Frequently asked questions
How... When... Why... What about... May you...
We love difficult questions, and understand well if you have a million of them. Below you will find answers to some of the easy questions that fit in text boxes.
1. Semester starts
Welcome to E24! Your high school stay begins on Sunday 11 August 2024.
There will be more information about arrival time etc.
We call the first week of your folk high school stay “intro week”, because it is important to us that you get a good introduction to how to go to Ollerup. This week you will get to know the others, you will get to know the school, you will get a sense of the folk high school’s everyday life, and then you will get more detailed information about the individual subjects.
SCHEDULE AND HOLIDAY CALENDAR
Schedule, lines and subjects
We have two different types of weeks at Gymnastikhøjskolen:
- Normal weeks with fixed daily schedule.
- Special weeks where the daily rhythm is broken and the focus is on specific topics.
We have two different types of weekends:
- Student Weekends (EW)
Compulsory weekends, where all students are present and where there are typically events arranged by a group of students and / or by the school. - Friweekender (FW)
Tuition-free weekends starting after graduation on Friday at 15.15. You are VERY welcome to stay at the school during these weekends, where you, together with the other students and / or the host teacher, can arrange the weekend’s activities.
During your high school stay, you will be associated with a line that has your special interest.
On all lines except the Police there will be international students. Part of the teaching will therefore be predominantly in English.
In addition, you must choose your “elective subjects” from general, creative or creative subjects. You will be presented with your choices at school. In addition, you must choose sports electives. Here we work with both technical, physical and tactical understanding. The range of subjects can vary from semester to semester and is also chosen only when you are at school and have been presented with the subjects.
Verden & Mig (three lessons a week) is a subject based on the folk high school’s basic values: life enlightenment, popular enlightenment and democratic education. The topics range widely, and you will, among other things, dive into topics around body culture, ethics, philosophy, history and politics, and will also have the opportunity to contribute to topics yourself.
Lectures (one lesson per week): Internal and external speakers addressing topics that affect and enlighten us all.
Song and storytelling (one lesson a week): You must sing songs where you learn melody, lyrics and the story of the different songs. You will learn songs both from the high school songbook and elsewhere.
We have also introduced some common subjects that, regardless of line choice, create a common starting point for body and spirit. Our three common subjects are called:
- Movement basis
- Common Friday
- The art of sharing
These are subjects where we physically and mentally learn the basis that is important for “the whole person”, regardless of whether you e.g. is a parkour practitioner or dancer, and where you also get the opportunity to share your own learning and interests.
3. Everyday life at Gymnastikhøjskolen
Everyday life will to a large extent be characterized by teaching, togetherness and leisure. You will experience a daily rhythm with teaching modules that vary in module length. You can see an example of the form here .
In the evening, there will be various voluntary activity offers, which are typically arranged by students or in collaboration between teachers and students. For example. high school evenings with refreshments and singing or sports activities. In addition, many of the school’s many facilities are at your disposal, and you as a student can arrange and initiate spontaneous activities. The school’s facilities are at some times rented out to local associations.
In addition, the folk high school has a close collaboration with the local gymnastics association, Ollerup Gymnastikforening, which trains a lot of children and adult teams in the folk high school’s premises from 17: 30-20: 00. Here, as a high school student, you will have the opportunity to become a coach or co-coach and practice your theory in practice!
3.1 Ollerup’s homeliness (rules and values)
Ollerup’s homeliness consists of a number of rules and living values.
The rules are set by the school in advance, while the values of life are open to reflection and dialogue in the school community.
The rules
- You are required to attend all hours and scheduled activities except the evening meal, unless:
- a) You have been granted an exemption
- b) You are ill and have been written on the sick list
- You must comply with the school’s health policy (Alcohol, tobacco / snus, drugs)
- a) On a daily basis, the school is a non-alcoholic area, but in connection with an event or a party, beer or wine may be served by the school
- b) Beer, wine and alcoholic beverages must not be stored on the school premises or in the immediate vicinity of the school premises
- c) The school determines whether you have been under the influence of alcohol to a degree that justifies a reprimand or a consequence
- d) Hash, marijuana and similar drugs with narcotic effect are not allowed while you are a student at the school, and this also applies outside the school area
- e) The school is smoke free. Smoking is allowed outdoors
As with alcohol, we want to limit the use of smoking, chewing tobacco, snuff, snuff and other forms of general tobacco, as we consider the consumption of tobacco – regardless of form – to be harmful to health. Therefore, the use of tobacco products is only allowed outside the classroom and with consideration for others.
The values of life
The values of life are created on the basis of the family community where compromise, acceptance and consideration are basic premises. The goal is not to reach consensus, but to create some common life values that are jointly accepted through a community contract.
Possible topics: Common sense, eating culture, cleaning, committed community, responsibility for each other
3.2 Practical work
The Gymnastics College will be your home in the coming months. We therefore want you to feel at home and that you as a student take co-responsibility for the school’s everyday life to work. Therefore, you will be responsible for some of the school’s practical tasks. This applies to cleaning as well as cleaning and help in the dining room and kitchen. We expect that you are willing to solve these tasks in collaboration with the college’s staff.
3.3 Clothes and other things you must remember to bring:
- If you live in Denmark, you must bring your bicycle
- It fits
- EU Health Insurance Card (Blue Health Insurance Card)
- Clothes for movement, both for outdoor and indoor activities
- Swimwear for use in the swimming pool
- Indoor shoes and outdoor running shoes, possibly football boots
- Outerwear
- Hangers for wardrobe
- Mugs for use in the living room and kitchenettes
- Possibly. laptop for personal use in teaching assignments
- Stationery, scissors, ruler, glue, folder, writing pad, etc.
- Backpack (for day trips and longer stays outside school), sleeping bag and sleeping pad
- Towels, duvet, pillow and bed linen
You should label clothes and other things by name, as problems with confusion easily arise in drying rooms.
3.4 International students
For the past 15 years, the Gymnastikhøjskolen has had an international line where the language of instruction is English. You will typically meet international students who come from Brazil, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Uruguay, Estonia, Mexico, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Argentina, Finland, Afghanistan, Russia, Japan, Scotland and Poland and more. In both spring and autumn semesters, there will typically be 40 international students.
You thus have a unique opportunity to make friendships across multiple borders.
4. Economy
Tuition fees
We are currently updating this information.
Students who are not 17 years of age at the start of the course must pay DKK 1,400.00 extra per. week.
Keys
On arrival you will be given a key, which you must hand in on departure. If you lose the key, you must pay DKK 1,000.00 as compensation.
4.1 Interruption of school stay
Interruption of the school stay will result in the following settlement of school fees:
- Full school payment is paid from the beginning of the school stay for all full weeks until the day of departure as well as 75% of the school payment for the following 6 full weeks.
- In the event of interruption of school stays for any reason after the school has purchased tickets for a study trip or convention, the costs will not be reimbursed.
4.2 Education allowance, development assistance, etc.
Pupils who get their schooling paid for by support or. e.g., must bring a copy of the written grant or cause it to be sent to the school. It is possible to apply for support if you do not have a qualifying education or need special education.
4.3 Support
Some municipalities provide municipal support for folk high school stays. You can check this at your local municipal office.
Pupils who get their schooling paid for by e.g. The Armed Forces’ Civil Education or the Social and Health Administration, and where the school submits an invoice, shall not pay school fees, but only student account, study trip and key deposit, if these amounts are not paid by the relevant authorities.
Pupils who receive unemployment benefits, education allowance, cash benefits or municipal support will have the support recognized in the last installment of the school fees.
4.4 Insurance
We recommend that the student is insured through parental or own insurance. Remember that the study trip is considered an active holiday that requires you to have taken out extra travel insurance.
Note that it is the student’s own responsibility to keep track of the above insurances.
4.5 Illness
Remember to bring a health card (previous health insurance certificate). Foreign students will automatically be enrolled in the Danish health insurance scheme. In everyday life, you must inform the school if you are ill.
You must be 17.5 years old before the start of the semester.
This is a requirement on the part of the ministry for us as a folk high school to receive a grant. If you want to become a student, even if you have not yet reached the age of 17.5 at start-up, you must therefore pay an additional DKK 1,400 per month.
It depends on which semester you choose – if you do not choose both.
The fall semester lasts about 4 months, and the spring semester lasts almost 6 months.
No! Ollerup is for everyone. There are no requirements for your gymnastics skills other than a curiosity to learn, just as we don’t expect you to have any other talents than curiosity.
In addition, Gymnastikhøjskolen in Ollerup offers the line Fitness and Health, which does not focus on gymnastics at all. That being said, there will be a few joint lessons with all the school’s students, where everyone does gymnastics – even Fitness and Health.
It depends on which line you choose.
You can see an indicative price list here .
It is not possible to select more than one line within the same semester. A new line can be selected for the next semester if you are registered for 2 semesters. This is agreed upon in the office during your 1st semester.
In most cases, as a new student, you can change lines in the first week of the semester.
After this it is not possible to change line.
There is a bus stop right in front of the school, and there are buses between Svendborg and Ollerup 1-2 times an hour depending on the day and time.
The bus from Gymnastikhøjskolen in Ollerup to Svendborg stops at Svendborg Vest St. and from here it is possible to take the train to Odense and – of course – further on from there.
Copenhagen Central Train Station is around 2,5 hours away by public transport.
You can wash clothes for free in the school washing machines. We have two laundry rooms where it is possible to wash your clothes. You must bring your own detergent.
In addition, we have two drying rooms and options for ironing clothes.
Of course, we have several rules, as you can see in the top question, but the two most important are:
1: Alcohol and drugs are not allowed on school grounds. Alcohol will be served at the school at café evenings and parties.
2: You must be present at all school hours unless you are ill, injured or the like.
Yes, you should in principle spend the night at the folk high school. In special cases and on weekends, it is allowed to stay overnight elsewhere.
Yes. In the autumn semester, it is possible to choose between a study trip to Iceland, Germany or Austria. In the spring semester, it is possible to come to Norway to ski or snowboard.
No – You also have other subjects. The folk high school offers many subjects that mix the students across the board.
The folk high school subjects such as Verden og Mig (The World and Me), lectures and song, as well as Storytelling each encapsulate the folk high school spirit in their own way.
The common subjects Movement and body basis, Woman / Man communities, The Art of Sharing and Family groups are based on the community at the folk high school.
The sports subjects are only offered in the spring and consist of various forms of ball games, swimming and nature and outdoor life.
The electives can vary between music, knitting / crochet, photography / communication, knife workshop, manual treatment, e-sports and practical subjects.
The focus subjects offered only in the autumn can vary between indoor bike, tumbling A, tumbling B, Power Rhythmical Gymnastics, ballet, strength & mobility, outdoor life, swimming, the anatomy of the game, partnering and football.
The majority of the students live in pairs. However, there will be few rooms where several people live together.
From the room there will be access to bathrooms down the hallway.
In one of the first days of the semester, the kitchen inquires among all students who have allergies to certain types of food or are vegetarian.
Interruption of the school stay will result in the following settlement of school fees:
- Full school payment is paid from the beginning of the school stay for all full weeks until the day of departure as well as 75% of the school payment for the following 6 full weeks.
- In the event of interruption of school stays for any reason after the school has purchased tickets for a study trip or convention, the costs will not be reimbursed.
It is recommended that all students take out cancellation insurance.
Gymnastikhøjskolen reserves the right to make changes to the terms for interrupting student stays, and the applicable terms for the individual student will be to calculate the time for due date of the 1st school term.
Yes, there are different options for applying for financial support for a college stay. You can read more about the possibilities under Finance
Yes – Ollerup offers a mentoring scheme for young people who have not yet completed a qualifying youth education.
The rules for becoming part of such a course can be found under “Mentoring scheme” via this link. (In Danish)
There are lots of opportunities at Ollerup.
See what you can use our courses for!
Did not find your answer?
If you still have questions that you would like answered, you are of course always welcome to call or write to us . If these are some major questions, some of which require good time and consideration to answer, we would in turn recommend that you follow the instructions at this link .
We may not find an easy and detailed answer for you – but we can definitely help you ask other, important questions.
Then the answers come all by themselves at some point.