The British School of Amsterdam is officially delivered

The British School of Amsterdam (BSA) is officially delivered. The school was housed in three different locations in Amsterdam. The BSA wanted one building in which the four different schools (Early Years, Infant, Junior and Senior) come together.
The monumental building, originally built as a prison, has been thoroughly renovated. It now accommodates 1,000 pupils aged 3-18 with state-of-the-art facilities for an optimal learning environment. The building also provides space for sports, music, theatre and social activities.

"Turning the building from a place where everyone wants to get out into a school where everyone wants to stay". This is how the BSA described the task.

We have transformed the introverted prison into an expressive children's world where the four schools have their own place within the whole. The new school consists of the original building, which was constructed between 1888 and 1891 to the design of W.C. Metzelaar, the state engineer architect for prison buildings, with the addition of new building.

Two cells from the original prison have been preserved as a reminder of the striking history of the building. During the Second World War, many resistance fighters were imprisoned here, including Hannie Schaft, also known as 'the girl with the red hair'.

Paul Morgan, Director of The British School of Amsterdam, says: "We always wanted to work from one building, as it was a logistical challenge for parents and staff to be spread over three locations. Moreover, the recent growth of the school meant that we were almost bursting at the seams. We are very happy with our new location. It has lost none of the family feel that we value so highly and we are proud of that. In fact, the merging of the three locations actually offers space for more community building activities”.