United World College Maastricht

All programmes are from the International Baccalaureate. Children aged 4 to 11 follow the Primary Years Programme, and students aged 11 to 16 follow the Middle Years Programme, which ends with a Personal Project. In the last two years students choose the IB Diploma Programme, with subjects across six groups plus the core of Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS, or the IB Career-related Programme, offered in two tracks: Sustainable Futures Leadership (business and sustainability) and Music. The school is also an official SAT test centre and administers Cambridge admissions tests for UK applications.

The school covers the full age range from 4 to 19. The Primary School teaches the IB Primary Years Programme from Kindergarten at age 4 to age 11. The Secondary School offers the Middle Years Programme for ages 11 to 16 and, in the final two years (ages 16 to 19), the IB Diploma Programme or the IB Career-related Programme, which day and residential students attend together.

UWC Maastricht shares the United World Colleges mission of making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. Its work is guided by nine UWC values, among them international and intercultural understanding, celebration of difference, compassion and service, personal challenge, personal responsibility and integrity, and respect for the environment, and it encourages students to turn awareness of global issues into concrete action.

The campus near Maastricht's city centre is made up of five buildings: one for the primary school, one for the secondary school and three residence halls. Teaching spaces include science laboratories, soundproofed music rooms, a gymnasium, a library, a drama room and an atrium used for performances and meetings. Outdoors there is a schoolyard and a garden that works as a living classroom for sustainability projects. The buildings were designed with sustainability in mind, using a geothermal heat pump and ventilation and lighting that respond to occupancy and CO2 levels.

Student Services bring together learning support for students with diagnosed needs, English language support, school counsellors who work closely with the safeguarding team, and university counsellors who guide students from Year 11 through applications worldwide. Primary pupils bring lunch from home, while secondary students can buy lunch vouchers for the Mensa canteen. There is no school uniform and no school bus, but the campus is served by local buses. An active Parent Association organises events and family clubs, and scholarships are available for residential places.

Around 200 Diploma and Career-related Programme students aged 16 to 19 live in three residence buildings on campus, most of them selected through UWC National Committees around the world. Rooms are shared by four students of different nationalities, and each floor has a common room, a study area and a small kitchen, with a residential mentor living in the same building. Residents eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together in the Mensa, and weekends include hikes, cultural nights and work in the school garden.

Primary and MYP students can join after-school Community Clubs, with options such as ballet, chess, dance, sports, art, cooking and drama. The on-campus Music School gives individual lessons in voice, guitar, flute, clarinet, drums, violin, viola, cello, classical and jazz piano and music production. In the Diploma and Career-related Programmes, CAS combines creative work, physical activity and at least three hours of weekly community service with over 100 local organisations. Students also organise conferences, festivals, musicals and TEDxYouth events, and take part in Project Week. The school does not run competitive team sports.