At the British School in the Netherlands, our BSN100 strategy sets out how we will prepare the school for its centenary in 2031 and for the decades beyond. At its heart is one clear purpose: ensuring that every learner, now and in the future, receives an education that enables them to flourish.
A British international school shaped by nearly a century
The British School in the Netherlands began in 1931, when Gwen Brunton-Jones founded the English School for English families posted to The Hague, as well as the city’s diplomatic and growing international business community.
The school began on a modest scale, with a clear purpose: to provide an education for families making their lives in the Netherlands. Speaking with our archivist, Mike Weston, who has been part of the BSN story for more than 50 years, brings into focus just how different that early school was from the BSN we know today.
The ebb and flow of the school’s history has seen us grow, change and evolve. Along the way, we have forged strong partnerships with NGOs, international businesses, embassies and consulates, European institutions and other organisations across the region.
Most importantly, we have continued to serve and support the many thousands of children who have been BSN Lions for part of their educational journey. For some, the BSN has been home during a relatively short family posting in the Netherlands. For others, it has supported a more permanent decision to build a life here.
Increasingly, local and internationally minded families are also choosing the BSN because they value a high-quality British education within a diverse, international community.
Across nearly a century, the circumstances of our families have changed, and the school has changed with them. Our purpose, however, has remained clear: to provide every learner with a strong education, a welcoming community and the foundations they need for the future.
What would Gwen Brunton-Jones make of the BSN today?
I often wonder what Ms Brunton-Jones would think of the BSN today. I imagine she would take pride in how far the school has come: in the growth in learner numbers over the decades, reaching 2,500 in 2019; in our campuses and facilities; in the strength of our pastoral care, recognised with Beacon Status through the school’s COBIS accreditation; and in the relationships between our learners, teachers and support staff.
She would also see a broad academic curriculum, complemented by an extensive programme of trips, activities and co-curricular opportunities. These experiences bring variety, challenge and enjoyment to school life. They give learners many different ways to discover their interests and develop their talents.
Yet, if I had the opportunity to show Ms Brunton-Jones around the BSN today, I believe it is our learners who would make the strongest impression.
They consistently leave a positive mark on those who visit our schools. Whenever I am on one of our campuses, children and young people welcome me warmly. They hold doors open, speak to me with confidence and show a genuine interest in why I am there.
As I move through the school, I see learners collaborating in lessons, engaging seriously with their studies and treating one another with kindness. I see determination when something is difficult, resilience when plans change and a willingness to contribute to the community around them.
These qualities bring the BSN Character Profile to life. They demonstrate the importance of pastoral care, personal development and character education across every part of the learner experience. Alongside academic knowledge, these attributes prepare young people for success in further study, work and life beyond the BSN.
Preparing BSN learners for the future
We recently shared the BSN100 strategy, our vision for a thriving British School in the Netherlands as we approach our centenary and prepare for our second century.
A central part of this strategy is the consolidation of our Senior School provision on the Voorschoten campus from September 2028. This significant development will allow us to strengthen the educational experience for every Senior School learner.
Bringing our senior provision together will create larger year groups and a broader community of learners and staff. It will give colleagues greater opportunities to collaborate, share expertise and plan consistently across subjects and year groups.
It will also support closer alignment between our Junior and Senior schools, helping learners experience a more coherent journey through the BSN.
A single Senior School will strengthen our programme of trips, activities and co-curricular opportunities while helping us sustain a broad range of academic pathways. Our senior learners can choose from IB programmes, GCSE and IGCSE, A levels and BTEC pathways.
This breadth allows young people to follow the route that best suits their strengths, interests and future plans. British educational principles and curricula will remain central to the learning journey, complemented by international pathways, perspectives and a community representing many cultures, languages and experiences.
One Senior School and two strong Junior communities
Alongside the single senior school, Junior School Vlaskamp and Junior School Leidschenveen will remain central to our new three-school model.
Retaining two Junior Schools keeps provision closer to the communities our families call home. It also enables each school to preserve the personal relationships that are so important during the early stages of a child’s education.
Parents value being able to speak with their child’s class teacher at the beginning or end of the day. They want their children to be known as individuals, and they want to feel recognised and involved as members of the wider school community. We value this too.
Our two Junior Schools will continue to provide welcoming environments in which our youngest learners can build confidence, develop curiosity and establish strong foundations for the future.
Over the coming years, their provision will become more closely aligned, giving families a consistent BSN experience while preserving the character and community of each school.
Flourishing for our second century
Schools need to review their direction periodically and respond to changes in the world around them. The BSN has experienced considerable change over the past five or six years, making this an important time to consider our future.
Our centenary in 2031 gives us a natural opportunity to reflect on who we are, where we have come from and what matters most to us. It also asks us to consider how the BSN can remain strong, relevant and educationally ambitious for the generations that follow.
Our vision is expressed in a simple phrase: flourishing for our second century.
For the BSN, flourishing is not an end in itself. The school must flourish so that every learner, now and in the future, receives an education that enables them to do the same.
This means helping young people achieve academically, develop confidence and character, discover their interests and approach their futures with ambition.
The five pillars of the BSN100 strategy provide the framework through which we will deliver on that promise. Together, they connect educational excellence, people and culture, digital innovation, growth and profile, and long-term sustainability to our ultimate purpose: creating the conditions in which every learner can flourish.
The five pillars of the BSN100 strategy
Educational excellence and curriculum
Educational excellence remains at the heart of our vision for the future. The curriculum review, which has been underway since the beginning of 2026, is central to achieving it.
This is a whole-school project, covering every aspect of the curriculum and academic provision across our campuses and throughout the 3–18 learning journey.
It will involve our learners, the colleagues who teach and support them, parents and the wider community. Together, they will look critically at what we teach, how children learn and how learning extends beyond the classroom.
Led this year by Mrs Vicky van Assendelft and Mr Duncan King, the review is gathering momentum. The team has established its guiding principles, developed an initial roadmap and identified the important questions that will shape the work in the months and years ahead.
Our future curriculum will be learner-centred and knowledge-rich, bringing greater coherence to the full 3–18 experience. It will develop purposeful skills, reflect our values and draw on current educational research and evidence.
It will also prepare learners for a changing world while remaining distinctive to the BSN. Rooted in our Dutch context and shaped by our international community, it will encourage learners to look outwards, think ambitiously and approach their futures with confidence.
The curriculum will also be sustainable by design: practical to deliver, efficient in its use of resources and effective in supporting strong learner outcomes.
People, professional development and school culture
An excellent education depends on excellent people. Our people and culture pillar focuses on the professional development and wellbeing of colleagues and on creating the conditions in which they can do their best work.
The BSN’s Professional Development Academy plays an important part in this commitment. It provides colleagues with opportunities to deepen their expertise, pursue their professional ambitions and share effective practice within the BSN and with partner schools in the Netherlands and beyond.
Our people strategy supports careful workforce planning and the effective deployment, recruitment and retention of colleagues. This is particularly important during a period of change.
The BSN has a strong international reputation as an employer, and we must continue to attract talented people who are committed to helping every learner make progress.
Professional growth is supported through clear expectations, meaningful appraisal, accountability and opportunities to develop. Staff wellbeing, inclusion and a positive organisational culture are equally important.
When colleagues feel valued, supported and fulfilled in their work, they are better able to create excellent daily experiences for our learners.
As we prepare for the new Senior School model, we will define new leadership structures and create opportunities for colleagues to contribute to the future senior school and the wider development of the BSN.
Digital innovation in education and school operations
The BSN has a history of adapting and innovating, and digital innovation is an important part of the BSN100 strategy.
Technology is developing rapidly, prompting important questions about how much digital content learners should encounter and where it adds genuine educational value.
We will approach these questions carefully and critically, embracing digital tools when they improve teaching, deepen learning or widen access to valuable experiences.
Digital innovation also has an important role beyond the classroom. Used effectively, technology can simplify administration, improve communication and create more consistent systems across our schools.
Our aim is to make everyday processes more efficient while maintaining the personal relationships and distinctive sense of community that families associate with the BSN.
Growth, profile and new opportunities
The BSN is a large and diverse organisation with the capacity to serve its community in new ways. The growth and profile pillar asks us to look afresh at our provision, explore how it could be broadened and strengthen the way we communicate the value of a BSN education.
When Senior School learners move from Leidschenveen to Voorschoten in September 2028, space will become available on the Leidschenveen campus.
This creates an opportunity to consider new programmes, services and activities that could benefit current families, respond to wider community needs and welcome new groups into the BSN.
We are developing a range of ideas and options. These will be assessed carefully, and we will share further information with the community as the work develops.
Sustainable school operations
Educational ambition depends on strong and sustainable operations. The final pillar of BSN100 focuses on ensuring that the school has the financial health, organisational structures and resources required to serve learners for generations to come.
I believe Ms Brunton-Jones, along with the school leaders and Board members who have guided the BSN throughout its history, would expect us to protect its long-term future. That responsibility is fundamental to the BSN100 strategy.
The consolidation of our Senior Schools, the careful redesign of our operating model and the development of new uses for the available space at Leidschenveen are all intended to strengthen the school’s long-term sustainability.
More efficient approaches to staffing, curriculum planning and school operations will allow us to direct our resources towards the areas that make the greatest difference to learners.
Helping every BSN learner flourish
This work ultimately returns us to the purpose at the heart of our vision. We are preparing the BSN to flourish in its second century so that our learners can flourish through the education, relationships and opportunities they experience here.
I hope Ms Brunton-Jones, along with the school leaders and Board members who have guided the BSN throughout its history, would recognise the purpose behind our next steps: to respond thoughtfully to change while protecting and strengthening what matters most.
The decisions we make now must serve the children in our schools today and the generations who will follow them.
Our commitment is clear: to provide every BSN learner with an education that enables them to flourish during their time with us and long after they leave.
In doing so, we hope to give those who celebrate the BSN’s bicentenary in 2131 much to look back on with pride—and even more to look forward to.
In September 2025, Louise joined The British School in the Netherlands as CEO. Previously, she was Head of Exeter school in the UK, and has extensive leadership experience in both the international and UK education sectors. Louise is deeply committed to delivering a broad and holistic education, fostering positive student outcomes, and championing strategic, inclusive leadership
