Rygaards International School
Encyclopedia
Rygaards International School is a private Christian
/Catholic
international school
in Copenhagen
, Denmark
. Founded in 1909 by the Sisters of the Assumption
, Rygaards is a co-educational day school amalgamated within the Danish School System. It is a private, state
-subsidized
school directed by a school board. The school is made up of two schools. One is a Danish Private School serving a community permanently resident in Denmark. The other is an International School
, whose curriculum is based on the British system/National Curriculum
adapted to international needs, and serves those who are in Denmark on a temporary basis. The school is a member of the European Council of International Schools (ECIS), the Association of Catholic Schools in Denmark (FAKS) and The Council of British International Schools(COBIS).
Therefore, the school started almost 100 years ago when on 13 October 1908, a group of six Sisters (four French, one German and one Belgian) were invited to Denmark by the Bishop of Copenhagen in order to open a private school for girls. The Sisters belonged to the French congregation known as 'Les Religieuses de l'Assomption' – The Assumption Sisters, an order of nuns that already were well established and were running 17 similar schools worldwide, in France, Spain, Nicaragua, The Philippines, Belgium and El Salvador. On 13 September 1909, the Sisters opened their school in Copenhagen with just eight pupils – all girls. It was called “L’Institut de L’Assomption', was entirely French speaking and welcomed girls of all religions.
Initially, eleven Sisters came to Denmark to establish and run the new school. They brought with them the mission of their Foundress Mother Marie-Eugénie Milleret: to change the world through the education of children. Mother Marie-Eugénie believed that the world could only be changed by developing the characters of children, especially girls. A good education would provide them with morality and integrity necessary to influence decisions in the wider world and create opportunities for justice in society. The prospect of such an education was not available in Denmark for girls at that time. As the number of pupils began to grow, the school needed a larger building and so moved to St Andrea’s, a Jesuit college, in Ordrup. It was still called “L’Institut de L’Assomption” but was more commonly known as The French School.
As the years passed and the school grew more it again became necessary to find new and more suitable accommodation. Therefore, in 1930, the sisters bought a farm in the rural area of Gentofte, outside Copenhagen. The farm was surrounded by stables and fields and was an ideal home for the expanding school and its pupils. The farm was called “Rygaard”. The school continued to be called “L’Institut de l’Assomption” and was now run by a group of Sisters who lived on the premises. It was still managed as a private institution and continued to offer education in French to daughters of Danish and International families. Although the teaching was clearly Christian, the school did not set out to convert or indoctrinate pupils, rather instil in them the values and characteristics found in the Gospel. The aim of the Sisters was to develop the character of each pupil to reach their own potential.
In 1935 the Sisters had a church built on the land next to the school. The Mother Superior at the time, Mere Madeleine Eugenie had a special devotion to Saint Therese, from whom the name of the church derives. During the Second World War when Denmark was occupied the Sisters with the help of some local people risked their lives hiding Jewish children from the Nazis under the church. The children were eventually smuggled down to Hellerup harbour and taken by boat across to neutral Sweden. The local Parish Church of St. Theresa is an integral part of the school buildings and is used by the school for both Catholic and Ecumenical services.
In 1949 the school was given the official right to hold examinations. Before this, the children had to go the university to take their examinations. In 1958 the Danish government began awarding a financial subsidy to the school and an education in Danish was also offered. For the first time in the school’s history, boys were now admitted. In the years that followed, the demand for an education in English grew and the Sisters began teaching in English as well as French.
It was in 1965 that the British National Curriculum was adopted in the International Department and two years later, in 1967, the Sisters accepted a government subsidy and merged the Danish and International Departments to form what we now know as Rygaards Skole. The present school continues to follow the goals of those early beginnings, namely to offer an excellent quality of education in a Christian spirit.
The aim of the International Department is to provide a sound education, in English, in order to enable students to return to their own national system, or continue at another international school. For both departments particular emphasis is placed upon mutual understanding and respect among the many nationalities in the school. The education given is, above all, in the Christian spirit; great importance is placed upon the religious and moral development of the individual student. Religious Awareness programmes are offered to all students. Roman Catholics are given separate instruction
RIS has its own staff of permanently resident, fully qualified, experienced teachers who are native speakers of English. Foreign language teachers - French and German - are native speakers of the languages they teach.
The school sees its mission to work together with parents to provide a schooling which is in accordance with Danish law. This schooling aims to strengthen self-confidence in each student; it aims to develop his or her personality by providing a broad-based education using modern teaching methods and by imparting to the student a sense of ethical awareness.
In this way the school aims to help the student to develop a sense of responsibility for his or her fellow beings and a genuine respect for all people both at home and in the wider world.
The school area is in a green belt zone and permission to build was not easily obtained from the authorities. However, permission has been granted to commence a brand new building project with 10 new classrooms, two new Art rooms and a Music facility. Again, the idea behind the project is not only to provide more modern and up to date facilities but also to provide larger classrooms that will give greater scope for teaching in terms of cooperative learning, group work and individual work. Concurrent with this project will be to turn the five-classroom Senior corridor into a three classroom corridor with the specific intention of providing more spacious classrooms for the pupils.
The main building is owned by The Sisters of the Assumption. The school pays rent for the use of the major part of the building. The newer buildings in the grounds have been bought by the school but most of the ground belongs to the Sisters, some to the Catholic Church. Ground rent is paid for these buildings.
There are no games fields or athletics facilities. The lawns provide spaces for games of rounders, simple football, or baseball. Students wishing to follow any serious outdoor sporting pursuits must join local sports clubs. This is in fact the tradition in Denmark. Competitive games are not part of the school’s domain, they are part of the social services offered by local communes.
The day to day running of the school is carried out by a management team made up of a Principal and four departmental heads: The Head of the International Primary School, The Head of the International Secondary School and the two heads of the Danish Department.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
/Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
international school
International school
An International school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Founded in 1909 by the Sisters of the Assumption
Religious of the Assumption
The Religious of the Assumption were founded by Saint Marie Eugénie Milleret in Paris in 1839. Her vision was of transforming society through education...
, Rygaards is a co-educational day school amalgamated within the Danish School System. It is a private, state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
-subsidized
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
school directed by a school board. The school is made up of two schools. One is a Danish Private School serving a community permanently resident in Denmark. The other is an International School
International school
An International school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national...
, whose curriculum is based on the British system/National Curriculum
National Curriculum
The National Curriculum was introduced into England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a nationwide curriculum for primary and secondary state schools following the Education Reform Act 1988. Notwithstanding its name, it does not apply to independent schools, which may set their own curricula, but it...
adapted to international needs, and serves those who are in Denmark on a temporary basis. The school is a member of the European Council of International Schools (ECIS), the Association of Catholic Schools in Denmark (FAKS) and The Council of British International Schools(COBIS).
History
The Sisters of the Assumption started the school in 1909 and the connection with the Order is still strong. In August 2009 they celebrated their 100 year Jubilee. Many activities were organised for this special occasion. There were thousands of people present over the course of the day with so many having travelled from all over the world for the occasion.Therefore, the school started almost 100 years ago when on 13 October 1908, a group of six Sisters (four French, one German and one Belgian) were invited to Denmark by the Bishop of Copenhagen in order to open a private school for girls. The Sisters belonged to the French congregation known as 'Les Religieuses de l'Assomption' – The Assumption Sisters, an order of nuns that already were well established and were running 17 similar schools worldwide, in France, Spain, Nicaragua, The Philippines, Belgium and El Salvador. On 13 September 1909, the Sisters opened their school in Copenhagen with just eight pupils – all girls. It was called “L’Institut de L’Assomption', was entirely French speaking and welcomed girls of all religions.
Initially, eleven Sisters came to Denmark to establish and run the new school. They brought with them the mission of their Foundress Mother Marie-Eugénie Milleret: to change the world through the education of children. Mother Marie-Eugénie believed that the world could only be changed by developing the characters of children, especially girls. A good education would provide them with morality and integrity necessary to influence decisions in the wider world and create opportunities for justice in society. The prospect of such an education was not available in Denmark for girls at that time. As the number of pupils began to grow, the school needed a larger building and so moved to St Andrea’s, a Jesuit college, in Ordrup. It was still called “L’Institut de L’Assomption” but was more commonly known as The French School.
As the years passed and the school grew more it again became necessary to find new and more suitable accommodation. Therefore, in 1930, the sisters bought a farm in the rural area of Gentofte, outside Copenhagen. The farm was surrounded by stables and fields and was an ideal home for the expanding school and its pupils. The farm was called “Rygaard”. The school continued to be called “L’Institut de l’Assomption” and was now run by a group of Sisters who lived on the premises. It was still managed as a private institution and continued to offer education in French to daughters of Danish and International families. Although the teaching was clearly Christian, the school did not set out to convert or indoctrinate pupils, rather instil in them the values and characteristics found in the Gospel. The aim of the Sisters was to develop the character of each pupil to reach their own potential.
In 1935 the Sisters had a church built on the land next to the school. The Mother Superior at the time, Mere Madeleine Eugenie had a special devotion to Saint Therese, from whom the name of the church derives. During the Second World War when Denmark was occupied the Sisters with the help of some local people risked their lives hiding Jewish children from the Nazis under the church. The children were eventually smuggled down to Hellerup harbour and taken by boat across to neutral Sweden. The local Parish Church of St. Theresa is an integral part of the school buildings and is used by the school for both Catholic and Ecumenical services.
In 1949 the school was given the official right to hold examinations. Before this, the children had to go the university to take their examinations. In 1958 the Danish government began awarding a financial subsidy to the school and an education in Danish was also offered. For the first time in the school’s history, boys were now admitted. In the years that followed, the demand for an education in English grew and the Sisters began teaching in English as well as French.
It was in 1965 that the British National Curriculum was adopted in the International Department and two years later, in 1967, the Sisters accepted a government subsidy and merged the Danish and International Departments to form what we now know as Rygaards Skole. The present school continues to follow the goals of those early beginnings, namely to offer an excellent quality of education in a Christian spirit.
The aim of the International Department is to provide a sound education, in English, in order to enable students to return to their own national system, or continue at another international school. For both departments particular emphasis is placed upon mutual understanding and respect among the many nationalities in the school. The education given is, above all, in the Christian spirit; great importance is placed upon the religious and moral development of the individual student. Religious Awareness programmes are offered to all students. Roman Catholics are given separate instruction
RIS has its own staff of permanently resident, fully qualified, experienced teachers who are native speakers of English. Foreign language teachers - French and German - are native speakers of the languages they teach.
Structure
The school is actually two schools under one roof, a Danish and an International school.The Danish School
Has approx. 440 students from 6–16 years of age and serves a community that is permanently resident in Denmark. It prepares the students, in Danish, for further education in Danish institutions. At the end of the final year the students take the Danish national examinations (FSA). Most students then go on to Danish gymnasia to continue their secondary education.The International School
Has approx. 440 students from 4–16 years of age and caters - irrespective of creed and nationality - for those who are only in Denmark on a temporary basis. At the end of the final year the students take IGCSE examinations that are set at (CIE) Cambridge University in the UK. Students then go on to other schools, in Denmark and arroung the world, to continue their secondary education.Mission statement
Rygaards Skole is a Roman Catholic school working from the Christian outlook on life and man. This vision should permeate the entire daily life of the school.The school sees its mission to work together with parents to provide a schooling which is in accordance with Danish law. This schooling aims to strengthen self-confidence in each student; it aims to develop his or her personality by providing a broad-based education using modern teaching methods and by imparting to the student a sense of ethical awareness.
In this way the school aims to help the student to develop a sense of responsibility for his or her fellow beings and a genuine respect for all people both at home and in the wider world.
Location
The school is in Hellerup, a suburb about 5 km north of the centre of Copenhagen, and is easily accessible by bus and train. The main building is an old manor house situated in park-like grounds dating from the 18th century. Over the past 95 years alterations and additions have been made, however, the fact remains that the main building was not custom built as a school. Classroom sizes have traditionally been small, corridors are narrow in some parts of the building, there is a lack of cloakroom space, storage space etc. This has been relieved by the building of the purpose built Good Shepherd Building in 2007 which houses the one Reception Class, two classes each for Year 1 to Year 4. The older, smaller classrooms were converted into larger classrooms by knocking down some of the walls, thereby creating larger and better classrooms which were immediately put to use by the Danish Dept.The school area is in a green belt zone and permission to build was not easily obtained from the authorities. However, permission has been granted to commence a brand new building project with 10 new classrooms, two new Art rooms and a Music facility. Again, the idea behind the project is not only to provide more modern and up to date facilities but also to provide larger classrooms that will give greater scope for teaching in terms of cooperative learning, group work and individual work. Concurrent with this project will be to turn the five-classroom Senior corridor into a three classroom corridor with the specific intention of providing more spacious classrooms for the pupils.
The main building is owned by The Sisters of the Assumption. The school pays rent for the use of the major part of the building. The newer buildings in the grounds have been bought by the school but most of the ground belongs to the Sisters, some to the Catholic Church. Ground rent is paid for these buildings.
There are no games fields or athletics facilities. The lawns provide spaces for games of rounders, simple football, or baseball. Students wishing to follow any serious outdoor sporting pursuits must join local sports clubs. This is in fact the tradition in Denmark. Competitive games are not part of the school’s domain, they are part of the social services offered by local communes.
Management
Rygaards School is run by a Board of Governors and a management team. The Board consists of five members. Two of the members are elected by the parents of the school. One parent is elected from the Danish School and represents the Danish parents and the other is elected among the parents of the International School and represents these parents. The third member of the Board is appointed by the Sisters of the Assumption, the fourth is appointed by the local Parish church, Skt Theressa and the fifth member is appointed by the Bishop of Denmark.The day to day running of the school is carried out by a management team made up of a Principal and four departmental heads: The Head of the International Primary School, The Head of the International Secondary School and the two heads of the Danish Department.