Optional educational offerings

Updated on: October 3, 2024

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The Lorentz Casimir Lyceum trains for the final examinations in havo, atheneum and gymnasium. The Higher General Secondary Education (havo) department provides a general education of five years, the diploma of which gives access to higher vocational education or a transfer to vwo 5. The havist is a bright student who prefers to learn through experience and doing things.

The atheneum, together with the gymnasium, forms the Preparatory Science Education (vwo). This is a six-year course, the diploma of which gives access to higher vocational education or university. The vwo student seeks depth of content with which to prepare for a more academic study. In addition to the vwo profile, the gymnasium student chooses to focus on the languages and culture of classical antiquity, which are partly the cradle of our current culture and morality.

Cambridge Certificate and DELF Scolaire

Mastering subject knowledge and related skills is an important prerequisite for success in a future study and/or profession. The school therefore strives to offer high-quality subject lessons. However, the ambitions of the Lorentz Casimir Lyceum reach further. In addition to the usual curriculum, we want to make extra challenge possible in the form of various educational programs and activities, where students can excel in specific subject areas. In the quadrennial inspection survey (2018), the school obtained the rating "good" for the realization of the above ambitions. We highlight the most important of those educational programs to this end.

Cambridge Certificate and DELF Scolaire

More and more students want to study abroad or aspire to an international career. Every year, a number of students go abroad after their exams to study at renowned institutions. Enhanced language education therefore occupies an important place at our school. For English, students can follow the Cambridge program, for French DELF Scolaire.

Cambridge

In the first two grades, all students take reinforced English, Cambridge PRE. This includes the predominant use of English in classes. From the third year, in both havo and vwo, talented students are offered the Cambridge program, Cambridge PRO, in preparation for the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (C1). This is an internationally recognized certificate. Subsequently, students in vwo 5 can prepare for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (C2) whose final level is qualified as 'near-native'.

DELF Scolaire

For French, students can participate in DELF Scolaire. This is an internationally recognized certificate. Level B2 shows that they have completed their French studies at the level that will allow them to enter college or university in France or French-speaking countries. Students who choose DELF receive one additional hour of French per week in the fifth and sixth grades.

There is no voluntary fee for this enhanced language instruction. Examination fees for this do result in a mandatory contribution by parent(s)/caregiver(s) upon participation. The costs for these external exams are approximately € 250,- for Cambridge and € 145,- for DELF and are paid by the school to the institute that administers the exams.

LCL BrainSport

Typical of the Lorentz Casimir Lyceum is the extra attention paid to STEM. We offer 'excellent' students the opportunity to participate in BrainSport, an extracurricular program with guest lectures, practical assignments, excursions and in-depth assignments.

 

BrainSport junior program

BrainSport Junior's lessons emphasize enrichment. Students work with the learning line Big History; in groups they investigate the history of the universe and humanity from the Big Bang to the present. This includes all kinds of subjects that are not part of the standard curriculum, such as astronomy, philosophy and psychology. Students are given a lot of freedom in choosing their research question, and in the way they present their findings. BrainSport Junior classes take place during the school day; selected students therefore miss one or two regular classes each week. Guest lessons and field trips are also organized outside of school.

The program is taught in the second and third grades of the vwo.

BrainSport senior program

Since 2012, the BrainSport Senior excellence program has existed for above-average interested or talented students in upper secondary school. In a pre-academic learning environment, students are introduced to applied science, challenging practical assignments and special theories. The program for V4 and V5 consists of guest lectures or workshops by external experts and field trips to research institutions and companies. In V6, the subject matter is mainly deepened. The BrainSport program contributes to the development of research skills and deepening and broadening of knowledge regarding the science subjects. The series concludes with a festive gathering and the presentation of certificates.

Olympiads

Olympiads are competitions that offer students the opportunity to (further) develop their talents and deepen their knowledge. Students can thus test their knowledge and skills outside the regular curriculum and measure themselves against the best in the country. Since 2012, the Lorentz Casimir Lyceum has carried the Olympic School designation. In the upper school many students participate in various national olympiads in the subjects of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and geography. Besides being an excellent promotion for the subjects concerned, the olympiads are also a good preparation for the exams.

The lower school has its own variant of these: the IJSO (International Junior Science Olympiad), the OECD (European Union Science Olympiad), the Physics Olympiad Junior and the Biology Olympiad Junior. In the international Kangaroo math competition and the olympiads, our school regularly achieves a national podium place, after which winning students are also regularly allowed to compete for the top international positions!

 

First Lego League (FLL) / First Tech Challenge (FTC) / Drone Cup

FLL: the First Lego League is a competition that challenges young people between the ages of 9 and 15 to explore the social role of engineering and technology. Several undergraduate groups develop a robot. Lego materials are used as the basis. The groups participate in a regional competition with their homemade robot.

FTC: The First Tech Challenge is an annual, international robot competition. Students work together in teams of up to 15 people. They design, build and program a robot that must be both controlled and able to move autonomously. With their robot, they launch a competition and compete for prizes for creativity, collaboration, execution and performance. In both 2020 and 2021, students from our school placed first in the Netherlands. In 2022, our students were able to represent the Netherlands at the world finals
in the United States.

Drone Cup: drones are part of the future, and drones are a wonderful entry point to look at technology and applications of technology with students. In various assignments, students learn all about drone technology, and get to race drones, encountering various obstacles. In 2021, students from our school won the finals.

Debate Group

From the autumn vacations until the provincial preliminary round of the debate competition Towards the House of Commons (usually February/March), the members of the debate group meet weekly to train themselves in presentation, debating and speaking. From the group, students are selected to represent us in the school debate competition of BNNVARA. Our debate group is very successful and has already won many prestigious contests, including (twice) the live televised final of the school debate contest On the way to the House of Commons with the winning speech.