Indian families in Amstelveen: schools, neighbourhoods, classes, and where to get help with maths

Amstelveen has the largest Indian community in the Netherlands and most of our Dutch students live here, so we know the questions in the order they arrive: which school, which neighbourhood, where the library is, where the children play cricket, and then, a few months in, why the child who was top of the class in Hyderabad is "doing fine". This is the practical guide we wish every family had in the first month, written for parents of children aged 6 to 14.

Why Amstelveen

Amstelveen sits directly south of Amsterdam, a tram ride from the Zuidas business district and fifteen minutes from Schiphol. Indian IT and consulting firms set up here in the 1990s and 2000s, their staff followed, and the community has compounded ever since: Indian grocery shops and restaurants around the Stadshart, temples and cultural associations, Hindi and dance classes, a cricket club, and two international schools in the town itself. For a family arriving from India it is the place where the first weeks are easiest.

Schools: the two questions

International or Dutch? Amstelveen has both within reach, which is unusual. The International School of Amsterdam and Amity International School Amsterdam are both in the town, on the IB continuum from primary to Diploma. The Dutch basisscholen are good and full, and many Indian children attend them. The honest comparison, on cost, language, waiting lists and the return-to-India question, is in international school or Dutch school, and the Amsterdam-area international schools are compared one by one in international schools in Amsterdam and Amstelveen.

Which Dutch school? Dutch primary schools take children from the neighbourhood first, and the popular ones in Amstelveen fill early. Register as soon as you have an address, visit two or three, and ask specifically how they handle a child who arrives with little Dutch: some have a newcomer class, some place the child in the groep for their age with extra support. Ask also whether they take part in the Kangaroo maths competition and whether they have a plusklas; both matter for a child who is ahead, as we explain in plusklas and gifted programmes.

Neighbourhoods families choose

Westwijk in the south has the newer family housing and a large Indian presence. Waardhuizen, Middenhoven and Groenelaan are close to the international schools. The Stadshart area is the most urban and closest to the shops and the tram. Kronenburg and Uilenstede sit at the Amsterdam end near the VU campus. Families choosing a Dutch school should choose the neighbourhood first, because the school follows the address; families at an international school have more freedom and usually choose by commute.

The things that matter for children

The library. Bibliotheek Amstelland at the Stadshart is free for children and is the fastest way into Dutch reading. The children's librarian will point you to the AVI reading levels and the series Dutch children actually read; we explain why that matters so much in begrijpend lezen.

Sport. Cricket at the Amstelveen club is a genuine Indian community hub, and football, hockey and badminton clubs are everywhere and used to newcomers. A club is the fastest route to Dutch friends and, for a child who has been on a waiting list, the fastest route to feeling settled.

After-school classes. Hindi, Bollywood and classical dance, abacus and Vedic maths, chess, coding. The abacus classes in particular are popular with Indian families here; whether abacus is what your child needs, or school maths is, we discuss honestly in a separate post. The community Facebook and WhatsApp groups for Indians in Amstelveen are where these classes are announced.

Holidays. Amstelveen is in the Midden holiday region. The 2026-27 dates by region, the test weeks and the groep 8 timeline are in the Dutch school year 2026-27.

The academic questions we hear most in Amstelveen

"She was ahead in India and now her Cito rekenen is a III." The most common message we get from Amstelveen. It is almost never the maths; it is the Dutch word problems and the Dutch methods the school grades, and it is fixable. The mechanism is in my child was ahead in India and is now average here.

"He gets every test right and his MYP maths is a 5." From Amity and ISA parents. Criterion A is fine; criteria B, C and D are new. We explain the grade in MYP maths criteria A to D.

"We are on a waiting list until January." Very common in Amstelveen because the international schools are full. What to do with the gap is in on the waiting list.

"Will she be able to go back to a CBSE school?" Yes, with planning, and the planning is in keeping your child CBSE-ready.

What we do for Amstelveen families

Weekly 1-on-1 classes in English at Amstelveen-friendly times, from 4 pm Dutch time on weekdays and on weekend mornings. For children in Dutch schools: maths in the Dutch order with the Dutch methods, at a stretch level, plus English reading and writing. For children at Amity, ISA and the Amsterdam schools: PYP number and pattern, MYP through the four criteria, Cambridge and British programmes to the syllabus. Details are on our Amstelveen page, and the placement demo is free.

Questions parents ask

See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →