Swimming diploma A: what it really costs, and where the waiting lists are
14 October 2026
In our first months in The Hague, other parents kept asking me the same question at the school gate: “Is your child doing zwemles yet?” Diploma A, I learned, is not a hobby here. With this much water around, it is something every child is expected to have, and most start at four.
So I called the pool closest to our house. The answer was friendly and short: there is a waiting list, we will contact you. I put my name down, then a second pool, then a third. I believed that was simply how it worked: you wait your turn, and the price is whatever the pool near you charges.
Now that Find a Class has the swimming timetables of the whole country in one place, I counted. I took every class that teaches towards diploma A, B and C (the Zwem-ABC): 1,134 classes at 189 pools, clubs and swim schools, counted on 14 October 2026. Baby swimming, adult lessons and the exam-only sessions are not in this number.
What a month of lessons costs
Swim schools don’t charge the same way. Of the classes with a price, most charge per month (266) or per lesson (199); others charge per course, per quarter or per year. So I compared like with like.
| Area | Per month (median) | Per lesson (median) |
|---|---|---|
| The Hague | €59.25 | €23.00 |
| Amsterdam | €59.95 | €20.00 |
| Rotterdam | €65.63 | €15.55 |
| Utrecht | too few prices | €19.70 |
| Whole country | €63.49 | €17.00 |
Two things surprised me. The monthly price is quite similar across the big cities, around €60 a month. But if you pay per lesson, The Hague is the most expensive place in the table, at €23 a lesson against €15.55 in Rotterdam. The diploma usually takes many months, so this adds up. Ask a pool how they charge before you compare their price with another one.
If you live in The Hague with an Ooievaarspas: 6 swim schools that teach towards the diploma accept it, with 34 classes between them.
The waiting lists are real, but not everywhere
Most classes don’t say anything about a waiting list on their website (703 of 1,134). Of the 431 that do, 304 have a waiting list or are full. That is seven in ten, at 62 different pools and schools. So my experience was not bad luck.
- Rotterdam has the most: 64 of its 152 diploma classes have a waiting list, at 9 of its 26 pools and schools.
- The Hague has 34 classes with a waiting list, Amsterdam 23, Utrecht 17.
- Amsterdam also has the most classes that say they have room right now: 50.
Look at your own city first: swimming lessons in The Hague and in Rotterdam show each pool’s classes with what they say about places.
Sunday is the quiet day
This is the number I wish I had known. On most days, about three in ten diploma classes have a waiting list. On Sunday it is 14%: 14 of 98 classes, and 25 Sunday classes say they have places. There are Sunday diploma classes at 36 pools and schools. Saturday is the busiest day with 190 classes, and almost half of those (84) are in the morning, which is where everyone looks first.
Here are the swimming classes on Sunday.
What I would do differently now
- Put my child’s name down a few months before their fourth birthday. Of the classes that give a starting age, 63% start at exactly 4.
- Ask more than one pool at the same time, and ask how they charge: per month, per lesson or per course.
- Ask about Sunday and weekday afternoons, not only Saturday morning.
- Try a class before signing up. 224 diploma classes offer a trial lesson, and 54 of those are free. Swimming classes with a trial lesson.
- Don’t wait for English. Only 17 diploma classes, at 5 places, are taught in English. Children learn to swim in Dutch just fine, and the instructors show more than they talk.
How I counted, and what is missing
These are the classes on Find a Class on 14 October 2026, copied from the pools’ and swim schools’ own websites. I counted swimming classes whose name mentions the diploma or the Zwem-ABC, and left out baby and toddler swimming, adult lessons, swimming-skill groups (zwemvaardigheid) and exam-only sessions. A pool that names its classes differently (“beginners”, “groep 1”) may be missing. Prices are what the website says; registration fees, exam fees and swimwear are not included. The waiting list figure only uses classes that say whether they have room: most don’t, and a pool’s website can be weeks behind what you hear on the phone.
If your pool is missing or a price is wrong, use “Add or fix” on its page and I will check it against the website.