Information in English

Basisschool The Cornelis Vrijschool, a unique primary school in Amsterdam Oud-Zuid

Choosing a primary school is not an easy task. After all, you want to make sure that your child is in good hands for the next eight years. It is important that the school you choose is a place where you and your child feel at home. Parents are therefore very welcome at one of our information mornings in our beautiful school building!

In school year 2023-2024 we have the following information mornings for parents:

  • Friday September 15 2023, Dutch 
  • Friday December 15 2023, English  
  • Friday Februari 2 2024, Dutch 
  • Friday April 19 2024, Dutch 
  • Friday May 17 2024, English 

Please note that these sessions are for parents only.  We are happy to tell you about our educational vision, the school and the daily routine. Please register in advance via: administratie@cornelisvrij.nl

Eenpitters: neighborhood schools with their own character

Since June 2022, we have been affiliated with the placement policy of the single-pitter schools in Amsterdam-Centre/South. The Cornelis Vrijschool, together with seven other primary schools, now has its own registration policy that is separate from the Municipal Admission Policy. For the 2023-2024 school year you can register your child via the renewed registration form for our school and all other single-pitter schools in Center and South.

The Cornelis Vrijschool works together with the other one-pitter schools while retaining its own identity. This organization is called Federation BOVO – Eenpitters in Amsterdam. In this joint access policy, each school has a larger priority area than in the Urban Admission Policy. The advantage for parents is that you have a wider choice of schools for your child within your priority area. The BOVO schools are often chosen because of their specific identity or educational programme.

The Municipal Admission Policy has its own lottery system, for which you can register your child separately. The schools within the urban system can be found at www.schoolwijzer.amsterdam.nl

Registration procedure

You can register children from 2 to 3 years old via the joint form for the 8 BOVO schools in Amsterdam Center / South. You indicate your preference for at least three schools. If the Cornelis Vrijschool is your first preferred school, then you hand in the BOVO registration form at our school. This can be done personally, by post or by email: administratie@cornelisvrij.nl

Priority criteria

We believe it is important to maintain the neighborhood character of the school. The closer to school you live, the better your chances of placement. The time of registration does not matter. Upon placement, the following priority criteria apply in the order listed.

  1. An older brother or sister at the school;
  2. One parent of the child works at the school;
  3. The child lives in the priority area of ​​the school;
  4. The walking distance from home to school;
  5. The child lives in Amsterdam.

After the priority rules 1 and 2, it will be determined how many remaining places can be allocated. If there is not enough space available for all registered children, lots will be drawn (with due observance of the priority rules). Your child will then participate in the lottery in order of the specified schools and the distance home-school.
Three times a year, the lottery is carried out under the responsibility of the school boards, in the presence of the directors. You will be notified of the outcome of the draw from the school where you submitted the BOVO application form. This result applies to all schools that you entered on the form.

Priority area

The boundary of the right-of-way area is (counterclockwise):

Keizersgracht (E), Leidsegracht (O), Prinsengracht (E),
Passoudersgracht (O), Nieuwe Passoudersstraat (O), Singelgracht,
Jacob van Lennepkanaal, J.P. Heijestraat (O), Overtoom (O),
Kattenlaan, Koninginneweg (O), Emmastraat (O), Willem Witsenstraat (O),
Apollolaan (E), Stadionweg (E), Hobbemakade, Ceintuurbaan (O),
Van Woustraat (E), Westeinde (E), Weteringschans (E),
Reguliersgracht (E), Keizersgracht (E).

E = even numbers
O = odd numbers

Final dates for application and lottery system:

The final dates for sending in the application form and the dates of lottery depend on the date of birth of your child. For children born between  May 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021 we use the following final application dates:

Period  Born between Final application date Lottery date
3-2023  May 1 – Aug 31, 2020 October 12, 2023 October 19, 2023
1-2024 Sept 1 – Dec 31, 2020 February 26, 2024 February 29, 2024
2-2024 Jan 1 – April 30, 2021 May 23, 2024 May 30, 2024
3-2024 May 1 – Aug 31, 2021 October 17, 2024 October 24, 2024

Frequently Asked Questions:

We do not speak Dutch in our home. How are non-Dutch speakers supported in the Cornelis Vrijschool?
It is important to note, that while the application process is open to all families, all classes, special projects, student progress report cards and written communication with parents and pupils are in Dutch.

How is the distance to school calculated?
We use the walking distance on Google Maps for both address details and distance calculations.

What are the rules regarding an older brother/sister at the Cornelis Vrijschool?
Half-brothers and half-sisters also fall under the definition of brother/sister;
The older brother/sister must be attending the Cornelis Vrijschool when your child is registered.

Does the school have a voluntary parent contribution?
The funding we receive from the national government and the local government is not sufficient to realize the objectives of the Cornelis Vrijschool. That is why we ask for a voluntary parental contribution. The contribution will be spent in particular on the deployment of extra teachers and specialist teachers for the creative subjects and physical education. We can only finance all of this with the parental contribution .

I accidentally submitted wrong information to our application, or something has changed in our information. How can I correct that?
Please submit the form again. If the form is submitted on time, we will consider your child’s last registration as official.