The students of Sancta Maria Mavo in Den Bosch have started their last school year. The school will close its doors from August 1, 2024 due to a shortage of students. But the Den Bosch school is not the only one in Brabant with this problem.
The pre-vocational secondary education school in Den Bosch, founded in 1961, has been dealing with a declining number of registrations for years. The number of students has fallen from more than 400 to about 250. According to the school board, this is due to the combined advice that primary school children in group 8 increasingly receive. These students then choose a school with multiple levels.
The Sancta Maria board expects this to remain the case in the coming years and that the number of students and income will decline even further. “We want to provide high-quality education. That still works, but we have noticed for years that it is becoming more difficult. The increasing demands and social issues are simply too great for a small, independent school,” says director Yvonne van Nuland.
To another school
The school board has attempted to merge or collaborate with other school boards. The Bossche Vakschool was an option, but no solution was found. This means that all students and employees of Sancta Maria Mavo have to look for a new school and workplace.
“We understand that this decision means quite a bit for everyone. But we have prepared this process well and support it where possible,” says director Maya van de Donk. “We will jointly look for another place for our students. The employees receive help in finding a new workplace.”
More schools are closing
It is not only Sancta Maria Mavo in Den Bosch that is suffering from a declining number of students. In October last year, Merlet College announced that the location in Mill would have to close. According to the school board, the school has become too small. There are now approximately 400 students at the school with pre-vocational secondary education and lower secondary education. That number is only expected to decrease.
The same problem also occurs in Heesch. School group Het Hooghuis will close their secondary school there from the 2025/2026 school year. According to the school group, the school must close because fewer than 70 new students register per year. And that is not enough to offer high-quality education. The village will no longer have a secondary school.
Next week Sancta Maria Mavo will hold an information evening for all parents.
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In this village they are looking for a solution now that the secondary school is closing