{"id":21512,"date":"2020-02-18T12:28:08","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T11:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/havo-en-vwo\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:33:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T13:33:10","slug":"havo-en-vwo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oudersenonderwijs.nl\/en\/havo-en-vwo\/","title":{"rendered":"Havo en vwo"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13140,"parent":21905,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/kennisbank-detail.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21512","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-to-secondary-school"],"acf":{"inhoud":[{"acf_fc_layout":"inhoud_blok","afbeelding_of_video":"geen","afbeelding":false,"video":null,"intro":"What does vwo mean and what does havo mean? What is the difference between havo and vwo? And how long does vwo last and how many years is havo? Read everything about it in this article.","inhoud":"

The difference between havo and vwo?<\/h3>\n

Vwo lasts six years and is mainly a preparation for the wo (scientific education). With a vwo diploma your child can go to university or hbo. Your child can also go to mbo, if they have a transition certificate from 3 to 4 vwo.<\/p>\n

Havo lasts 5 years and prepares for hbo (higher professional education). Your child can also go to mbo, if they have a transition certificate from 3 to 4 havo.<\/p>\n

The structure of havo<\/h3>\n

Havo stands for higher general education. With a havo diploma your child can go to an hbo course or vwo. Havo students are called ‘havisten’. Havisten take exams in 7 subjects.<\/p>\n

The structure of vwo<\/h3>\n

Vwo stands for preparatory scientific education. Vwo lasts 6 years. With a vwo diploma your child can go to university or hbo. Your child can also go to mbo, if they have a transition certificate from 3 to 4 vwo. Vwo students take exams in at least 8 subjects.<\/p>\n

Within vwo there is a difference between atheneum and gymnasium. At gymnasium all students learn Greek and Latin in the lower years and Greek and\/or Latin in the upper years. The diploma shows if a student followed gymnasium or atheneum.<\/p>\n

Broad bridge classes<\/h3>\n

Many schools offer broad bridge classes in the lower years, such as havo\/vwo. This gives students more time to develop and reach a suitable level.<\/p>\n

Mandatory subjects and profile choice<\/h3>\n

In the first three years of havo and vwo students follow a general set of mandatory subjects. At the end of the third year each student chooses a profile<\/a>. Students can choose from four profiles.<\/p>\n