For whom?
Intermezzo is intended for students who are intellectually ready for pre-university education (vwo), but are not yet fully ready for the transition to secondary education.
This may be because primary school was unable to challenge them sufficiently, meaning they never really had to 'learn how to learn'. Or because social-emotional development is not yet keeping pace with intellectual development.
This explicitly concerns children for whom these connection problems stem, for example, from their (high) giftedness — not from another cause such as an autism spectrum disorder.
After the Intermezzo year, the parent(s)/guardian(s) and student choose for themselves at which school they will enter the first year.
Goals
Every child has individual learning and support needs, but we strive that every pupil at the end of the Intermezzo year:
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is better prepared for secondary education — by gaining insight into one's own areas for development and taking a step forward in learning skills such as planning, organizing, and perseverance;
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has a stronger foundation — because self-confidence has grown, setbacks can be handled better, and self-reliance has increased.
How do we determine if Intermezzo is a good fit?
To investigate whether Intermezzo is the right place for the child, the following areas of focus, among others, are examined:
VWO potential
The student has demonstrable pre-university potential, which may be evidenced by one or more of the following data:
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pre-university recommendation;
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LVS information in the areas of arithmetic, reading comprehension, and language;
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Intelligence test/psychological examination;
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Acceleration/skipping (part of) a school year.
Emotional development
Many gifted and highly gifted students experience emotions more intensely than their peers, making it sometimes seem as though they behave emotionally younger than is appropriate for their age. This can sometimes lead to behavior in a classroom not being understood, creating a mismatch between the student and the rest of the class. This may be evident from:
Examples of young/uninhibited/playful behavior;
Getting angry/sad if it doesn't work out;
Not being accepted in the classroom/feeling like an outsider;
to be/feel set apart;
Being able to come up with more ideas than one can actually execute, which leads to frustration;
Primary school 'played out'
There are clear indications that learning in primary school does not align with, or aligns insufficiently with, the pupil's giftedness, as evidenced by:
the story of the pupil and his parents;
the story of primary school;
observations/conclusions from intelligence tests/psychological reports from remedial educationalists or psychologists.
General characteristics
Going to school reluctantly;
Poor sleep as a result of school stress;
Physical complaints (psychosomatic);
“my head won't switch off”;
Having difficulty with changes (based on content);
Being bullied;
Abnormal behavior (e.g. tics) for which there is no underlying psychiatric diagnosis and which could be explained by untapped potential;
Strong sense of justice;
Guidance by a psychologist/special education teacher/ECHA coach;
Resilience training/SOVA training.
Finds it boring quickly;
Has difficulty with skills such as planning, organizing, working independently, asking questions;
Asks many questions;
Asks when he/she can (finally) start studying;
Has never had to make an effort, has no boundaries, experienced disappointment;
Thinks deeply about, for example, existential questions, time, the 'why' of things, etc.
Does not do the work if he/she does not know why it needs to be done;
Emphasis is on own learning strategies, has not learned or accepted an alternative strategy;
Intermezzo subjects
Practical information
Intermezzo
Dedicated mentor
Each intermezzo class has a dedicated mentor. Three mentor lessons are held per week, focusing on group dynamics and individual students. Additionally, we work on projects during the mentor lesson.
School hours
At Intermezzo, we work with a fixed schedule of 6 lessons per day. The day starts at 8:30 AM and ends at 2:20 PM. Below you will find an example schedule.
In the event of class cancellations, the schedule is aligned as much as possible to avoid gaps between lessons. As a result, the first lessons of the day may start later or the last lessons may be moved forward, allowing the student to finish earlier.
Classroom
Intermezzo uses its own designated classroom, where teachers come to the students. As the school year progresses, students are prepared for the first year by going to the subject-specific classrooms on their own. For practical subjects, the designated classroom is naturally used.
Activities
In the spring, we go on a three-day camp with all Intermezzo students. In addition, the Murmellius Gymnasium has four 'Hemelrijkdagen' per year; these are days filled with extracurricular activities such as excursions and sports days. On these days, the Intermezzo students participate in their own in-school or extracurricular activities, including trips to places like Aviodrome, track cycling, and Kranenburg.
Practical information
Intermezzo Registration Procedure
Registration for the 2026-2027 school year opens in December 2026.
Who can sign up for Intermezzo?
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Students from primary and special education in Noord-Kennemerland can be registered for Intermezzo.
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Students registered for the 2026-2027 school year must be at least 10 years old (on August 1, 2027), as agreed between the school directors.
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Intermezzo is intended for students who are intellectually capable of handling pre-university education (vwo), but still lack sufficient skills (metacognitive and/or social-emotional) to make the transition to secondary education.
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After the Intermezzo year, a student in principle progresses to the regular HAVO/VWO. This is possible at the Murmellius Gymnasium, but also at other VWO schools.
Students from another partnership are only admitted if there is sufficient space and under certain conditions.
This registration is handled through the consultant of the secondary education partnership Noord-Kennemerland.
For general questions about Intermezzo, parent(s)/guardian(s) and/or schools can contact the coordinator.
Intermezzo Coordinator
Pieter Feenstra