If you follow TTO in the upper classes, you will only study the following subjects in English: English First Language (Cambridge IGCSE), Global Perspectives (Cambridge IGCSE), Social Studies, PE and CKV. Your other lessons are in Dutch again.
In the English lessons you focus more on writing and reading than on grammar. You learn to write different kind of essays, such as descriptive and narrative pieces, as well as more structured formal essays. For Social Studies you won’t have to make assignments from the workbook, but will need to fill in preparation forms with information from the textbook. If you hand those forms in on time (according to the deadlines) you receive a 0.4 higher mark above that in the tests. In the PE lessons you do the same sports as in the regular classes, only everything is done in English, of course. For CKV you have to make a small musical in groups which you will perform in the Munttheater, but contrary to other classes, you have to do it in English.
Global perspectives is a subject that is only given in the TTO course of Havo 4 and 5. It is a subject in which you work with a computer most of the time. You have to write reports, make up propositions, and give your own opinion about those propositions. Also, we have to debate in class, which most of the students consider a fun activity. In the second period we write a review of a book, movie or musical. We also had to make a podcast. With a small group, everyone made a word document of the subject they wanted to talk about. Later, everyone recorded it. We had to send everything to our teacher when we were finished: the word document with the podcast, but also the propositions and the debate. In the third period we write an essay, which is sent to Cambridge where it is checked and graded. This essay must have 1500 to 2000 words and is about a subject such as climate change, sustainable living or family. We have 8 weeks to complete it. In the test week we don’t have a test about Global Perspectives.
Furthermore, there is also an exchange in the fourth year with students from high schools in Hungary and in Romania. In the beginning of March, these students come to The Netherlands for five days. On these days we follow a special program with them, show them our school and go on outings. Then in the beginning of May, we visit them and they show us their country and school.
We hope you now have a clear view of what TTO consists of in HAVO 4.
This article has been written by students from 4 HAVO