Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Efterskoler – Uniquely Danish
Brøndby Idrætsefterskole has become known as one of the best Danish schools for young athletes.
Keep it simple With a myriad of educational possibilities, teenagers in Denmark face a sometimes overwhelming amount of choice. But not at Brøndby Idrætsefterskole – here the main ambition is to ‘keep it simple’. The sports school is structured to reduce the complexity faced by young athletes by a simple and organised approach to life and sport.
with personal experience from the six sport subjects on offer: football, dance, top performance, golf, handball, and table tennis.
By Signe Hansen | Photos: Brøndby Idrætsefterskole
Focus and simplicity
Balancing the requirements of their sport with school and social life can be a struggle for many aspiring young athletes. But at Brøndby Idrætsefterskole, everything from diet and training to homework is organised into a safe and coordinated framework created in cooperation with the students’ sport clubs, parents and, of course, the students themselves.
To be able to structure the individual students’ everyday lives and offer the best possible training facilities, Brøndby Idrætsefterskole collaborates closely with sports unions, institutions and clubs. This includes the neighbouring Idrættens Hus and Team Denmark as well as Copenhagen Golf Centre, which allows the school to offer indoor golf facilities.
Students need to be dedicated to their sport but, most importantly, they need to be committed to their own development. “Young people’s lives are shaped by great complexity with unlimited options and choices and, consequently, demands and requirements. What we want to do is to 62 | Issue 83 | December 2015
minimise the complexity for the individual athlete in a way that makes the basic competences – needed to develop as a human being – clear and easy to approach,” says principal Bo Palle Jensen. “That’s why we focus on the values of will, ambition and commitment in relation to the students’ approach to their sport, education, body, and social and mental competences.” Founded seven years ago in buildings previously belonging to Brøndy IF, Brøndby Idrætsefterskole has become known as one of the best Danish schools for young athletes. Behind the school’s success is a team of devoted teachers
“Having everything in one place means that students can focus fully on what is most important for them,” says Jensen. “We experience that having everything gathered under one umbrella has a very positive effect on students. They become more comfortable, confident and get to