Guide
How to use this app
- Browse schools and use search filters by level, bike time, location or ZIP code.
- Use the map under filters: click school markers for quick name/level info.
- Open school details to fill in your own impression metrics (stars + toggles); the app calculates score and confidence.
- Save favorites in your profile, reorder them, and see My Score in the favorites list when available.
- Share your Profile ID/link to load the same favorites, notes and settings on another device.
- Export your favorites ranking to a styled PDF from the profile page.
Admissions & lottery
- For school year 2026-2027, Amsterdam uses one central matching process (Centrale Loting & Matching).
- Main timeline: final primary-school advice by March 24, 2026; central application week March 25-31, 2026; placement result on April 9, 2026.
- You submit one ranked preference list. Remaining seats are assigned by lottery number and preference order. Priority categories are now very limited (for example, hardship clause placements or students coming from a Kopklas at the same school).
- Not every program participates in this central matching. Practical education (`praktijkonderwijs`), international transition classes, and some special schools can have separate admission procedures.
- Official info and yearly updates: schoolkeuze020.nl and osvo.nl.
Lottery guide
How does the central lottery and matching work?
Step 1 — Register
Every child in Grade 8 registers at their first-choice school and submits a preference list of up to 15 schools, in order of preference. This happens in March via the parent portal at elkadam.info.
Step 2 — Lot numbers
The system assigns every child a separate lot number for each school on their list. Each number is drawn completely at random — and a child gets a different number for every school.
Step 3 — Placement (iterative)
The system works through all preference lists and tries to place every child at their first-choice school.
What happens next:
- At schools where more children applied than places are available, children with an unfavourable lot number are dropped.
- Dropped children are temporarily placed at their next preference.
- If that school is also oversubscribed, children with an unfavourable number are dropped again — including children who were already provisionally placed there as a first or second choice.
- This repeats until every child has a place.
If a preference list is too short, the system automatically adds schools to fill the remaining slots.
Step 4 — Results
Results are available on Thursday in early April at 15:30 via the parent portal at elkadam.info.
Why can't we swap places?
It can happen that two children each end up at the other's first-choice school — meaning both would be better off if they simply switched. Swapping is not allowed under the current rules of the system.
What if my child is not placed at their preferred school?
- Your child will be offered a reserve school.
- You can contact schools directly about any remaining spots.
- Every year, Stichting VSA organises a meeting for parents of children who were not placed at their preferred school — see stichtingvsa.nl.
Key dates
Indicative — check elkadam.info for exact dates each year.
| Moment | When |
|---|---|
| School advice received | By mid-February |
| Registration window | Early March to mid-March |
| Lottery results | Early April, 15:30 |
Capacities and chances (last year)
- Preliminary 2026 capacity list per school/track (indicative, subject to change): preliminary capacity PDF.
- 2025 report: 75.2% were placed at their first preference and 91.3% within their top 3.
- By advice (2025): VWO 70.0% first choice; HAVO/VWO 61.7%; HAVO 71.7%; VMBO-b t/m VMBO-k 91.1%–98.7% first choice.
- Full report: Loting en Matching 2025 – Verslag (PDF).
More information
- Official parent portal: elkadam.info
- Amsterdam school boards: verenigingosvo.nl
- Parent support organisation: stichtingvsa.nl