Traditionally, kids entering the Danish public school system have a decision to make upon completing the ninth grade.
Some skip the tenth grade altogether and commence their upper-secondary education at a gymnasium.
Others opt to take a year at efterskole, a popular boarding school experience for a year away from home.
Finally, there is also the 10th grade option, which is for those who feel they are not ready for upper-secondary education or want an extra year of preparation under their belts before making the jump.
However, local government association Kommunernes Landsforening (KL) has now voiced a desire to move the 10th grade out of the public school system altogether.
Instead of being the end of public school, the 10th grade would instead signal the start of the vocational education (ungdomsuddannelse).
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Rethinking transitions
According to Thomas Gyldal Petersen, the head of KL’s Children and Education Committee, 45,000 young people under the age of 25 fail to find their way into further education or jobs upon completion of the 10th grade.
“This is about our education system – from public school to youth education – becoming better at catering to all young people,” said Petersen.
“So we need to adjust in the framework of the teaching and exams to create a 10th grade that helps students on their way to a vocational education instead of an end to public school.”
KL’s proposal is one of 20 recommendations that it has formed in a bid to rethink the transition between public school, vocational education and employment.
