There are signs that bilingual children are closing the gap on their ethnically-Danish peers.
The grade gap between monolingual and bilingual students graduating from public school, when most students are aged 15 or 16, has shrunk from 1.8 in 2017 to 1.4 today, according to Copenhagen Municipality figures.
This could be partly contributable to a fall in absenteeism – most notably in Copenhagen where it has fallen from 6.9 to 5.8 percent of all school days.
Broken down, it is bilingual female students making the biggest improvement, raising their average grade score by 1.2 points, while the bilingual boys only advanced 0.3.
Upbringing and gender differences too
Among the other findings, there are other encouraging trends.
The gap between kids with at least one parent with a higher education and those who have no parents with a higher education has shrunk from 2.9 to 2.3.
The gap between girls and boys has risen from 0.5 to 0.8 because girls have notably improved their performance.
Some 87.9 percent of students start upper-secondary education today, compared to 79.4 percent in 2009.
Bringing lunar close living quarters to Danish Architecture Center
In 2020, two architects shared a living space measuring just 4.5 sqm in a remote part of northern Greenland for 60 days. They were testing ‘Lunark’, a habitat designed for the Moon, where occupants have enough space to work, sleep, exercise and use the toilet. Lunark is now on display at Danish Architecture Center (DAC), where it will be part of the exhibition ‘A Space Saga’ for the next couple of months. “If you have been quarantined at home during corona with your girlfriend, then you know that even an apartment of 50 sqm can very quickly become small,” one of the architects, Sebastian Aristotelis, told TV2.
Stopping cyclists to see if their bicycles are stolen
You might have noticed police checks being carried out on cyclists since the beginning of Week 6 and wondered what was going on. No, they weren’t caught jumping a red light … this time. On this occasion, their bikes were being checked to make sure they hadn’t been stolen. There are 15,000 bicycle thefts every year in Copenhagen. Many new arrivals unwittingly buy a second-hand bike from a stranger that is in fact stolen. If CPH POST had reported this at the beginning of Week 6, it might have warned off bike thieves! Not sure this newspaper have the same qualms about warning cyclists about red light traps!
City mayor takes over chair of the Greater Copenhagen region
The area Greater Copenhagen often confuses people because it includes large parts of southern Sweden, including the region of Halland, which at its northernmost point is 20 km south of Gothenburg. However, if proof was needed that it is very much Danish-driven, then the appointment of Copenhagen Mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen as the chair of the region will have ticked that box. She succeeds Region Scania chair Carl Johan Sonesson. Andersen had vowed to create a more cohesive labour market across the region. “Restart will be the headline for my presidency,” she said. “We must help our companies to recruit the necessary workforce to promote sustainable growth.” The population of Greater Copenhagen is 4.4 million and it includes 85 municipalities.
Too many cars in Copenhagen, contends responsible mayor
The technical and environmental mayor, Line Barfod, contends there are too many cars in Copenhagen. Between 2012 and 2019, official figures confirm that the number of cars entering the city municipality increased by 8 percent. “We reached the maximum capacity a few years ago,” the Enhedslisten mayor contended to TV2. However, journeys passing through the city centre fell by 3 percent over the same period. Plans to introduce some sort of toll for Copenhagen, which would have charged motorists a price to enter certain parts of the city – like the congestion charge in London, which was introduced in 2003 – hit the curb in 2012.
Bid to change Papirøen’s name … and also its main road
Facebook changed its name, but that hasn’t stopped most people calling it Facebook. And the same will probably be true of the Copenhagen Harbour island of Papirøen, even though its owner, CØ P / S, wants to revert back to its former name. It seems like a strange choice given how many towns, bridges and roads are named after the 19 Danish kings named Frederick and Christian. In this case, ‘Christiansholm’ will reside just down the harbour from Christiansborg and Christianshavn, and just down the road from Christiania. CØ P / S also wants to change Trangravsvej, the road that circumvents the island, to … yes, you’ve guessed it … Christiansholm.
Dronning Louises Bro benches to be spruced up
The iconic benches on Dronning Louises Bro, the gateway to Nørrebro popular with hipsters, are getting a long overdue overhaul in Weeks 13 and 14. It is estimated they were first installed in the late 1880s – more or less the time when Carlsberg founder JC Jacobsen died, film director Carl Theodor Dreyer was born and Jack the Ripper was at the peak of his powers in London.
Two held in custody after discovery of suitcases full of cash at airport
Two people, aged 33 and 36, will remain in custody for four weeks after being discovered with suitcases full of cash at Copenhagen Airport on Tuesday. They were trying to leave the country and have been charged with money laundering of a particularly serious nature. Some 3 million kroner in various currencies was discovered. They have both pleaded not guilty.
The mystery of the toddler who became Rema’s first customer of the day
The staff at the Rema 1000 on Njalsgade in Amager got a shock when they opened the store on Sunday morning. A three-year-old boy wearing just underpants and socks was standing outside. The police picked him up, and it turned out that he lives nearby and there is no reason to suspect any neglect of care.
