IB Boarding School in Denmark, Europe

Herlufsholm Skole:
Herlufsholm Skole is a boys & girls boarding school and mixed day school with an International Baccalaureate department. The language of instruction in the IB-department is English & Danish. Herlufsholm aims to provide a Danish framework, encompassing Christian and democratic ideals, in a historic setting, for the optimal preparation of young people - irrespective of background and financial means - for their adult lives. It remains a boarding school rich in tradition, but it is also a modern, internationally oriented institution. Both in and out of the classroom, Herlufsholm pupils acquire the professional and personal skills required to be able to play their parts as responsible citizens making a positive contribution to national and international society.

International Baccalaureate - 2 year course in English at the level of the two last classes in the Senior school. The final examination is the same for pupils all over the world. Junior school, Senior School Programmes.

Lectures and study groups of different types are arranged for the students. In addition to this, theatre trips (locally and to Copenhagen) or in the school itself, are arranged for different grade levels.

There is also the possibility to study art and crafts in junior school and art in senior school.

There are three stages at the school that are frequently made use of: one large one in the school’s sports hall, a smaller one in the Festsalen and a small cabaret stage in the students’ Cafe. Apart from drama being offered as a subject in senior school, drama is offered to the students on an optional basis in their free time.

Music can be practiced individually or collectively. The school is well equipped with pianos and other musical instruments. There are practice rooms, which are intended and equipped for bands just as there are practice rooms for classical music. The school can arrange contact to music teachers who can give individual instruction. (piano, wind instruments, guitar)

The students can join the choir – there is both a large choir and a chamber choir – the choir performs at different concerts at the school and at large joint arrangements with other schools.

Café Stjernemix is arranged twice a year, where students perform for each other with music, song and dance numbers they have practiced.

Herlufsholm School regards the students’ possibilities to become actively engaged in social activities as a considerable part of the whole education.

Therefore, since August 1997, the school has been involved in a project in cooperation with SOS-Børnebyer.

The school’s students organize collections in connection with Fuglskydning, café evenings, theatre evenings and so on, just as they arrange a Christmas bazaar. The money collected goes to SOS-Børnebyer. The purpose is to collect money for ‘børnebyer’, social centres etc. in Africa. Students from both the junior and senior school participate together and all students are encouraged to join in with this work. In connection with these activities the school often invites citizens from Næstved to participate.

In the International Baccalaureate (IB) course, the work is more systematic in that it requires that the students carry out a form of community service. This comes from the programme called CAS-programme, where C stands for Creativity, A for Activity and S for Service. Some of the school’s IB students work at a voluntary centre in Storstrøms Amt, while others are engaged in aid programmes connected with, among other things, pollution.

It is the aim of the school that a programme like CAS will be made obligatory for all the students of the school.

Sports Activities:
Recreational sports at Herlufsholm follow the seasons.

August-October: Athletics, football and tennis

October-Easter: Volleyball, basketball, badminton and indoor football.

Easter-Summer holidays: Tennis and football.

The school’s “national sports” within team sports are: Volleyball, basketball and football. Tennis, badminton and athletics are the school’s most important individual sports.

There are, of course, possibilities to engage in many other activities. Aerobics, handball, fencing, skateboarding and, in addition to this, the school has 12 canoes which can also be used in leisure time. The forest and the school’s lovely surroundings invite one to take walking, running and cycling trips. A good 500 metres from the school is a lovely swimming pool.

The school has a lot of sports equipment at its disposal, which students may borrow (balls, sticks, safety equipment, skates).

The tennis courts, football pitches, skateboard park and Hellenhallen may be used freely unless there are scheduled leisure activities. Trollehallen may be used by arrangement. Use of the exercise centre is only for members of the exercise club. Enrolment takes place at the same time as enrolment to the other activities.

The school participates in sports competitions with other schools, some local (basket- and volleyball tournaments as well as athletic meets). We also play against other boarding schools, the Japanese school, Tokai Boarding School, in Præstø. We meet them three times a year. Once a year we compete in the swimming pool and twice a year on the sports ground (football, tennis, volley- and basketball) .We take part in a boarding school football tournament with Birkerød, Sorø, Stenhus and Haslev.

A traditional and very coveted trophy is the Rømer P. trophy. The winner is decided at two football matches between Herlufsholm and Sorø Boarding School (day students are not included in these matches). Recently, trophies for 2nd team (the EP trophy) and the girls’ team (the Eusebius trophy) have also been given.

It is also possible to receive tuition for a gun licence at the school.