General Secondary Education (algemeen voortgezet onderwijs) is divided into two types:
Pre-university education (voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs, VWO), which lasts for 6 years and can be obtained at a gymnasium, atheneum, or lyceum (a combination of gymnasium and atheneum), and Senior General Secondary Education (hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs, HAVO), which lasts for 5 years. The general secondary education program concludes with national examinations in 7 subjects (VWO) or 6 subjects (HAVO). If the exams are successfully passed, a VWO or HAVO diploma is awarded.

In the lower stage (onderbouw), a wide range of subjects is offered and generally available to all students. They also receive guidance for further education and career planning. In the upper stage (bovenbouw) — years 4 and 5 for HAVO or years 4, 5, and 6 for VWO — also known as the tweede fase (second phase), education is organized into subject clusters (profielen), where one part is common for all students and another part is chosen individually. To proceed to higher education, all students must choose one of four subject clusters:

• Culture and Society (cultuur en maatschappij)
• Economics and Society (economie en maatschappij)
• Science and Health (natuur en gezondheid)
• Science and Technology (natuur en techniek)

To gain admission to higher education institutions, all requirements of the selected cluster must be met.
The HAVO diploma corresponds to level 4 of the Dutch Qualifications Framework (NLQF level 4 / EQF level 4).
The VWO diploma corresponds to level 4+ of the Dutch Qualifications Framework (NLQF level 4+ / EQF level 4).
A full description of NLQF levels 4 and 4+ can be found at: www.nlqf.nl

Preparatory Secondary Vocational Education (voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, VMBO)
Preparatory secondary vocational education (VMBO), introduced in 1999 to replace preparatory vocational education (voorbereidend beroepsonderwijs, VBO) and junior general secondary education (middelbaar algemeen voortgezet onderwijs, MAVO), is oriented towards vocational training and lasts for 4 years. Like general secondary education, VMBO starts with a basic phase (onderbouw), which lasts 2 years and offers a variety of subjects. At the end of the second year (grade 5), students choose a learning path (leerweg) and a sector. VMBO has four sectors:

• Technology (techniek)
• Health, personal care, and welfare (zorg en welzijn)
• Economics (economie)
• Agriculture (landbouw)
• Within each sector, students can choose from four learning paths (leerwegen):
• Basic vocational pathway (basisberoepsgerichte leerweg)
• Advanced vocational pathway (kaderberoepsgerichte leerweg)
• Combined pathway (gemengde leerweg)
• Theoretical pathway (theoretische leerweg)

The theoretical pathway provides access to HAVO and vocational education programs (vakopleidingen) as well as management training in senior secondary vocational education (middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, MBO). The other pathways do not provide direct access to HAVO but offer solid preparation for MBO programs. VMBO programs are completed with national examinations. If these exams are passed, the VMBO diploma is awarded.

Depending on the specialization, the Diploma Voorbereidend Middelbaar Beroepsonderwijs (VMBO) qualifies at levels 1 or 2 of the Dutch Qualifications Framework (NLQF level 1/2).