Two weeks of school leaving exams begin for some 186,000 secondary school pupils on Friday. Most pupils – some 93,200 – come from vmbo or vocational streams. A further 55,300 are in the pre-college havo stream and 37,500 in the pre-university VWO.

The first exams on the timetable are English for vmbo pupils, physics for pre-college pupils and Dutch for those hoping to go to university.

The last exams take place on May 26 and the results will be published on June 12. Repeats for those who need to retake one or two subjects are in the week of June 17.

Last year, some 31,000 pupils got extra help – such as more time to complete papers – because they have learning issues such as dyslexia or ADHD, a rise of 47% on two years ago.

It is up to schools themselves if they feel a pupil needs extra time or a different space to take the test, but each case must be registered with the schools inspectorate.