Primary and lower secondary schools

In Denmark education is compulsory. This means that children must receive 10 years of education starting in August the year they turn six years old. The majority of children attend municipal primary and lower secondary schools, where all children are entitled to free education.

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Your child automatically belongs to the primary/lower secondary school in the school district where you live. This means that your child is entitled to be admitted to the school and to an after-school club, if there is one.

However, in Denmark you have a free choice of school, which means you freely can enrol your child at another school if you wish. Please note that there has to be a place for your child before you can send him or her to a school other than your district school.

For further information, please contact the School Administration

Children learning Danish as a second language sometimes need extra support. In Hvidovre we do our best to support bilingual children in their efforts to learn Danish.

The teaching of Danish as a second language aims to develop bilingual children’s Danish language so that they are able to understand and apply spoken and written Danish.

The aim of teaching Danish as a second language is to:

  • Strengthen the pupils’ inclination to use the Danish language
  • Make them aware of how their own cultural background and Danish culture mutually influence each other
  • Develop their ability to participate actively and equally with Danish pupils
  • Strengthen their self-confidence

Danish as a second language is carried out both as a part of the teaching in the ordinary class as well as outside.

Children that do not have a language corresponding to children the same age are offered an individual evaluation of their language before they start school. The evaluation is done in kindergarten.

Teaching of children that do not speak Danish is carried out in Receiving Groups. The age of the child decides which school and Receiving Group to attend. The children are received in two schools in Hvidovre all year.

The purpose of the Receiving Groups is to give children that do not speak Danish a basis for:

  • Learning like their peers
  • Further education
  • Desire to learn
  • Participate in the local community

The school invites the parents to a conversation, preferably with the child, about previous schooling, personal maturity and linguistic development. After the conversation the school decides what class level the child will attend after the teaching in the Receiving Group.

For further information, please contact the School Administration