Students on Kalø Højskole’s Outdoor Ranger course get to explore all facets of outdoor life in real life, but also receive a broad general education in the natural environment of Denmark, sustainability and preservation.
Explore the Danish language, culture and nature Surrounded by sea, forest and hills, Kalø Højskole (folk high school) provides students with the chance to immerse themselves in the Danish language and culture while making friends from all over the world. The school also has a strong focus on climate and environment, explored in its popular Outdoor Ranger course. By Signe Hansen | Photos: Kalø Højskole
The students coming to Kalø Højskole to study Danish language and culture come from all over the world. Many are driven by an interest in different aspects of the Danish society, like the Scandinavian welfare system or design culture. Others, many expat Danes, come to get reacquainted with the Danish language and culture before continuing in the Danish educational system. “Our school was one of the first to teach Danish to foreign students and immigrants – long before the governmental language centres were established,” explains principal Søren Iversen. “For many 32 | Issue 132 | January 2020
years, we provided the language training for refugees coming to Denmark, at one point working with 56 different municipalities, so we have decades of experience, which we now use to teach students from all over the world.” Due to changes to the Danish legislation, the school is no longer allowed to include refugees among its students. On top of classes in Danish language and culture, the course also includes a number of special events and study trips to places of significance, such as schools, political institutions, museums, festivals and much more.
A long history of teaching language It was the desire to foster internationally open minds, and prevent nationalism from emerging, that drove the founders of Kalø Højskole to put language subjects on the schedule of a place originally established as an agricultural school in 1952. As the only agricultural school at the time to offer English and German, the school soon became just as sought after
Kalø Højskole is beautifully located, with the sea on one side and the forest and Mols Bjerge National Park on the other.