American School of The Hague

American School of The Hague (ASH) is a globally renowned international school for students ages 3 to 18. A leading international school in the Netherlands, we proudly welcome students from over 70 nationalities. We cultivate a student-centered community with a strong emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math education and a vibrant visual and performing arts program. Our students benefit from hands-on learning experiences and an extensive offering of clubs, activities, and competitive athletic teams. Unique in the Netherlands, we offer both the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and the US College Board Advanced Placement pathway, preparing our students for success in higher education.

ASH Experience

ASH Story

Artist in Residence: Iván Fernández González Class of 2018
Meet Iván Fernández González, Class of 2018, who was our Artist in Residence during the week of April 28 - May 2. Ivan is a talented singer, dancer, actor, choreographer and creator. He's a genius at editing videos, creates his own music and has a huge TikTok fan base. He came back to ASH to work with our students across Middle and High School, leading group workshops, giving students personalized individual feedback, and sharing his knowledge as a West End musical theater professional.
 
What is your background at ASH?
I joined ASH in third grade, so I was at ASH for my Elementary, Middle and High school studies and graduated in 2018. I was always involved in everything artistic, performances, and videography. I was in every single musical from 5th grade - 12th grade, I was able to do some of the high school musicals whilst I was still in middle school. I also took part in some of the high school plays, helped out with tech in some of them, and my focus was definitely on the musical theater side. I also participated in A Night To Remember, Extravaganza - basically, everything that was performing, dancing, acting, singing - on stage or on video filming it, live stream, in any sort of format. It all came organically as it was what I wanted to do and how I wanted to spend my time.
 
I had intended to do the full IB program, but committed to taking an artistic career path in my junior year. So I changed paths a bit, stopped doing the full IB and during my senior year only completed the full IB courses that I required to focus on the arts. I needed more time to work on my audition material as I was flying out to London for every audition and recall for drama schools during my senior year, and I could only focus on IB courses that were helpful to me in my professional industry.
 
What are you doing today/what has your life journey been like?
After ASH I went to the Guilford School of Acting, which is known in the UK as one of the top musical theater schools. I had a conservatory style training for three years, while there I studied everything from ballet to jazz to tap dancing to singing and all sorts of styles of acting and performing. I didn't write a single essay or typical “school work” for three years, as it was all practical training, and I came out of it with a university degree - it really fit what I wanted to do.
 
The COVID pandemic happened during my second year of conservatory experience, and my dad was still living here for work. During that time I spent 5 months in the Netherlands studying at my conservatory remotely, and doing all my coursework at home - like tap dancing in my kitchen! In my third and final year, the third year students were able to come back to campus first, as that is the year students get noticed by casting directors and we really have to make our first steps into the industry (which is extremely competitive in London).
 
In third year you take part in around 5 musicals throughout the school year, all which are attended to by important people to get scouted and signed into agencies. But with COVID, our performances were recorded, so the agents could watch them afterwards. On one hand we missed those live performances, but on the other it allowed scouts to watch all of the videos - even if it was of a performance they had already seen 30 times over (like West Side Story). I was very lucky as I left the conservatory early as I was the first in my year to book a job on the West End, and went straight into the West End show before I finished my studies. That was also strange, as we were one of the first theaters to open after COVID, so we performed to a third of the audience capacity and were all masked. Three months in, the theater was filled but all masked - I really experienced it during my studies, and I started my career at a time when theater was restarting again.
 
I am really enjoying my career and have been working ever since - and things keep going up. I’ve done several shows since, the most recent show is the same musical I did the first time around but this time I was cast in a leading role, and cover for the leading man as well. So last year I got to play a leading man on the West End for the first time, that was really exciting. I've toured the UK several times, I've performed in Toronto a few times which is where they test out new shows for Broadway. And I've also been really lucky to be asked to participate in original musicals and new works that are trying to be the ‘next thing’, so I've gotten the chance to originate a lot of characters in musical theater.
 
Most recently I've signed to play a role in the original musical adaptation of a major blockbuster movie, starting rehearsals in August. I am also part of this company called Pros from the Shows, which is a London based company run by Layton Williams - a UK actor who is a big name in film and shows. He runs this company with a roster of West End “stars” and we get booked for lots of workshops and master classes. Usually I get booked for London or major conventions (Musical Con), sometimes I'm leading master classes for 100 people, and sometimes it's for regional local classes with just a few kids who are excited in musical theater. More like what I was doing at ASH - it's inspiring to be able to talk to the students while the learning is happening.
 
How did ASH help shape your path in life?
I have stayed in touch with Anthony Cunningham - I see him several times a year since I graduated, I also keep in touch with Katrina Middleburg. They were both extremely supportive throughout my entire upbringing and they were really good at fostering and nurturing my passion for the arts - to the point where I took it seriously as a career path. They were extremely supportive and helpful during my audition process for drama schools, with all the work that I needed to put in. At the time when I was at ASH, I could see how just inspired all the other kids were as well by them and what they were doing. It is why I wanted to come back and spend a week with the kids, as I only really decided to pursue musical theater as a career path when I saw professionals come to ASH. I realized, oh, this is a career!  You can always figure out which direction you want to go - not just musical theater, there are so many ways to take those skills. My goal this week was to try to nurture that passion and excitement early on to explore it early on during their experience.
 
I was working with everyone from 7th graders to seniors this week at ASH. They were really excited, even though those students were not showing outwardly, kind of hiding it, which was nice. Even after the classes, just walking down the hallways I've had so many of the kids that I've been teaching this week just been so excited and like “Hey Ivan! How are you? I looked you up on TikTok, Insta, can i get my picture with you?”
 
I think it's extremely important for the kids to get exposed to not just their teacher, but someone who is a third party- not someone they have to perform for, but they can be themselves around. I was inspired by other graduates who came to ASH from other schools to perform. So the fact that I'm sort of living proof, of someone who has come out of ASH and is living that career path, I think that hopefully it will be really inspiring as well. I've come by to visit ASH before but just to say hi - this is the first time I've been teaching workshops - stage combat, choreography from west end shows, telling them about my experience in drama school and in the industry, all subjects including musical theater, but also the world of influencing and content creation, spotify and album music and releasing music - as I do all those things as well.
 
Are there any standout moments or people from your time at ASH?
Obviously Anthony and Katrina: Katria who directed the musicals and Anthony as my teacher throughout my theater classes. There are also loads of teachers in Middle School that were fostering me and nurturing me as well, like Ms. Mignon, she was my movement teacher, and she was choreographing the musicals I was in growing up, my choir teachers - some teachers who aren't here any more but all had a part in raising me.
 
A catalyst moment from my time at ASH and the moment that made me actually consider art professionally was when graduates from Central School of Speech and Drama came to ASH to perform the monologues that they had devised for their schooling, and they were really incredible pieces of theater. They were solo 20 minute performances of just someone 21 years old, something they had written, they were all incredibly moving pieces of theater. I could tell that the skill set and the level of artistry they showcased came from spending three years at a conservatory and taking it seriously as a career path. It was right there and then, in the ASH theater, that I realized that I wanted to be able to do what they were doing. Before that moment, I had only ever done the school stuff and seen people at the most elite level performing, so it was nice to see someone at that in-between stage, who had just just graduated and just started in the industry. I'm a bit further along than what they were when they came to perform, but the fact that I am from ASH is a big plus cause I can describe the whole journey. I just hope to do everything I can to encourage the arts to flourish and inspire the kids to get excited about theater!
Read More about Artist in Residence: Iván Fernández González Class of 2018
Abhishek: Ahead On a Journey of Entrepreneurship

Grade 11 student Abhishek has a long list of interests and passions. Among many of his titles are Student Senate, Student Ambassador Coordinator, basketball and baseball player, National Honors Society co-president and member of the Robotics team, The Flying Dutchman. His most recent title is nothing short of Entrepreneur and Co-founder of Cogent, an AI ed-tech startup.

With a spirit full of racing ideas and ambition we’re excited to see much more of Abhishek as he approaches his senior year at ASH! In this interview, discover how his journey into entrepreneurship started and has continued to develop exponentially.

 

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Deep diving into UN goals during Grade 11 "Day of Action"
Our Grade 11 students recently had the opportunity to participate in a new project initiative called “Day of Action”, related to the United Nations Sustainable Goals. The aim was to allow students to put into action a commitment around one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals of their choice. To prepare, students spent time researching and interacting with their sustainable development goal through the advisory curriculum unit "Looking Beyond." On the “Day of Action”, small groups of students took part in off-campus workshops, organized in partnership with our network of local alumni, current parents, and local community service organizations, so they could do a deep dive into the UN goal and how it translates into real world experiences.

 

European Space Agency: STEM and Gender Equality

Matilda and Nina travelled to ESTEC, the European Space Agency base located in Noordwijk, to have a special tour around STEM and gender equality. The group was led by current ASH parent Sara, who is an engineer at ESTEC and a strong advocate in motivating young girls to engage in STEM related studies and careers. The group was able to visit two facilities on site and learn about some of the various engineering projects being developed at ESTEC. They also had some discussion time where Sara shared her academic and professional experiences as a female in the field of STEM, paving the way for the students to explore the UN goal of equality on a more personal level.

The tour helped me understand in more depth the issues of gender inequality in the workforce, and how several companies are working towards making a change, like ESA. Ms. Sara explained her experience and how women at ESA play a major and equally valuable role in the success of space missions and how ESA strives to sustain a gender inclusive environment. As a society we should continue to fight for gender equality and provide everyone with the same opportunities regardless of gender, or any other factor. Ms. Sara’s experiences are proof to me that women play a crucial role in scientific and engineering domains and I am more convinced now than ever that I want to pursue a STEM career. I was glad to learn that ESA actively takes measures to promote gender equality, as I have always dreamed of working there one day.  - Matilda

Meeting Ms. Sara and learning more about her experience at ESA really allowed me to see women in the STEM field as it is commonly a male dominated field. We discussed how we see a large difference in the ratio between girls and boys especially in classes such as physics, robotics or high level maths and how women tend to be less interested in those academic classes. We thought it would be great if young children and students become more exposed to female role models in stem fields such as Ms. Sara to motivate and inspire girls to possibly go into that direction of field. - Nina

 

International Criminal Court: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Mia and Casper were part of a group who travelled to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to have a special tour and discussion around the UN goal of Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. The group was led by current ASH parent Tom, who is a Senior Advisor at the ICC providing legal and policy advice to the Prosecutor. Our students were given an insider look at the operations of the ICC and daily workings of how the themes of peace and justice are carried out on a global scale.

While visiting the ICC we learned how international justice is carried out, how cases are presented and chosen, the steps involved in a trial, and also what happens after. This experience helped me realize how important it is to have a fair and open legal system to help maintain peace. It was also a revelation to understand how difficult it is to achieve justice on a global scale. Even though the ICC works to hold people accountable for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, bringing the accused individual to court is not always easy or even possible. This helped me understand that while international justice is powerful, it also faces real challenges and that makes its work even more important. - Mia

The field trip to the ICC was a truly wonderful and eye opening experience. The tour and extensive Q&A session allowed us to understand that even with all of the negativity in our world, strong institutions serve justice and provide hope to even the most dire situations. It was often stated that the most fulfilling part of working at the ICC was thereby proving justice and peace to those in vulnerable situations. This deepened our connection with UN goal 16, whereby peace and justice by way of the ICC remain central in the furthering of humanity as a whole. Personally I found the ambiguous link between politics and justice to be of utmost interest, as the respective motives often don't align and require careful deliberation. - Casper

 

Wassenaar Beach: Clean Water and Sanitation

Mika and Hannah were part of a group that travelled to the local Wassenaar beach to help make an impact on local pollution, related to the UN goal of Clean Water and Sanitation, and Life Below Water. The beach clean up allowed students to address the themes of clean water access, sanitation and conservation of ocean life, right in their own backyard.

Participating in the beach clean-up helped me see firsthand how pollution affects nature. It made me realize how important it is to protect our beaches and oceans, not just for the animals, but for us too. It opened my eyes to how much we rely on clean spaces and how easily they can be harmed. It made the goal feel more personal and something I can actually help with, that small actions can make a big difference, how easy it is to help when you just take the time. - Mika

I realized that pollution is far more widespread than it appears, even in places that seem clean on the surface. Even in what can be considered a clean town, there was still a significant amount of pollution scattered about. By making it our sole objective to clean up trash on this day, we were exposed to the reality and scale at which pollution takes place across the globe. - Hannah

 

Amsterdam: Sustainable Consumption and Production

Carolina journeyed to Amsterdam with her group to visit Mike Rubinovitz ’85, an entrepreneur and business owner in the sustainable leather and hardware industry, and natural materials expert. Mike has developed his global business experience on the basis of recycling natural materials and how these things can be incorporated into individual, personal lifestyles as well as larger scale businesses. Venturing into this alum’s workshop was the perfect setting for our students to experience hands-on learning related to Sustainable Consumption and Production.

This trip helped us to find more ways of being personally sustainable and gave us new ideas like composting our fruits in our own backyard, and then how to use them as sustainable leather tanning agents. We were able to see many more ways of helping the environment in our daily lives and came up all together as a class with different ways we could be more sustainable in our daily lives. It was also very interesting to learn about making an olive based leather tanning agent, in place of harsh chemicals.   - Carolina

 

Read More about Deep diving into UN goals during Grade 11 "Day of Action"
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