James Boswell Course | VWO Chemistry for IB Students
Boswell‑Bèta offers access courses and exams for students who want to enter higher education in the Netherlands, but do not fulfil all of the entrance requirements. Our courses and exams supplement the IB diploma, enabling you to do the extra subjects that some programs require.
For example, biology, chemistry and physics are all mandatory exam subjects to study medicine in the Netherlands – but most IB schools do not offer the possibility to take all three science subjects. Doing one of our courses and passing the exam (in addition to passing your IB diploma) would then fulfil the entry requirements for medicine.
The VWO Chemistry course covers the chemistry curriculum of the Dutch high school system. The term VWO refers to the level of education, which is the highest of the Dutch secondary education system, comparable to IB Chemistry HL, A levels, Greek General Lyceum and German Gymnasium.
VWO Chemistry Course for current IB-students
We offer a special VWO Chemistry course for students in one of their final two years of the IB programme (DP1 or DP2). This course takes place during the academic year in parallel with the student's regular academic programme at school. Since the course only has one or two sessions each week in the evenings, starting September 12 and with the final session on March 26, it can be combined with the regular school schedule.
Since every session of the course starts at 17:30 (UTC+1, Central European Time), the course is scheduled in such a way that it works best for IB students in the European time-zone. If you would like to participate in this course but you are outside of Europe, then please ensure that the course times of all sessions work out for you.
Boswell‑Bèta VWO Chemistry Courses
The course content and structure are identical to our regular VWO Chemistry course. This course for IB students is only scheduled differently, in order that students can take the course after school.
Our regular VWO Chemistry courses are offered as 8-week full-time programmes, with starting dates in Fall, Spring, and Summer. If the course schedule for this course does not fit in your schedule, or if you think that this course would increase your study load by too much, then it is worthwhile to look at our regular VWO Chemistry courses.
All our chemistry courses consist of 32 sessions each 3.5 hours, and includes revision days to prepare for the final exam. Much more information about our chemistry courses can be found on our VWO Chemistry page; such as which topics will be covered, required prior knowledge etc.
James Boswell VWO Chemistry Exam
This course will prepare you for the official James Boswell VWO Chemistry Exam in Spring, the exact date is yet to be confirmed. More information about the exams can be found on our exam page.
Students that participate in this course will automatically be registered for the exam. It is possible to write the exam in-person in Utrecht or online. Note: Some universities require students to do the exam in-person, so if you would like to do the exam online please consult the admissions office of the university via email to confirm that they accept the results of the online exams.
The course fee includes 32 sessions of each 3.5 hours, the study materials: including the Binas English Book and the course book, access to the study lab homework sessions and the James Boswell exam following the course.
In the event that the student fails the exam, we offer re-sit examinations in May, July, August, and December.
End of registration period
You can register up to 14 days before the start of the course.