Admission requirements

If you are interested in participating in the combined classes offered by the School for Young Talent and the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK) you’ll have to undergo an extensive admissions procedure. Interim admission to the School for Young Talent is possible. To apply for admission, please contact voortraject@kabk.nl to make an appointment.

Portfolio & interview

For the admissions appointment, you will be asked to bring your portfolio, a folder composed of original pieces of your own work. The portfolio may contain as many works as possible: drawings, sketches, designs, models, sculptures, photos, videos, digital work, clothing, textile expressions, constructions, paintings, etc., which you have made on your own initiative. Unfinished work, trials, experiments and discoveries.

You are expected to use this work to demonstrate your skills and provide examples of recent work made on your own initiative. We also find interesting to see a visual notebook with sources of your inspiration, ideas, plans, experiences and insights. If you want to show digitally-based pieces, you must bring your own laptop.

The work will be examined for evidence of creative capacity, motivation, aptitude, ideation, uniqueness/originality and capacity for growth, in addition to diversity and the ability to work with materials and techniques. All of these aspects are discussed with you during the interview. After the admissions interview, a decision will be made on whether you are qualified for admission or whether a second interview will be held, possibly with a follow-up assignment.

If you are qualified for admission, an interview will be held with the director of the school in order to examine the academic component. If this aspect is also satisfactory, you will be offered a place at the School for Young Talent.

Study variants

Students can participate in the programme from the first year of secondary education. Younger students can take a selection of subjects at the KABK in combination with the programme provided by their own school. It is also possible to transfer in later years at the School for Young Talent.

Students who have completed the theoretical track of VMBO at another secondary school can apply for admission to the School for Young Talent and complete the HAVO curriculum in combination with the visual arts programme.

Students who have completed the HAS trajectory and have taken a State Examination at VMBO theoretical level can follow a special programme by contract and take several HAVO subjects during one contract-year. This contract-type preparation applies only to cases where obtaining a HAVO diploma is not an option, while it ensures sufficient preparation for students to apply for a bachelor study programme at the KABK.