educational system. The school compares the students' grades to those of other VWO-students; which is very different from comparing the grades to the national average (which is impossible in the Netherlands).

In Secondary Education (which starts after 2 years of 'kindergarden', 6 years of primary (formally kindergarden is part of primary); so at around age 12) students are divided between different streams/tracks according to their abilities:
- A small percentage goes to 'practice-oriented education' (the lowest level; these students are not expected to complete formal education);
- over half of the students goes to VMBO (preparatory vocational education) - a 4 year program; students are expected to continue their education in a vocational program (community college-type) which might take 2-4 years to complete depending on the level;
- about 25% goes to HAVO (higher general secondary education) - a 5 year program; students are expected to continue their education in a higher professional education institute (hogeschool; (fach)hochshule; university of applied sciences; comparable to a post-1992 university in the UK);
- and a little over 15% (this number is increasing, probably around 17-18% these days?) goes to VWO (preparatory university education) - a 6 year program; students are expected to continue their education at one of the (research) universities.
[As a side note: it is possible to move up (or down) from one track to the other both in secondary education as well as in tertiary education]

Within this highest level (VWO) a distinction is made between atheneum and gymnasium. The only difference is whether the classical languages (latin & greek language and culture) are taught (in addition to the standard VWO program). Between 1/4th and 1/3th of the VWO students do gymnasium (so at max 6% of the population).

Amalia and Alexia are attending a 'categorical gymnasium' which means that all students at their school attend gymnasium. It is also possible to do gymnasium at a secondary school that offers HAVO, Atheneum and Gymnasium tracks. The reason why the average grades (at the final exam) for latin and greek are typically lower for students at the categorial gymnasium than for those at other schools that offer gymnasium, is that the students who have low grades in latin and greek at a 'broad' school can easily switch to Atheneum within the same school, while those at the 'categorical' school would need to switch schools, which means that they typically stick with either Greek or Latin just to be able to stay at the school even though they struggle in these subjects.

So, the grades that the school shows should be interpreted in the light that it compares the results of the best 15-18% of the students (and for latin and greek the best 6% at max; taking the above into account). Furthermore, it is important to understand that people in the Netherlands are not very much focused on grades. Most important is the level (track/stream) that you attend and graduating within the allotted years. The school for example prides it self in an extremely low number of students that have to repeat a grade (which typically has the side effect of lowering the average grade at the final exam).

Finally, the princesses went to a public school for their primary education, so I am pretty sure that the denomination (being protestant-Christian) was not a deciding factor. According to the king and queen Amalia picked the school herself (her cousins who also attend secondary schools at VWO level in The Hague made different choices; Alexia apparently wanted to join her sister). She visited a few different schools in The Hague that offered the gymnasium track and landed on this specific one. Currently, she is even in the gymnasium-plus group; a selection of students that do very well at school and are offered additional classes (so far it is Chinese; but in later years she will most likely also take classes at Leiden University as part of a PRE-program that is offered by the University to excellent students in their final years of VWO) to keep them challenged.
 
Great question! The short answer is no, but let me try to explain :)

For a correct interpretation it is important to understand the Dutch educational system. The school compares the students' grades to those of other VWO-students; which is very different from comparing the grades to the national average (which is impossible in the Netherlands).

In Secondary Education (which starts after 2 years of 'kindergarden', 6 years of primary (formally kindergarden is part of primary); so at around age 12) students are divided between different streams/tracks according to their abilities:
- A small percentage goes to 'practice-oriented education' (the lowest level; these students are not expected to complete formal education);
- over half of the students goes to VMBO (preparatory vocational education) - a 4 year program; students are expected to continue their education in a vocational program (community college-type) which might take 2-4 years to complete depending on the level;
- about 25% goes to HAVO (higher general secondary education) - a 5 year program; students are expected to continue their education in a higher professional education institute (hogeschool; (fach)hochshule; university of applied sciences; comparable to a post-1992 university in the UK);
- and a little over 15% (this number is increasing, probably around 17-18% these days?) goes to VWO (preparatory university education) - a 6 year program; students are expected to continue their education at one of the (research) universities.
[As a side note: it is possible to move up (or down) from one track to the other both in secondary education as well as in tertiary education]

Within this highest level (VWO) a distinction is made between atheneum and gymnasium. The only difference is whether the classical languages (latin & greek language and culture) are taught (in addition to the standard VWO program). Between 1/4th and 1/3th of the VWO students do gymnasium (so at max 6% of the population).

Amalia and Alexia are attending a 'categorical gymnasium' which means that all students at their school attend gymnasium. It is also possible to do gymnasium at a secondary school that offers HAVO, Atheneum and Gymnasium tracks. The reason why the average grades (at the final exam) for latin and greek are typically lower for students at the categorial gymnasium than for those at other schools that offer gymnasium, is that the students who have low grades in latin and greek at a 'broad' school can easily switch to Atheneum within the same school, while those at the 'categorical' school would need to switch schools, which means that they typically stick with either Greek or Latin just to be able to stay at the school even though they struggle in these subjects.

So, the grades that the school shows should be interpreted in the light that it compares the results of the best 15-18% of the students (and for latin and greek the best 6% at max; taking the above into account). Furthermore, it is important to understand that people in the Netherlands are not very much focused on grades. Most important is the level (track/stream) that you attend and graduating within the allotted years. The school for example prides it self in an extremely low number of students that have to repeat a grade (which typically has the side effect of lowering the average grade at the final exam).

Finally, the princesses went to a public school for their primary education, so I am pretty sure that the denomination (being protestant-Christian) was not a deciding factor. According to the king and queen Amalia picked the school herself (her cousins who also attend secondary schools at VWO level in The Hague made different choices; Alexia apparently wanted to join her sister). She visited a few different schools in The Hague that offered the gymnasium track and landed on this specific one. Currently, she is even in the gymnasium-plus group; a selection of students that do very well at school and are offered additional classes (so far it is Chinese; but in later years she will most likely also take classes at Leiden University as part of a PRE-program that is offered by the University to excellent students in their final years of VWO) to keep them challenged.

Thank you for the explanation. I wondered about that when HRH Princess Madeleine graduated from her "gymnasium" years ago and didn't understand what it was. I assumed it was "high school" but never did get it clarified. Does Sweden also follow this educational system and if so, what other European countries do?
 
Lovely picture. Not new though. It is part of a set of pictures of the queen and the princesses made for the 50th birthday of the king last April.
 
:previous: Yes, I recognised the photo from the family portraits too. I think this is one of my favourites of Amalia though - it's really captured her features well.

I hope Amalia had a lovely birthday; I cannot believe that she's fourteen already. Suddenly all the young heirs of Amalia, Leonor and Christian's generation are no longer children and are blossoming into pre-teens and teens. Time certainly does fly.
 
Is it new? It seems to be part of the series released a while back of the 3 princesses and Queen Máxima.
 
Starting the next school year HRH the Princess of Orange will attend school equivalent to Gymnasium in China.
The Princess already has chinese classes for a long time.
 
Now I understand the high frequency of the visits between President Xi Jinping and the King (in 4 years time meetings betwee the two at the Chinese State Visit to the Netherlands, the Chinese visit to the The Hague Nuclear Summit, the Dutch State Visit to China and the Dutch Official Visit to China)

:flowers:

It is a challenging choice for the Princess of Orange but a very good one. To learn Chinese and to study in the world's upcoming superpower and to make friends for life there is never a bad idea!
 
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Starting the next school year HRH the Princess of Orange will attend school equivalent to Gymnasium in China.
The Princess already has chinese classes for a long time.

For how long? Is this like an overseas exchange thing, or officially transfer to a high school in China?
 
The Telegraaf claims that in 2019 she will go to the boarding school of UWC in Changshu. It is an affiliate of the Atlantic College in Wales, where the then prince of Orange studied.

Has the story been confirmed? The article int he Telegraaf claims that it is 'possible' that the princess will go to China. And the story is written by gossip columnist Evert Santegoeds. He says that it is a 'rumor from the bosom of the royal family".
 
For how long? Is this like an overseas exchange thing, or officially transfer to a high school in China?

When it is done like with her father, from a Gymnasium in The Hague to the Atlantic College in Llantwit Major, Wales, then it will be a real transfer from her current Gymnasium (Sorghvliet in The Hague) to the Atlantic College in Changshu, China.
 
That will be interesting! And a new, I think, for modern royal families. Especially at her still very young age.
 
That will be interesting! And a new, I think, for modern royal families. Especially at her still very young age.

She's 15 when she leaves, it's quite young but not uncommon, my niece started her school year in England last year, she's 15 too.

Royal example is Felipe of Spain, he went to Canada for a year, he was 16 (34 years ago).
 
Yeah it's really not that uncommon now. I left home to study in another country alone at 15 as well.
 
What is uncommon is China and learning Chinese. These weeks there is a documentary series on Dutch TV about Ruben Terlou, a young Dutch doctor, who speaks fluently Chinese. It remains remarkable to see a tall Dutchie speaking with passengers, farmers, engineers, police officers, students, politicians, shop aasistants in fluent Chinese. You see all Chinese acting with surprise when the Dutch dude opens his mouth. And now the future Dutch Queen...
 
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