Ignatius Gymnasium
Saint Ignatius Gymnasium is one of the five categorial gymnasia in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Together with the Vossius Gymnasium, the Barlaeus Gymnasium and Cygnus Gymnasium it is among the most prestigious schools in Amsterdam. Ignatius is located in the Jan van Eijckstraat in the affluent 'Old South' district of Amsterdam.
It is one of the few Catholic gymnasiums in the Netherlands, founded in 1895. Originally a Jesuit school, it is named after the founder of the Jesuit Order Ignatius of Loyola. The school is fairly small and has a student population of about 900 with 70 staff.
According to the Dutch Education Inspectorate, the Ignatius Gymnasium is as a very good school across the board. In the first three years, 2% has to repeat a class while 76% of the survivors pass their exams at once with an average grade of 6.9. All this is considered to be better than average. According to YELP, Ignatius ranks first among middle and high schools in Amsterdam. The Dutch magazine Elsevier chooses the Ignatius Gymnasium for several years as one of the best schools in the Netherlands. The school was elected as the best school in the province of North Holland in 2004. In 2010, Elsevier placed the school alongside ‘The winners of 2010, least repeaters and best exam results’.
The school newspaper is called De Harpoen.
Notable old-Ignatians include beer magnate from the Heineken company; television personality Ivo Niehe; his brother Eric Niehe, Olympic rower and former Dutch Ambassador in India; conductor and recorder player Frans Brüggen; conductor Edo de Waart; Paul Josef Crutzen, a Nobel Prize winner; linguist Pieter Seuren; architect ; journalist ;, former editor of De Groene Amsterdammer; Bernard Delfgaauw, professor of Philosophy at the University of Groningen; former Minister of Social Affairs Charles van Rooy; Piet Steenkamp, founder of the CDA; Rad Kortenhorst, former president of the House of Representatives; Lambert Meertens, former chairman of the PSP;, former chairman of the employers' organization VNO-NCW; Bertus Aafjes, a writer; Paul Biegel, author of children's books; Frans van der Lugt, Jesuit priest murdered in Homs, Syria; and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Joseph Luns, both former Secretaries-General of NATO.
