Swimming diplomas A, B and C in the Netherlands: costs of around €720, waiting lists, school swimming and adult lessons

If you raise children in the Netherlands, someone will soon ask whether they have started zwemles (swimming lessons). Pool staff check whether a child has a diploma before letting them on the big slide, and school trips to the pool come with questions about which level each child holds. Swimming certificates are part of everyday family life here in a way that surprises many newcomers.

The starting point for this article is a DutchNews interview published on 12 October 2026 with a Romanian swimming coach who opened an adult swim school in Amsterdam-Noord. His view is that Dutch swimming education is built around survival rather than sport, so many adults can only swim breaststroke with their heads above water. The article also says that around 94% of Dutch young people hold at least one swimming diploma.

This guide first checks that 94% against official sources. It then explains how diplomas A, B and C work, what they cost, how waiting lists and municipal support differ, why national school swimming disappeared, where adults can learn, and what everyone should know about beaches, lakes and canals.

Main sources used in this article

• Letters from the state secretary for sport to the Dutch House of Representatives: 4 April 2025 on swimming policy (Kamerstuk 30 234 nr. 402), 10 November 2025 on the "Zwemvaardigheid 2024" factsheet (nr. 432), and a December 2025 annex
• Drowning statistics from CBS (Statistics Netherlands), published 25 July 2025 and 24 July 2026
• The Nationale Raad Zwemveiligheid (NRZ) explanation of the Zwem-ABC and its FAQ, and the City of The Hague's swimming lessons page
• Coverage in DutchNews, NL Times, IamExpat, DutchReview, Expatica, ACCESS and The Hague International Centre

1. What is happening: more children without a diploma

The Netherlands has long been known as a country where nearly every child learns to swim. The government's April 2025 letter says that for decades around nine in ten children earned one or more diplomas during primary school. Since 2018, though, that share has slipped.

In November 2025 the state secretary sent parliament new figures from the Mulier Instituut, a sport policy research institute. In 2024, 14% of children aged 6 to 12 had no swimming diploma. Two years earlier the figure was 19%, and four years earlier 12%. The pandemic pool closures pushed the number up, and it has only partly recovered.

In April 2025 the government set a goal: no more than 10% of children without a diploma by 2028, and no more than 5% by 2030. It does not plan large new national funding to get there. Instead, municipalities are asked to identify children without a diploma and connect them to existing lessons.

The gaps are about income and background

The December 2025 annex states that one in three children growing up in poverty does not earn a swimming diploma. BNNVARA reported that the figure among the highest-income families is 5%.

NL Times reported Mulier Instituut figures for 2022 showing that 28% of children with a migration background had no diploma, against 5% of children without one. Recently arrived families tend to fall on the less favourable side of both.

Checking the "94%" in the source article

The DutchNews article does not say where its 94% comes from. Government documents mention 94% three times, each describing a different group. The table shows which year and which age range each figure covers.

Most children earn at least diploma A before they leave primary school, so 94% remains roughly accurate for older children. But the newest figure for the whole 6 to 12 range is 86%, and the delay among younger children is invisible if you only look at the headline number.

Where sources disagree

For 2022, NL Times (2023) and the April 2025 letter say 13% of children had no diploma, while the November 2025 letter says 19%. The first figure covers ages 6 to 16 and the second ages 6 to 12. Older children have usually already passed, so widening the age range lowers the share. When you see a swimming statistic, always check the age group.

2. How diplomas A, B and C work

Dutch swimming certificates are a national system run by the Nationale Raad Zwemveiligheid (National Council for Swimming Safety, NRZ). The three levels together are called the Zwem-ABC. Only pools, swimming schools and clubs holding an NRZ licence (Licentie Nationale Zwemdiploma's) may issue them.

Each level is defined by where you can swim safely. The NRZ describes them as follows.

Diploma C is the Nationale Norm Zwemveiligheid (National Swimming Safety Standard). Diploma A on its own assumes a supervised pool without slides or waves. If your family plans to swim in lakes in summer, C is the level to aim for.

Part of the exam is in clothes and shoes

Many newcomers are surprised that part of each exam is swum in clothes and shoes. As one example of a pool following the NRZ exam rules (BREZ), the swimming lesson plan of the municipal pool on Texel lists the following requirements.

The exams also include treading water in clothes, turning underwater, and swimming under a floating mat. The emphasis is not speed or perfect technique but falling in, staying afloat, moving and climbing out unaided. The order of exercises varies by provider, so check your swimming school's own description.

What comes after C

The NRZ also issues other certificates. Zwemcertificaten A, B and C are for children with a disability or for whom a diploma is out of reach. Snorkeldiploma 1–3 build fitness and snorkelling skills, Survivaldiploma 1–3 were renewed in January 2024, and Zwemvaardigheidsdiploma's lead on to swimming clubs. Because many Dutch people stop after diploma C, front crawl is often the stroke adults later return to learn.

3. When to start and how long it takes

The NRZ FAQ advises starting diploma A lessons at around four and a half to five. Many three and four-year-olds find the lessons hard, and waiting half a year can make things easier. Children under four usually join ouder- en kindzwemmen (parent-and-child swimming) to get used to water.

Number of lessons

Estimates of how many lessons diploma A takes vary. The City of The Hague says that with 40-minute lessons, diploma A takes 75 lessons on average, and B and C about 18 each. NOS current affairs programme Nieuwsuur reported in May 2024 that A takes about 60 lessons.

At one lesson a week, diploma A alone takes about a year and a half. Twice-weekly lessons can bring it under a year. Starting at five with weekly lessons, a child would on paper reach A at six or seven and C at seven or eight. In practice, waiting lists shift this considerably.

What it costs

Prices vary widely by municipality, provider and lesson length. The table gathers reference figures from official documents and reporting.

Nieuwsuur found that lesson prices rose by about 30% on average between 2018 and 2024, faster than general inflation of 21% over the same period. Some municipalities saw rises of around 70%. Higher pool energy bills and a shortage of instructors are behind this. According to the April 2025 letter, more than a hundred swimming instructor vacancies are unfilled nationwide.

How registration works

Most municipal lessons are booked online. In The Hague the process looks like this.

1. Create an account for each child in the city's sport webshop
2. Choose a preferred pool, and note in the comments if other pools are fine
3. Join the waiting list and watch for the estimated call-up date
4. When called, buy a monthly pass at the pool desk at the first lesson
5. Three unannounced absences in a row mean losing the place and re-registering

Private swimming schools often have shorter waits but higher prices.

4. Waiting lists and municipal differences

Because getting a diploma is the parents' responsibility, waiting times and financial support depend on where you live. The Netherlands has 342 municipalities, each with its own schemes, names and contact points.

The Hague

The City of The Hague runs municipal lessons from age six, with registration from five. Diploma A has a waiting list that varies by pool. B and C usually start without waiting. Children with swimming experience may be invited for a test swim and start at a higher level.

To soften the wait, the city introduced a wachtverzachter. Children on the waiting list receive a QR code giving them free recreational swimming in municipal pools, under adult supervision, until they earn diploma A. Holders of the Ooievaarspas, the city's pass for low-income residents, show it at the pool desk and the lessons are registered on the pass.

Adults can also take municipal lessons in The Hague, but only for diploma A.

Other cities

Amsterdam is one of the few large cities that still runs school swimming. NH Nieuws reported in June 2025 that 93.9% of primary pupils held diploma A the previous year, short of the city's target of more than 95%. In the next school year 127 schools were to take part, and the city planned to extend school swimming to special education and nieuwkomersklassen (classes for newly arrived children).

NL Times reported in July 2026 on waiting lists for adults. One provider in Rotterdam had about 125 people waiting, an organisation teaching refugees in Utrecht and Amsterdam had 160, and three pools in Nijmegen about 100. Waits of up to six months were reported. The table summarises what reporting and city pages show.

Checking for financial support

Almost every municipality has some scheme for low-income families. A 2024 Mulier Instituut study found support in nearly all the municipalities it examined. The same study found these schemes hard to find, often hidden under headings like "minima" or "money worries".

Parents do not apply to the Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur (Youth Fund for Sport and Culture) directly. An intermediary such as a teacher or social worker submits the request through allekinderendoenmee.nl. Amounts and rules are set locally in each municipality's Spelregels, so the figures above are examples. Requests cannot be backdated, so ask before lessons start.

Children with disabilities

Aangepaste zwemles (adapted swimming lessons) with specialised instructors and smaller groups cost more than regular lessons. NL Times reported in October 2026 that a Mulier Instituut study, based on interviews with 11 intermediaries, found municipal support often does not cover the real cost. An amendment to the 2026 sport budget added €400,000 for lessons for children growing up in poverty.

5. Why school swimming disappeared

In many countries swimming is part of the school curriculum. In the Netherlands, schoolzwemmen spread in the 1960s, when children went to the pool weekly from around age eight, but many schools dropped it in the 1980s because of cost. The December 2025 government annex states that schools have had no legal duty to teach swimming since 1985.

Why the government said no in April 2025

At parliament's request, the government asked consultancy AEF and research bureau SEO to cost six scenarios for bringing school swimming back, published as "Schoolslag in perspectief". The 4 April 2025 letter summarises the results.

The full scenarios would do most to give every child equal access, but would use more than 3% of teaching time in the first four school years. The state secretary at the time argued that schools should focus on reading, writing and maths, and adopted none of the scenarios. Instead, the plan is to identify children without a diploma locally and link them to existing lessons.

Some areas still swim with school

The absence of a national scheme does not mean no school swimming at all. According to the NRZ FAQ, around 30% of municipalities offer lessons through primary schools. These usually start at around age seven, so the NRZ notes that most parents arrange private lessons earlier.

To find out what your child's school offers, check the schoolgids (school guide) or ask at a parent evening. Some schools only take classes to the pool occasionally for PE, while others support children all the way to diploma A.

6. Lessons for adults

The DutchNews interview is about adult swimming. The coach opened his school in Amsterdam-Noord in 2024, started with five or six swimmers, and says he has since taught more than 300 adults. An IamExpat profile from September 2026 put the figure at more than 200. Lessons are mostly in English.

He also describes taking a free, government-funded A1 course (the first half of diploma A) in Almere after arriving, but not qualifying for a free A2 place once he was working and settled. Support exists for new arrivals, but working adults tend to pay their own way.

Two kinds of adult learner

Adult learners fall into two broad groups. The first are people who never learned to swim, often because they grew up without access to pools or are afraid of water. The second are people who can only swim breaststroke, which includes many Dutch adults who earned diploma C as children and later want front crawl for triathlon or open water swimming.

According to IamExpat, the Amsterdam-Noord school caps beginner groups at five and intermediate and advanced groups at seven, and offers a discounted one-hour trial lesson. In a 2019 ACCESS feature, the founder of another adult swimming organisation said it generally takes around ten months to become a swimmer.

Before you start

Plan on six months to a year at one lesson a week. Dutch pools usually reserve set hours for banenzwemmen (lane swimming), so finding practice time between lessons is relatively easy.

The April 2025 letter counts 619 public pools and about 1,100 semi-public pools, such as those at schools or holiday parks, with an average distance of 1,800 m from home to the nearest one. The December 2025 annex counts only public pools, 621 in 2024, with an average distance of 2.6 km. Whether semi-public pools are included explains the difference.

7. Water safety: sea, lakes and canals

The Netherlands has 523 km of coastline, more than 2,400 lakes and over 5,000 km of rivers and canals. As the government's letter notes, you may in principle swim anywhere unless it is explicitly prohibited, which is unusual compared with neighbouring countries.

Drowning statistics

According to CBS figures published in July 2026, 100 residents of the Netherlands drowned in accidents in 2025 (provisional). Of those, 37% had a non-Dutch background. Another 32 people who did not live in the Netherlands, such as tourists and short-term workers, also drowned.

The numbers move. CBS first reported 107 resident drownings for 2024 in July 2025, then 113 in July 2026. NL Times wrote in July 2026 that 250 people had drowned nationwide in the previous year, which does not match CBS. It probably reflects a different count by another organisation, so this article uses CBS figures.

Children who recently arrived face the highest risk

The same CBS release compares drowning risk by background over 2016–2025. Children under ten who migrated from outside Europe had more than eight times the risk of children of Dutch origin. Among 10 to 19-year-olds the gap was almost 14 times.

Where people drown also differs. About 71% of drownings among residents of Dutch origin happened in open water (lakes, rivers, canals, sea), compared with 93% among migrants and 98% among non-residents. CBS's 2025 release adds that 54% of teenage drownings happened while swimming in open water, and that a fall into the water caused almost half of drownings among people over 60. If your family is new to Dutch waterways, assume you are in the higher-risk group until habits are in place.

Beach flags

The Hague's tourism office and local lifeguards explain the beach flags as follows.

On The Hague's coast, lifeguard posts are at Kijkduin, Duindorp, Seinpostduin and near the Scheveningen pier. Give children a wristband with your phone number; these are free at lifeguard posts and beach pavilions. If a child is missing for 15 minutes or more, tell the lifeguards or police.

Lakes and canals

For lakes and canals, choose official bathing sites designated by the province. Water quality results for these sites are published during the season on zwemwater.nl. Canals carry boat traffic and often have vertical banks with no way out, so even a diploma C swimmer should not swim there alone. The Nationaal Plan Zwemveiligheid 2025–2028 focuses on parents of children aged 0 to 5, newcomers and people over 60. Its campaign "Kopje onder gaat geruisloos en snel" (going under happens silently and quickly) is available in ten languages.

8. Common pitfalls

With the system in mind, these are the mistakes international families most often make.

The most common one is stopping after diploma A. B and C usually follow without a wait and need far fewer lessons.

The second is assuming that a child in lessons can already swim alone. Pool lifeguards do not replace parents. Until a child has a diploma, stay within arm's reach.

9. What families and adults should do next

Here are the first steps, in order, for families with children and for adults who want to learn.

1. Search your municipality's website for "zwemles" to find the starting age, registration method and expected wait for municipal lessons
2. Use the search on allesoverzwemles.nl to shortlist two or three licensed providers near you
3. Register with both a municipal and a private provider and compare waiting times
4. If money is tight, check your municipality's schemes and samenvoorallekinderen.nl, and ask a teacher or social worker to act as intermediary
5. While waiting, take your child to recreational swimming sessions to build confidence (in The Hague these are free for children on the waiting list)
6. Adults: try a trial lesson at one or two English-language schools before committing
7. Before summer, learn the beach flags and agree on which swimming spots your family will use

10. Three example situations

The following households are fictional examples to show how the answer changes with circumstances.

A family that has just arrived with a four-year-old

A family relocates to The Hague with a four-year-old who has never had lessons. They create an account in the city's sport webshop and register when the child turns five. At the same time they contact an English-speaking private school and start there if a place is free. While waiting, they swim together at weekends so the child gets used to putting their face in the water.

An eight-year-old who swam in their home country

An eight-year-old can swim 25 metres after lessons abroad but has no Dutch diploma. The parents ask a licensed school for a test swim and whether the child can join a higher group. Clothed swimming is new, so the child practises it before the B and C exams.

An adult who never learned

An office worker in their thirties never learned to swim, and now lives near a lake. They book trial lessons at two English-language adult schools, then join a small beginner group, planning for six months to a year. They also check whether their employer's benefits cover sport costs.

11. What not to do

The table lists the behaviours most likely to lead to accidents or wasted money.

12. Checklist

• Checked your municipality's lesson age and registration method
• Shortlisted two or three licensed providers
• Registered with both a municipal and a private provider
• Estimated the total cost (sign-up, monthly fee, travel)
• Checked financial support and found an intermediary if needed
• Checked whether your child's school offers swimming
• Learned the beach flags as a family
• Considered lessons for adults in the household

13. Summary

• The 94% figure is confirmed by government documents, but only for specific ages and years. In 2024, 14% of 6 to 12-year-olds had no diploma
• Diplomas A, B and C define where you can swim safely; C meets the national swimming safety standard
• Schools have had no legal duty to teach swimming since 1985; around 30% of municipalities still offer lessons through schools
• Diploma A averages about €720, and in The Hague takes 75 lessons on average
• Municipal lessons have waiting lists, and low-income families can get support
• Adults can learn in municipal and English-language classes
• Children from recently arrived families face a higher drowning risk, so learn beach flags and water habits early

Sources

Government, statistics and official bodies

• Kamerstuk 30 234 nr. 402 (4 April 2025): 94% in 2018, 13% in 2022, 2028 and 2030 goals, six school swimming scenarios and €145 million, instructor vacancies, pool numbers
• Kamerstuk 30 234 nr. 432 (10 November 2025): 14% of 6–12s without a diploma in 2024, 94% of 9–12s over 2020–2024
• Moties en toezeggingen zwemvaardigheid, government annex (December 2025): no school duty since 1985, €720 average for A, one in three children in poverty, 621 public pools
• 146 mensen verdronken in 2024 — CBS (25 July 2025): provisional 2024 figures, age groups, causes
• Hoger risico op verdrinking onder niet in Nederland geboren kinderen — CBS (24 July 2026): provisional 2025 figures, risk by background, location
• Zwem-ABC en andere Nationale Zwemdiploma's — NRZ: what A, B and C cover, other certificates
• Nationale Norm Zwemveiligheid — NRZ: diploma C as the national standard
• Frequently asked questions — NRZ: starting age, share of municipalities with school swimming, support, licences
• Swimming lessons — Gemeente Den Haag: ages, number of lessons, sign-up fee, free swimming while waiting, adults A only
• Wat betekenen de vlaggen op het strand? — The Hague tourism office: beach flags and lifeguard posts
• Zwemlesplan Molenkoog — Gemeente Texel: exam elements under the BREZ rules
• Spelregels Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur Hoeksche Waard: A up to €787.50, B and C €250
• Spelregels Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur Almere 2025: €300 a year, B and C €200
• Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur, allekinderendoenmee.nl and samenvoorallekinderen.nl: where to apply for support
• allesoverzwemles.nl: licensed provider search
• zwemwater.nl: official bathing sites and water quality
• Campaign "Kopje onder gaat geluidloos en snel" — VeiligheidNL: drowning prevention for young children
• UT Zwemschool — University of Twente: example prices

News and international community media

• Many Dutch adults can only swim one stroke — DutchNews.nl (12 October 2026): the starting point for this article
• Number of kids without a swimming diploma doubled since 2018 — NL Times (28 November 2023): 2022 gaps by income and background
• Dutch government rejects reintroduction of mandatory school swimming — NL Times (5 April 2025): history and €500–1,100 cost
• Adults with migrant backgrounds wait months for swimming lessons as drownings rise — NL Times (14 July 2026): adult waiting lists, Rotterdam and Nijmegen support
• Support for swimming lessons often fails to cover costs for disabled children — NL Times (9 October 2026): adapted lessons and the €400,000 amendment
• Zwemles steeds duurder — NOS Nieuwsuur (11 May 2024): €12 a lesson, about 60 lessons, 30% price rise
• Groeiende kloof — BNNVARA Kassa: differences by income
• Amsterdam breidt schoolzwemmen uit — NH Nieuws (24 June 2025): Amsterdam school swimming and 93.9%
• Win and Swim: adult swimming lessons in Amsterdam — IamExpat (28 September 2026): adult class formats
• Free try-out swimming lessons for expat children — IamExpat: English-language children's lessons (2013 article)
• Swimming in the Netherlands and swimming lessons — DutchReview: the ABC levels and regional differences in school swimming
• "Swimming lessons should be mandatory" — Expatica: an earlier call for compulsory school lessons
• Sports clubs directory — Expatica: English-language swimming schools
• Taking the plunge — ACCESS: adult learners and the ten-month estimate
• Let's go to the beach! — The Hague International Centre: Hague beaches and child safety
• Sports — The Hague International Centre: sport facilities in The Hague region

All sources were checked on 26 October 2026. Prices, waiting times and support rules vary by municipality and provider, so check the latest details on their official websites before you sign up.

Original article

Many Dutch adults can only swim one stroke — DutchNews.nl