Admission process at Rygaards International School
Download our Admission policy
Welcome to Rygaards International School Admissions
Dear Prospective Families,
Thank you for your interest in Rygaards International School. We’re proud of the warm and inclusive atmosphere that defines our community—where students from all backgrounds are made to feel at home and thrive both academically and socially.
Having worked at Rygaards for over 20 years, I would be delighted to support you in exploring whether our school is the right fit for your child. Whether you’re looking for practical information, insight into daily life at Rygaards, or would like to arrange a personal tour, I’m here to help.
As a first step, I hope this admissions page will guide you through the application process and give you a sense of what makes Rygaards so special. I also encourage you to come and experience the school in person. It’s often in these moments that families truly see why our students love coming here each day.
Warm regards,
Naia Helweg
Admissions Officer
Rygaards International School
Admission Process
In the following we will take you through our admission process step by step. We hope you find it helpful and get answers to your questions. Otherwise you are always more than welcome to contact Naia Helweg or the administration office during our opening hours.
A school tour is the best way to experience our community first-hand. During your visit, you’ll see our classrooms in action, meet the people who will support your child’s learning, and get a true feel for our culture and values.
A tour also gives you the chance to ask questions, discuss your child’s needs, and decide whether our environment is the right fit for your family.
Book a tour and discover what makes our school a place where children thrive.
If you are not able to come in person you can take the virtual tour.
Start by completing our Online Application Form. You’ll be asked to upload:
– Your child’s most recent school report (not required for Reception class or Year 1)
– Any relevant documentation
– Copies of your and your child’s passports
Once submitted, we’ll begin reviewing your application.
If a place becomes available in your child’s year group, we will invite your child to complete an Entrance Test. This helps us ensure that Rygaards is the right fit academically, socially, and developmentally.
Testing options:
– On campus at Rygaards (Mondays at 09:00)
– Remotely at your child’s current school (Year 3–10) we send the test directly to a designated staff member).
Test format by year group:
– Reception & Year 1: A play‑based visit to assess school readiness (on‑campus only)
– Year 2–10: Age‑appropriate English and Maths assessments, followed by an interview. In addition, we request a teacher reference from your child’s current school for all year groups.
Once we have received both the Entrance Test results and the teacher reference, our Senior Leadership Team will carefully evaluate whether Rygaards can meet your child’s academic, social, and wellbeing needs — and whether our school is the right fit for your family.
If the application is successful, we will offer a place and agree on an appropriate start date.
If a place is offered:
– You’ll receive a formal offer with a start date
– A deposit is required to secure the place (non-refundable if the child does not start as agreed)
– Before the start date, we’ll send you all the practical information you need
Admission Priority
At Rygaards, we aim to support families who are relocating to Denmark and seeking an international education for their children. Admission is offered based on the following priority groups:
Group 1
Families who have recently arrived (within the last 3 months) or are about to relocate to Denmark for work in international or Danish companies, organisations, or educational institutions.
Group 2
Families already living in Denmark for work in international or Danish companies, organisations, or educational institutions, whose children are now of school age and ready to begin their education.
Group 3
Families currently in Denmark who wish to transfer their children from another international school to Rygaards.
Group 4
Danish families (or families with one or both Danish parents) who have lived and worked abroad for several years and have returned to Denmark within the past year.
How Our Waiting Pool Works
Our waiting pool is not based on a “first come, first served” system. Instead, we consider each applicant within their priority group and offer places as they become available.
Sibling priority is given within the same group, but siblings cannot move up to a higher priority group.
All offers of a place are subject to an entrance test to ensure that we can meet the individual needs of each child.
FAQ
Finding the right school for your child naturally leads to a lot of questions. In this FAQ section you can explore answers to the most frequently asked questions.
We don’t have a school bus but are located close to Hellerup Station, which is a very well-connected train station.
We are a British style school and follow the Cambridge and the English national curriculum.
Is the first year of school and the students must be 4 years old before September 1st the year they start in Reception class. Reception class is not mandatory. Students can wait and start in Year 1 when they are 5 years old (before September 1st the year they start school). Read more about Reception class here.
We do not wear uniform at Rygaards School.
We do not have a canteen at Rygaards school, so children bring their own packed lunches. We do have some different catering options in place.
We start at 9:00 and finishes at 14:45.
We have 2 classes per year group and 24 students in each class.
We follow the Danish holiday schedule, and the academic year starts in August. You can see it through this link: Holiday schedule
We don’t have a deadline for applications, so you can apply all year. We have a rolling intake, meaning that students can start at Rygaards all year, given that a place is available.
We do the IGCSE exams (Cambridge IGCSE) and Yr 10 and Yr 11 is a two-year exam course. This means that we unfortunately can’t admit new students in Yr 10 after the midterm break in October and onwards. So, we do not take in new students in Yr 11 at all.
At Rygaards we offer SFO (SFO ) from Yr 1 to Yr 4 (limited places, so you need to apply for it as soon as possible). We also offer different afterschool clubs which you can read about through this link: Extracurricular
Rygaards School is a Catholic school, but all religions are welcomed, accepted and respected.
Rygaards assign classes based on the students age against the academic year of September 1st to August 31st. This means that students coming from other educational systems may find themselves placed in a year above or below what they were in their old school. We always aim to place our students according to the British system in order to keep the students with their peers.
Children must start in Reception Class when they are 4 years old or in Yr 1 when they are 5 years old. A child cannot start in Yr 2 (the class for 6-year-olds) without schooling, and a 6-year-old cannot start in Yr 1.
Children in the primary department from Yr 2 will be taught Danish 2 hours a week and in the secondary department they will have 3 hours a week.
From Yr 7 the students will choose French, German or Spanish as a foreign language.
Yes, we have a rolling intake, meaning that students can start all year round if places are available.
