IB admissions in record numbers

Many new faces at Grenaa Gymnasium, and not only among the students

During a time when some schools in Denmark have to let staff members go due to demopgraphic developments causing lesser student cohorts, Grenaa Gymnasium is experiencing an extra-ordinary increase in international applicants for Pre-IB and the IB Diploma programme, and more staff has been employed.
– It is worth noting that we have en had to decline admission to many qualified applicants, IB Coordinator Eike Strandsby explains and adds that the increase comes from European countries.

No less than eight new teachers have been employed, two of them permanently, in order to meet the demand of teaching the 202 international students. Almost all of these students are also boarding students. Last year in August there were 141 boarding students, so this is quite a significant increase.

All students of course need a room and a bed and the boarding school has capacity for 123 students.

– We have converted the former headmaster’s house to 10 new student rooms, Head of School Helene Bendorff Kristensen explains. – Additionally we have again this year been able to rent rooms at the neighbouring Campus Djursland.

Meals at least three times a day is no less essential, so right now there is an ongoing process of hiring for the kitchen. The aim is three cooks besides the chef and the kitchen assistants.

Apart from this also an extra secretary has been employed, and two social workers who will be part of the boarding teacher team lead by Head of Boarding School Helle Høgh. They focus on the general well-being and study habits of the students.

Covid 19 and awareness

– We believe that several factors lie behind the increased number of applicants, says Eike Strandsby. – The most important one is probably that more Danish expats prefer an IB school in Denmark for their teenagers due to the uncertainties caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. Additionally there is also an increased awareness of the IB Diploma programme among young people in Europe.

The big question is of course if the increase will continue in the coming years.

– Well, time will show, says Helene Bendorff Kristensen. – Right now we are extremely happy that so many new students have chosen Grenaa Gymnasium, and we will do our best to ensure their time here enriches them in many ways, and that they leave us with a diploma.