A number of pupils and parents at the International School in Almere have occupied the building in protest at sudden plans to close it down, news agency ANP reports.

Parents were told on Thursday night the school, which has 200 pupils aged 12 to 19, is to close.

Changes which need to be made to meet the licence requirements are too big a financial risk, the school authority is quoted as saying by ANP.

However, RTL says the school is unable to meet the education ministry’s August 1 deadline to make the changes, and that it may lose some of its subsidies.

Mayor

The school moved to its present location, which cost €8m, two years ago, RTL said.

The pupils are demanding the city council guarantee the school’s future and that the school will reopen after the summer break. Supporters of the school have set up a Facebook page and are using social media to help the campaign.

‘International School Almere occupied by angry students! We demand full support from Mayor Jorritsma to prevent school from closing,’ Bruno Daenen said on Twitter.

New schools

The school has 200 pupils and efforts are now being made to find them a new school in the region for after the summer. The 23 members of staff will have to find a new job, ANP reported.

School board member Sandra Rijnback told website nu.nl she understood the pupils’ feelings. ‘I would do the same thing,’ she is quoted as saying.

A city council spokesman told nu.nl the local authority had not played any role in the decision to close the school. The Almere International School is part of the Het Baken school group and talks with the organisation failed to produce any results, the spokesman said.

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