At the Heart of Denmark - Fredericia Gymnasium: Rooted in the Past, Embracing the Future - Denmark and the Danes - Everyday Life - Global Outlook - The Danish Upper Secondary School System

Fredericia is a town of approximately 45,000 inhabitants, with a central location at the heart of Denmark. Fredericia’s history has in many ways been defined and shaped by the possibilities that its location offers. Indeed, the two bridges that link both Fredericia and the Jutland peninsula to the rest of Denmark form a salient part of the town’s landscape and identity today. With the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Jelling, Denmarks second city of Aarhus, the German border, Billund Airport and Hans Christian Andersen’s birthplace in Odense all within an hour’s drive, Fredericia’s location remains one of its greatest assets.

For more information on the town of Fredericia please visit the following website: http://www.fredericiakommune.dk/

The history of the town of Fredericia and that of Fredericia Gymnasium are closely intertwined. Fredericia’s history dates back to 1650 when the Danish king, Frederik III, commissioned the building of the town and its fortifications. The strategic location was seen as ideal for fending off attacks from foreign armies.

Fredericia Gymnasium’s history can be traced back to its beginnings as a grammar school in 1656. By 1716 the school had grown to accommodate 24 pupils. In 1903 the first female pupils were admitted. In 1974 the school moved to its present site.Today the school continues to grow and now houses approximately 850 pupils between the age of 16 and 19. The growth has not been merely numerical, however. Fredericia Gymnasium has recently undergone a thorough process of modernisation, incorporating a new knowledge centre and modern facilities that reflect both the heightened demands and also the new possibilities that exist for education in the 21 st century.

The Danes themselves have, fortunately, also moved on since their forefathers the Vikings famously pillaged and plundered all before them. Nowadays Danish society is characterised by a strong sense of egalitarianism, personified by its welfare-state, which is one of the most extensive in the world.

However, this egalitarianism has still allowed room for individual excellence. The world renown of such great Danes as Søren Kirkegaard, Karen Blixen, Niels Bohr, Michael Laudrup, Caroline Wozniacki, Carl Nielsen and Lars von Trier in fields as varied as philosophy, literature, physics, sport, music and film reflects this. Moreover, their manifold talents reflect the inherent and characteristic diversity that the Danish education system strives to emulate.

The school year starts in the middle of August and finishes at the end of June. On most days teaching takes place from 08.05 until 15.10. Lessons last 90 minutes. During lunch break (11.25-11.55), pupils can buy hot meals or cold food and beverages in the canteen.

When not studying hard or completing their homework, most pupils also have time for other activities. Many of the pupils have part-time jobs outside of school hours and a large number also participate in different leisure activities. School is thus just one facet of an individual pupil's everyday life. Fredericia Gymnasium acknowledges this by offering a wide range of extra-curricular activities after school hours, from various sporting activities to art, school orchestras and choir practice.

Pupils are responsible for their own newspaper, Norma, and the two clubs Coffee House and SERMO which arrange concerts, parties and other events. The school also has a film club, again run by pupils.

At Fredericia Gymnasium we wish to enhance our pupils’ capacity to interact and communicate in various languages. We seek to do this by expanding the school’s international network through exchange programs, school partnerships and electronic communication with the world around us. We see it as imperative that our pupils develop an understanding of other cultures and thus also their own.

Furthermore, all pupils go on a study trip abroad at least once during the two or three years they are at the school. Before the trip classes spend time preparing to visit the respective country’s institutions or sights of historical, social and cultural interest. It is our firm belief that interaction with the world around us is an intrinsic and vital aspect of learning in the 21 st century.

The Ministry of Education supervises the quantity and content of the teaching.

Most teachers teach two subjects. Teachers are university graduates with a Master's Degree. Tuition is free. Pupils attend school 6-8 hours per day from Monday to Friday.

The school year starts at the beginning of August and ends in the middle of May. There is one week off in October (week 42) and one in February (week 7), and holidays at Christmas and Easter. There are written and oral exams for the pupils from the end of May until the middle of June. Summer holidays start at the end of June.

Pupils enter 6th Form College for three years of tuition after 9 or 10 years at Primary School. HF pupils need 10 years at Primary School, and some of them have left the school system for a few years before they decide to continue their studies. The age range of the pupils is generally from 16-19.

After three years, pupils in the 6th Form take a "studentereksamen". After two years at HF, the pupils take a higher preparatory examination called a "HF eksamen".

After graduation, pupils are entitled to wear the distinctive white cap (with a red band for ‘gymnasium’ and blue band for ‘HF’). Graduation is traditionally marked in many ways; by formal ceremonies at the schools themselves, quiet family festivities and also by the famous revelry of class celebrations.

or further information on the Danish education system and the Gymnasium in particular, please visit The Danish Ministry of Education’s website