Frequently asked questions
Your application must be received by 15 March at the latest. If applications exceed the maximum number of places available (200), a draw will take place under the supervision of a notary. Unfortunately, our school building does not allow us to start with more than seven bridge classes. Therefore, for the school year 2023-2024, we welcome a maximum of 84 pupils with a mavo/havo recommendation and 116 pupils with a havo/vwo recommendation.
We will publish the results of the draw on our website between 16:00 and 18:00 on 23 March 2023.
The following pupils do not have to draw lots: pupils from the bilingual department of the Groningse Scholen Vereniging (GSV); pupils from the International School Groningen (ISG); pupils who have a sibling at our school at the time of enrolment; children of staff members of the Maartenscollege and the International School Groningen.
Students who start the bridge class now and have completed the junior bilingual phase can also maintain this bilingualism in the senior phase. For example, they write their profile paper in English and can also take the final English exam at the higher IB level.
The support team organises extra support for pupils beyond the mentor’s guidance. Each department in the school has a support coordinator and a pupil coordinator. They take care of the things pupils need such as extra time, enlarged texts, formula sheets, etc. Students who need extra care for psychological reasons are also supervised by the support team.
Homework class is held at school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3.15pm to 5pm. You can sign up for one, two or three days a week. One day then costs 25 euros per month. During the March hour, there is extra guidance at no cost.
No one is excluded and everyone is welcome, regardless of parents’ income. The TTO contribution is €375 per year, on top of the voluntary parental contribution. The TTO contribution is needed for membership of organisations such as Nuffic and the IBO, extra teaching materials and for extra training for teachers both in the MYP and in teaching English. There is a conclusive arrangement for anyone who has difficulty with the amount of the TTO contribution.
If needed and there is space in a class, switching between classes is possible.
After havo 5 and after TTO-vwo 4, you can go to the ISG to continue in the Diploma Programme. However, there are entrance exams before you are admitted and tuition fees at the ISG are higher.
From the bridge class onwards, you learn to do your own experiments in science and investigate patterns in maths. In history and geography, you find out the story behind the facts in the news. In Design, you gain the knowledge and skills to design anything from a special case for your phone to a new layout for your room and from a birdhouse to a remote-controlled car. It’s all in the IB Middle Years Programme.
In the Netherlands, 18% of pupils go to vwo and this percentage is increasing. With us, you will follow the vwo in the junior classes within the Middle Years Programme. The highest attainable level in the MYP is above VWO level. At other IB Worldschools, this level is achieved by no more than 5% of the pupils.
The lessons are therefore subject-related and challenging, and are also largely taught in English, so that you gradually become bilingual.
All pupils in the lower years follow the March hour, with a varying choice of enrichment and broadening. For pupils who want and are able to do even more than this broad basic curriculum, we provide tailor-made programmes in the villa. Gifted pupils are given the space to work on their own projects, either in a group of developmental peers or on their own. Support specifically for the gifted is also possible there.
Pupils with a mavo or mavo/havo recommendation enter the combination class mavo/havo. Pupils with a havo, havo/vwo or vwo recommendation enter the havo/vwo combination class.
The maximum group size is 31 students. Often there are fewer.
You will do some things alone and others together. But you will always get a personal assessment, because it’s all about your development!
The emphasis is on being able to communicate in real-life situations. This form of language learning is actually more accessible to students with dyslexia than having to learn foreign languages as school subjects where spelling errors count more heavily.
You don’t have to speak English yet to start at Marchens. Students learn English naturally by speaking and listening. You will have four lessons of English per week and if you need additional English support, you will get it during the ‘Maartens-hour’.
Around our school are beautiful big trees, there is a lot of greenery and it is safe. There are no cars, mopeds or bikes in the schoolyard. So you can sit on the square to talk and chill with your friends, or play a game of table tennis, or just relax. Your bike or scooter is parked in a guarded shed in front of the school. For cars, there is a parking area in front of the school.
No – fortunately, you don’t have to. At the beginning of the school year, you get all your books at once. The rest of the school year, the evening before you go to school, you check which subjects you have the next day. You then pack your bag with the books you need that day.
Everyone at Maartens has their own locker. Here you can put your jacket and gym equipment, for example, so that you don’t have to take them with you all day.
During the introduction day, your mentor will tell you what you will need and you will be given a handy shopping list to take home. This list includes an agenda, a good, sturdy bag for your books, notebooks (squares and lines) and a folder. Cover paper for your school books is also handy to buy!
A new school is quite exciting. That’s why we invite you to meet your new class and your new mentor even before the summer holidays. That way, the tension will pass quickly, because you will see that all the other children are also quite excited. Your mentor will also tell you everything you need to know for after the holidays.
After the summer holidays, you will get to know your new classmates better and get to know the school. What will you do then? All kinds of games and assignments, of course. Especially a lot together with your class and in the school. Because that’s what it’s all about: getting to know each other and the school better. You also make agreements with the class and with your mentor about the coming school year and make a start with your portfolio. What is that? We’ll explain all that to you then!
You end the week with an opening celebration, to which your parents and siblings are also welcome.
The Maartens may be quite a bit bigger than your primary school. With each subject, you will be in a different classroom. Which classroom? You will find it on the timetable. Fortunately, you have time to get used to the new rooms during the introduction weeks. Your mentor will help you. And of course there are always students from other classes willing to show you the way! You will see: you will find your way around the school very quickly.
Does your English have to be good already if you want to go to the Maartens? No way! We are going to teach it to you. In English classes, of course, but also during other subjects. You will learn from doing!
If you don’t know a word in English, you can also say it in Dutch. That’s totally fine. But we find that all students improve quickly in English because they use it every day. And if you do want extra support with English, you can also get that during the extra class hour (part of the timetable).
At Maartenscollege, every class has its own mentor. A mentor is a teacher who helps you with all kinds of things at school. Your mentor can answer most of your questions. In the first weeks at Maartens, your mentor helps you find your way around school and explains, for example, how to use an agenda. Your mentor also looks together with you at how you are doing, what you want to achieve and whether you need extra help.
At Maartens we have two types of bridge classes: a mavo/havo bridge class and a havo/vwo bridge class. Which bridge class you enter depends on the advice of your 8th grade teacher and your CITO score.