Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs

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Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs (VWO, meaning "preparatory scientific education" in Dutch) is the highest variant in the secondary educational system of the Netherlands, attended by approximately a fifth of all Dutch high school students.^[1] After leaving primary or elementary school students are enrolled in different types of secondary schools, according to their academic ability. The course is a six-year course and successful completion allows the candidate admission to Dutch universities. The VWO is therefore a matriculation exam.

The VWO includes the so-called Gymnasium variant, which differs from the regular VWO variant (also called Atheneum) in that it has Latin and/or Classic Greek as an additional, compulsory part of the curriculum (some schools offer additional courses as well). A few schools offer only the Gymnasium variant, called 'Categoriaal Gymnasium'. Of all VWO students, around a quarter follow gymnasium, accounting for approximately 5-6% of all Dutch high school students.