Mission Statement

Our vision for Virum Gymnasium is to be a serious, dedicated educational school with close ties to its local community. Academia, creativity, innovation and social skills are all instrumental in creating a social and inspirational teaching environment as well as an attractive workplace. To study at Virum equals being immersed in your studies and perpetually pursuing academic advancement.

Our goal is to educate independent students, who have the insight and determination to take their education to the next level. We will peak their interests and provide them with the tools to want to and be able to continue to learn. It is of vital importance that they understand that we are all part of a local as well as a global community and we will provide them with the skillset to navigate both.

In regards to Upper Secondary schools, we have a vision of being one of the best in the country within all three spheres of learning; Science, Arts and Social Studies.

Values

• Our top priority is the highest standard of teaching, individual subjects as well as interdisciplinary subjects
• We encourage the students to remain curious, inquisitive, to stay engaged and find joy in learning and passing on knowledge.

Responsibility

• We are proud that the teaching environment at Virum Gymnasium is characterized by mutual respect, trust, and freedom.
• We teach the students to think and act as citizens in a democracy.
• We respect that the Student Body Council is an intricate part of our school
• We believe that it is vital that the students understand the complexities of an ever-changing international community. Hence, it is a goal of ours to accommodate several field trips outside Denmark during their time at Virum Gymnasium

Virum – an International School

The world is in a flux; climate change, refugee crises, terrorism, and financial recession are all headlines of yesterday and tomorrow. These headlines demand political action and international collaboration. Denmark is an important part of several organizations working across borders. This combines local interest with global interest and this again is converted into what and how we teach at Virum Gymnasium. We realise that with democratic citizenship comes responsibilities. Our students must be presented to these in order to fully understand the impact of an international world. So, in order to better prepare our students, we have established a network of friendship schools across the globe and we accommodate three study tours during their years with us.

1st year
As part of their first three months in Upper Secondary, all classes can choose between several destinations in Denmark, Sweden, or Northern Germany. The purpose of this study tour is twofold; the first being to instill a sense of unity in the individual class and the second being to introduce inter-disciplinary work as part of a non-school setting.

2nd year
The classes will travel to a major European city, pre-determined by the teachers. They are to conduct field observations and hone their international skillset.

3rd year
Teachers prepare study tours worldwide for students outside the regular class setting and the students are encouraged to apply in accordance with their academic interests.

Language and Exchange Schools
Virum Gymnasium also has friendship schools they visit every year. Our French, German, Spanish, and Chinese classes go abroad every year and receive schooling in local communities as well as inviting their host brethren to stay with us for a week. Lastly, we are proud to announce a recently formed partnership with Wagner College in New York.

School Management

The daily management of the school falls on the Headmaster (Mette Kynemund), two Vice Principals (Birgit Langvad and Andreas Olesen) and one director of education and training (Pia Gars Jensen).

The School Board oversees the school’s strategic goals and reports to the Ministry of Education. It consists of the Headmaster, the Vice Principals, two teachers, two students and outside members from local businesses and the local community.

Furthermore, the school houses five Study Counselors, three IT Counselors as well as four Reading Instructors, two Mathematics Trainers, an Elite Sports Counselor and an in-house psychologist.

Student Democracy

As part of the school’s strategy, the student body recently wrote down guidelines for how they want teachers to approach teaching. They are now endearingly termed ”The Ten Commandments”.

1. Be committed
2. Be consistent
3. Diversify your teaching methods
4. Be respectful – be respected
5. Let your students be involved
6. Accommodate papers and homework
7. Have a purpose with what you teach
8. Evaluate what you teach
9. Adapt to your classes
10. Be engaged on a social and an academic level

Extra-Curricular Activities

Virum Gymnasium offers a range of activities outside mandatory classes. Study Hall is open Mondays to Thursdays for all students. Mondays focus on Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry and Wednesdays are open for all subjects. The atmosphere is vibrant and we have former students helping current students as well as teacher/student guidance.

For students, who are particularly adept in a certain fields of interest, we conduct a series of Master Classes, ranging from English to Social Studies, which are taught at university level. We also arrange a string of lectures by external professors, consultants, writers, directors, musicians and professionals called VGcc (Carpe Cognitionem) to encourage students to expand their horizons. We are also fortunate enough to have a few published writers in our midst who organize a Writer’s Workshop. A number of our students are professional athletes as well as students, and we extend their school life with a year, so they have time for tournaments, championships and training camps.

Notwithstanding what we offer, Virum Gymnasium has proudly sent students to compete in several domestic and international competitions for many years. These include the Physics Olympics, the Chemistry Olympics, The Philosophy Olympics, Georg Mohr’s Mathematical competition, the Budding Scientist, Public Speaking Competition, Debating Cup, Drughunter (for Biology and Bio Technology), Innovation Camp and ATU (the Academy for Talented Youths).

Local History

Virum Gymnasium is situated just North of Copenhagen in a small suburban setting. We are fortunate to have excellent company in our “backyard”. NovoZymes, Microsoft, DTU (Denmark Technical University) and Chr. Hansen are all located within a few miles of the school and are frequently visited by classes. Culturally, we “Frilandsmuseet” (The open Air Museum) less than a mile away as well as Sorgenfri Slot, a castle owned by the Royal Family. We have also worked with Brede Værk (Brede Works), a historic site operated by the National Museum of Denmark.

This allows for Virum Gymnasium to have immediate interaction with both the worlds of culture and business and it gives the students a chance of insight into a world outside their academic bubble. As an example, many of our Science students use DTU when conducting experiments for their written exam project during their final year.