Pre-school, primary and lower secondary education
In Denmark, education is compulsory for nine years from the age of 7 (6) to 16 (15).
Pre-school class
There is an optional pre-school class - børnehaveklasse - at the schools. Children start at the age of 5, and approx 97 per cent of all children are enrolled in this optional class. The staff in pre-school classes are social educators, not teachers.
How to enrol
Enrolment in a pre-school class takes place at the municipality. Pree-school class activitites take place at schools.
Primary and lower secondary school
In Denmark, education is compulsory for nine years from the age of 7 (6) to 16 (15).
The parents decide where the education should take place, and there are three options as regards education at primary and lower secondary level:
· At municipal public schools (folkeskoler)
· At private schools (frie grundskoler and efterskoler)
· Private education at home.
Municipal public schools
Primary and lower secondary education normally takes place at municipal public school which the Danes call the folkeskole.
The Danish school system is based on a comprehensive concept without streaming. The children remain in the same pupil group with the same classmates from the 1st to the 9th form. The number of children in a class must not exceed 28, the average being 19 pupils per class.
The curriculum consists of a number of compulsory subjects, and in the higher forms also optional subjects. Teaching is divided in subjects and lessons at all forms. English is compulsory from the 4th to the 9th form, and a second foreign language (German or French) is offered from the 7th to the 9th form. There is also an optional 10th form, which is chosen by 49 per cent of the pupils, while others choose to continue directly in upper secondary education.
School starts in early August and ends in late June. Lessons normally begin at 8 a.m. and finishes between 12 a.m. (until the 3rd form) and 2-3 p.m. (8-9th form). Children in the lower forms may stay at the school in an after-school centre (SFO) after normal classes.
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