Coinciding with Senior School Voorschoten’s 45-year anniversary, this exhibition is a fantastic opportunity for the Voorschoten community to become more familiar with the BSN.

A Life’s Work on Display

The BSN’s own Archivist and former Head of German, Mr Mike Weston, has curated a wealth of fascinating material to tell the story of our rich heritage and diverse identity. Mr Weston has been involved with the school for over 50 years and has extensive experience staging exhibitions. This is the first time, however, that a BSN exhibition will fill an entire museum! It is a great honour, which materialised following the BSN’s involvement in a previous exhibition at Museum Voorschoten.

Recent History with Museum Voorschoten

Last year, the BSN was featured, along with several other local schools, as part of an exhibition at Museum Voorschoten about the history of education in the area (‘Aap Noot Mies’). The BSN was the only international school participating. After the exhibition, Mr Weston was approached by the museum about the possibility of staging an exhibition solely about the BSN. Of course, the answer was immediately yes! Preparation, in collaboration with the museum’s curators, has been underway ever since.

Bringing the Communities Closer Together

Events and initiatives, such as these, that bring the BSN and the Voorschoten communities closer together are invaluable.

Mike Weston said:

"Learning more about Museum Voorschoten and collaborating with its staff and volunteers has been an enriching experience. Over the years, the relationship between the BSN and the town community of Voorschoten has always been of mutual interest and benefit.

We at the school value enormously our good fortune at being situated in such a pleasant and welcoming setting, and we hope that the people of Voorschoten are proud of their international school.”

The British School (Senior School Voorschoten) Headteacher, Patrick Heuff, emphasises the importance of developing local connections:

“I am delighted by this opportunity to further connect with the wider Voorschoten community through museum Voorschoten, an absolute gem of a museum! We are very proud of our location and we are very grateful for the excellent links we have with the Gemeente.

Building ties with the local community and collaborating on local initiatives are integral to service-learning at The British School in the Netherlands. Beyond these specific projects, our aim is to ensure our students and community are positively contributing to Voorschoten and taking an active, positive role in the local society.

Many of our families live in Voorschoten, and as we have been here since 1979 we are an integral part of the town. Presenting our school in this way is an invitation to a wider audience to come and get to know us. And who knows where that might lead!

This exhibition has been possible thanks to the efforts of Mr Weston. I would like to recognise his invaluable service and contributions to The British School over the years and commend him for his dedicated and meticulous archive-keeping.”

A ‘Must-see’

BSN student, Juliette, has written an article for the Voorschotense Krant to encourage visitors to the museum with more information about what you can expect to see.

We hope many members of the BSN and especially the SSV community enjoy the exhibition.