The Gymnasium Haganum is one of the oldest public schools in The Netherlands, located in the city of The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

.

The name gymnasium refers to the type

Taxonomy of schools

Educational institutions are often categorised along several dimensions. The most important is perhaps the age or level of the students in the institution, but funding source, affiliation, and gender, racial, or ethnic exclusivity are also commonly used....

 of school, the Dutch gymnasium

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

. This type of secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 is comparable to English grammar schools

Grammar school

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...

 and U.S. college prep schools

University-preparatory school

A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...

. In The Netherlands the gymnasium consists of six years in which pupils study the usual school subjects, with the addition of compulsory Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 and Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, plus extra emphasis on academic and artistic skills.

The school was founded in 1394. The school is currently housed in a monumental neoclassical

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 building, built in 1907.

In 2005 the school had around 650 students. The school is one of the top schools in the country, according to a yearly survey by Dutch Elsevier

Elsevier

Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....

 magazine.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include:

• Frans Beelaerts van Blokland
  Frans Beelaerts van Blokland
  Frans Beelaerts van Blokland was a Dutch politician.-Early life:After attending the private school, Van Bouscholte, and Gymnasium Haganum, Beelaets van Blokland studied at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden from 1890 to 1895.-References:...
  
  , politician
• Ferdinand Bordewijk
  Ferdinand Bordewijk
  Ferdinand Bordewijk was a Dutch author. His style, which is terse and symbolic, is considered New Objectivity and magic realism. He was awarded the prestigious P.C. Hooftprijs in 1953 and the Constantijn Huygensprijs in 1957...
  
  , writer
• Conrad Busken Huet, writer
• Willem Drees Jr.
  Willem Drees jr.
  Willem Drees jr. was a Dutch politician. Son of former prime minister Willem Drees, he was member of the Dutch Labour Party from 1946. In 1970, he entered politics as leader of the new party Democratic Socialists '70, a relatively right-wing split from the PvdA...
  
  , politician
• Pieter Nicolaas van Eyck
  Pieter Nicolaas van Eyck
  Pieter Nicolaas/Nicolaus van Eyck or van Eijk was a poet, critic, essayist and philosopher from the Netherlands.-Family:...
  
  , poet and philosopher
• Dirk Fock
  Dirk Fock
  Dirk Fock was a Dutch politician, Governor of Suriname , President of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies .-Education:After attending Gymnasium Haganum, Fock studied law at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden from 1875 to...
  
  , politician
• Paul Verhoeven, film director

Film shot at Gymnasium Haganum

• 1963: Feest! (Party!) directed by former alumnus Paul Verhoeven