Rotterdam examines an campus for expat children in Blijdorp

Influx of expats

The municipality of Rotterdam is investigating the establishment of a campus for international education and sports in the Blijdorp district. With room for 1250 children (in the age from 0 to 18) of expat families.  

The influx of highly skilled international knowledge workers is the reason behind this college plan. Something Riva experiences everyday. We provide accomedation to more and more international families. Now a study on request by the Ministry of Economic Affairs shows that the number of expats that Rotterdam needs for international business and education and research institutions will grow by 12 percent annually. The national average is 9 percent.

International Schools

When expats come to Rotterdam they often ask for accomodations near international schools. That’s why Hillegersberg is so popular with international families. It’s near the Nord Anglia International School Rotterdam on the Verhulstlaan. It offers students from pre-kindergarten through to grade 12 (ages 3-18) schooling. We have close contact with the personnel of this renowned school.

Nord Anglia International School Rotterdam

Next to Nord Anglia International School Rotterdam there is another provider of international education, RISS (Rotterdam International Secondary School) holds a unique position both within the Wolfert School Group and across Rotterdam and the Netherlands. Partly private and partly state subsidised, it exists to service the growing need the city has for high quality international education for foreign nationals or returning Dutch citizens.

In the Graaf Florisstraat there is a state-funded Dutch primary school. The school offers primary education in English given by native speakers to pupils from every corner of the world, in the ages 4-12. Harbour International used to be the International Department of Blijberg but from august 2019 it's a indepent school. The plan is to move this international elementary school to the Bentincklaan. That way a campus will be created together with RISS. One location where childcare and primary and secondary education can be found is customary in international education. 

The track and field complex of Nenijto (used by the schools and Rotterdam Atletiek) is also common on campuses. So the city wants to bring all those elements together to establish a real campus. That way Rotterdam will provide an attractive business climate for foreign companies. International companies and institutions such as Erasmus MC, Erasmus University and Rotterdam School of Management are highly dependent on highly educated employees from abroad. The demand for international knowledge workers is expected to increase sharply in the coming years, although many vacancies are already being filled.

Rotterdam International Secondary School

Diverse range of education

The study by Decisio led to a taskforce International Education. The Dutch government acknowledges the importance of good international education. In order to remain attractive to companies and international organizations and to attract international talent and fill shortages of qualified personnel in certain sectors.

The availability of international education is an increasing point of attention. Whenever someone moves to another country, they want to be assured of good education for the children. The basics in our country are good. The Netherlands has a unique and a diverse range of international education. Unlike surrounding countries, Holland has government-funded schools where international oriented education is offered. That way international children can follow international education at a relatively low parental contribution. In addition to those funded schools there are also privately financed international schools. In addition, we see Regular Dutch schools becoming more international providing bilangual edcuation for example.

However, various international organizations and companies have called for expansion of the capacity of international schools. Partly as a result of the Brexit continuous increase is necessary. The cabinet is convinced of these developments and keeps in close consultation with municipalities to garantee international education. 

The situation in Rotterdam isn't quite on point. In comparison to The Hague and Amsterdam there are relatively few international schools here. But according to the study Rotterdam must create more attractive international school offerings so a larger share of the regional target group can be seduced. It is evident Rotterdam now serves the target group to a limited extent and can grow in the region if it knows what is needed.

The mayor and the alderman of Rotterdam recognizes this opportunity and believe an appealing campus in Blijdorp might do the trick.

We as Riva can only support this intent. The more expat families will move to Rotterdam, the more home owners can profit by renting out apartments through us.