Students’ extra-curricular activities must be scheduled outside of school hours, as students are required to attend all of their lessons.
Students are expected to take their holidays during the official school holidays. However, in special circumstances, e.g. funerals and other exceptional events in the family, management may give permission for a student to take one or two days off. Requests for leave should be sent directly to the school's management via MU Elev fravær.
If special leave is granted, it is always the responsibility of the parents to ensure that the students keep up with school work, and there can be no expectation upon the teachers to provide special homework for students, who are absent.
Absence that has not been authorised by the school and is not due to illness, is recorded as "unlawful/unauthorised absence" (ulovligt fravær).
Guide to MU Elev fravær
Late attendance
Students are expected to be on time for class.
In Primary, attendance/lateness is registered every morning in the first lesson.
In Secondary, absence/lateness is registered at the beginning of every lesson. The school will contact parents in case of continuing late attendance.
Illness
In case of illness, parents must register this in MU Elev fravær. A doctor's note is required for illness of a longer duration. See Illness for more information.
Appointments
Parents should try to organise dental and other appointments outside school hours. If this is not possible, they should be organised so that they create the least possible disruption to the school day for the student and the rest of the class. If it is an early appointment, the student is expected to come to class after the appointment. If it is an appointment later in the school day, the student is expected to attend class before the appointment.
The teachers should be notified in advance of appointments affecting their lessons via MU Elev fravær.
Work-related leave
In special cases, the school may grant up to three months leave to students whose parents are on a work assignment abroad. The leave must be documented and approved by the Municipality of Copenhagen and the student must attend school in the host country. Applications may be denied if granting the leave raises concerns for the child's welfare and/or learning.
If a teacher is absent, the school will find a substitute to cover the class. The substitute will, in as far as is possible, continue the classroom teaching and deliver the curriculum as though they were the regular teacher.
In cases of planned absence, S3 and S4 can work independently with instruction from the teacher, if this is deemed possible by staff.
In rare cases, classes can be cancelled. This can be done a maximum of four times a year, if it is the first or last lessons of the day.
Before the substitute teacher can start work at the school, all required paperwork, including information about qualifications, CPR number, and police checks must be satisfactorily met.
The European School Copenhagen is an Accredited European School (AES) , also known as a European School Type II. An Accredited European School is a school in a Member State of the European Union which has obtained accreditation for European Schooling by the Board of Governors of the European Schools. To obtain this accreditation, the school must follow the curriculum of the European Schools and comply with the school's Dossiers of Conformity.
The accreditation period is three years.
>See the Accreditation and Renewal document here.
>Read more about the Accreditation Process here
Read more under European Schools or visit the website of the Office of the Secretary-General of the European Schools.
Students at the European School Copenhagen must abide by the following principles for academic honesty:
Never plagiarise, duplicate or copy other people's work
Never allow others to plagiarise, duplicate or copy your work
Your homework, assignments, tests etc. must always be your own original work and ideas
Acknowledge and clearly reference other people's ideas if you use them
Use your own words
Always comply with intellectual property rights
You can read more about the rules for academic honesty in the EB Handbook and the Study Rules for Upper Secondary.
The school's Administration ('office') is located on the 1st floor of the school (see signs for Reception).
The Administration is open on school days Monday-Thursday between 8:00-14:30 and Fridays from 8:00-14:00.
The Administration can also be contacted by tel. +45 3614 0190. Telephone hours are 8:00-12:00 and 13:00-14:00 every day
Our admissions hotline is open three days a week - see the hours here.
You can also send a message to the Administration in Aula or by email to admin.escph@kk.dk.
All important messages to/from children and parents during the school day (when mobile phones are not allowed) must go through the school's Administration or staff in the After School Care.
The European Schools must first and foremost ensure schooling and education of children of EU institution staff members. At the European School Copenhagen, this means that approximately 20% of the places are assigned to this group of applicants. The remaining places are allocated according to a set of admission criteria set by the Municipality of Copenhagen as well as a language screening and is dependent upon available spaces. The school does not keep a waiting list.
Each year, the school admits students to its new nursery classes opening in August through an online application process. Information about the admissions process is advertised on the school's website and the deadline for applying is always in January of the academic year before entry. A screening interview is undertaken as part of the admissions process.
It is also possible to apply for 'rolling admission' to the school's existing classes in case a space becomes available in any of the classes during the school year, but spaces are very limited.
We also invite applications to our new Secondary 5 classes (equivalent to Danish 1.g) through optagelse.dk from middle of January to 1 March. The admissions process and criteria for Upper Secondary are explained on our website.
The school is not able to offer tours or individual meetings about admission, but each year organises Information evenings for anyone who is interested in hearing about the school and the admissions process.
For more information about the admissions process, please visit the school's website or contact our admissions hotline: https://europaskolen.sag.dk/admissions/contact-us/
Students in nursery class and Primary 1-3 are entitled to a space in the school’s After School Care, also known as the KKFO which stands for Københavns Kommunes Fritidsordning.
The After School Care is open to all students in Nursery and Primary 1 - 5 from 6:30 a.m. until school starts (from 7:00 am during school holidays) .
Opening hours
Monday to Thursday: Until 17:00
Friday: Until 16:00
In the afternoon, the After School Care is only open to students, who are enrolled in the After School Care. The students can go to the After School Care from the time their lessons end until the KKFO closes..
The After School Care is open most days during the school holidays but not on public holidays. A holiday plan is available to parents on the school's website.
Activities and snack
The After School Care is staffed by qualified pedagogical staff and there are many different activities available to the students, including art, Lego, construction, board games, sports and outdoor play. There is also a quiet area for reading and doing homework.
A snack is served in the afternoon.
Komme/Gå
Children must sign in and out on the screens in the After School Care, using a system called KOMME/GÅ. Parents have access to this through Aula, where they can enter arrangements for after-school activities and pick-up. Parents must also ensure that they keep their contact details up to date, along with any medical information and information about who is permitted to collect the child.
Enrolment
New nursery class students are automatically enrolled in the After School Care from 1 August, the month they start in nursery class. There is a special transition programme for new nursery class students. New students in Primary 1-3 must write to the Head of After School Care Laura Mackenzie at FD8J@kk.dk to enrol in the After School Care or through the Municipality's 'Digital Pladsanvisning'.
Fees
The cost of After School Care The cost of After School Care in 2024 is DKK 1,885 per month (the month of July is free of charge). It is possible to apply for a reduction in fees based on an income assessment. See more information on the City of Copenhagen website.
New students in Primary 1-3 must write to the Head of After School Care Laura Mackenzie at FD8J@kk.dk to enrol in the After School Care.
Contact information
The After School Care is located on the ground floor (see signs for After School Care).
Phone: +45 2491 3687 (Mon to Thu 14:00-17:00 - Fri 14:00 - 16:00)
Students in Primary 4-7 can join one of the City of Copenhagen's many 'Fritidsklubber' (After School Clubs).
Many of the students at the European School Copenhagen sign up for Bryggergården, which is the Club nearest to the school.
> Link to Fritidsklubber on the Municipality of Copenhagen website
Every year, the school organises a 'school meeting' for all the parents at the school. The event is hosted by the Board and is an opportunity for parents to hear from the Board and the school's management as well as the parent representatives on the Board, in the Parents Councils and in the Parents Association.
The meeting is usually held on a date in the autumn between 17:00-19:00. A programme is shared with parents on Aula in advance of the meeting.
The European School Copenhagen is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and secure environment for all its students and staff.
The school's anti-bullying policy can be found below:
For more information about the school's many well-being and inclusion initiatives, please see the sections Rights School, Inclusion Pedagogues, Ressource Center, Well-being Day and Well-being Policy.
See Absence of students above.
The school organises numerous assemblies during the year around special events such as Diwali, Fastelavn, Well-being Day, theme weeks, etc. This is a way to bring all the students together around a common event and showcase the work of the students.
The older the students, the more the Student Council will be involved in facilitating and organising assemblies concerning topics that the studens show an interest in.
Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, physical assemblies are cancelled until further notice, but we have held a few virtual assemblies instead.
Combination of formative and summative assessments
Formative and summative assessments are an integral part of the teaching and learning process in the European Schools.
Formative assessment focuses on the process of learning and is ongoing, looking at participation in class, understanding of the subject, etc.
Summative assessment is an evaluation of performance at the end of a period of instruction to check if the intended learning outcomes have been reached.
Methods and tools of assessment
During the lessons, the teachers use various methods/tools of assessment of the students' skills to ensure that the children have understood the assigned tasks and are able to perform them successfully. These include observations, tests, self-assessment, portfolio and school reports.
School reports are obligatory in the European Schools and include various indicators and criteria for assessment of progress.
Tests and evaluations take place on an ongoing basis in various subjects and are used by the teachers as a tool to keep track of the student's progression, plan the next stage of learning and to differentiate the teaching. The school is in the process of developing harmonised tests across the language sections to ensure that all our students are progressing and to ensure that the school is meeting the learning goals set by the European Schools.
School reports
In Primary 1-5, school reports are issued to students twice a year, before the winter break in February and at the end of the academic year in June. The reports cover the students' progress and areas for improvement across all subjects.
In Secondary 1-3, the students receive school reports with marks and comments three times a year.
In Secondary 4 and up, school reports are issued to the students four times a year.
Specifically about assessment in Secondary and the marking scale
Presentation about assessment in Secondary.
For more information about assessment and the marking scale in Secondary, please click here.
See information under Absence of students above.
Primary students and S1 students are not allowed to leave the school during the school day.
Students in Secondary 2 and upwards are allowed to leave the school in the breaks provided they have permission from their parents. The school reserves the right to withdraw the permission to leave the school if the students are late or fail to attend lessons, or if they break school rules.
HOW TO GIVE PERMISSION:
Parents can change their permissions by following these steps:
Log on to Aula
Click "Min Profil/My Profile"
Select "samtykker" to see your permissions.
Click "rediger" to edit your permissions.
See Accredited European School.
All Municipal schools in Denmark use the communications platform Aula for home/school communications. Aula enables the school to share news and information with parents, students and staff and enables parents and students to contact administrative, teaching and support staff and other parents in the class. Parents are expected to check Aula regularly to keep up with school work and information from the school.
Access to Aula
In order to log in to Aula, you must have a CPR number (civil registration number) and a MitID. If you need help obtaining a CPR number and MitID, please contact the international citizen service at International House Copenhagen. Unfortunately, the school is not able to assist with this.
To log in to Aula, please go to https://www.aula.dk/portal/#/login.
If you are unsure how to use Aula, there are some useful introduction guides on: https://aulainfo.dk/guide-til-foraeldre-og-elever/uddannelsesmateriale/introduction-guides-for-parents-and-students-english/
You can also get help from the contact parents or teacher in your child's class or from the school's Administration.
Parents who can't obtain a regular CPR number, should contact the Administration to ensure they receive the most important school communications via email.
If you are a diplomat posted in Denmark
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can set up a civil registration number (CPR number) for diplomats and their family members, ensure the correct registration of children, and help with MitID.
Diplomats who work in Denmark can receive help through the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.