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About

Tradition and History at Rødkilde Gymnasium

Rødkilde Gymnasium is Vejle's oldest upper secondary school. Our history begins in 1865 as Vejle Højere Almenskole. Later we became Vejle Gymnasium, and in 1973 we changed our name to Rødkilde Gymnasium. With nearly 160 years behind us, Rødkilde has a rich array of traditions that are uniquely our own. The school year is festively set in motion on the school's birthday, with costumes and friendly outdoor competitions. Our winter ball brings light to the dark season with the traditional les lanciers dance. The year's first starling earns everyone a half day off, and on the final evening with that year's graduates, we fire the cannon into the summer night at Skyttehuset.

We Have Roots
at Rødkilde

At Rødkilde Gymnasium, we take immense pride in being Vejle's oldest upper secondary school. We have grown alongside the town and have sent off countless students across many generations with their traditional Danish graduation caps.

From Fuel to Wi-Fi
In August 1865, the first 23 boys began at “Privatskolen i Vejle,” as Rødkilde Gymnasium was called then. At the time, it was Vejle's only so-called learned school, one that prepared students for university. It was considered a great advantage that, with such a school in Vejle, parents could “keep their sons under the beneficial influence of the home” rather than sending them to Horsens or Ribe to study. Parents undertook to provide fuel and lighting for the school. In 1893, the first four girls enrolled. Today, Rødkilde educates just under 800 students each year, slightly more than half of whom are female. Classrooms now have heating, lighting, and Wi-Fi, without parents having to give it much thought.

“Stærefri” for More Than a Century

Rødkilde Gymnasium has several traditions with deep roots. It was Headmaster Alsted who, in the 1920s, introduced “stærefri”, whereby the sighting of the year's first starling grants a half day off. A tradition that is still upheld today, with singing and longing glances toward the spring sky.

Mimer

MIMER began in 1934 as “an upper secondary school society where students could gather for informal socialising.” That spirit of open, free association lives on in today's MIMER, which serves as the school's social events committee.

Rødkilde
Then and Now

Sport has always held a special place at Rødkilde Gymnasium—just take a look at the fine young men from the 1890s. Today, the school is a certified Team Danmark partner institution and an elite sports upper secondary school, drawing on many years of experience in balancing elite sport with academic life. Among other initiatives, the school offers mentoring, a meal programme, study buddies, and morning training sessions with an affiliated physical trainer.

The First
Teacher

Sport has always held a special place at Rødkilde Gymnasium—just look at the fine young men from the 1890s.

👋 Meet Rødkilde's first teacher, Cand.theol. Rømer. We have brought him to life using AI, and we are certain he would have loved to see and greet Rødkilde as it stands in 2025.

The First
Headmaster

Meet Rødkilde's first headmaster, Hans Achton Krarup, whom we have brought back to life using AI. His favourite pastimes were reading and smoking a long pipe. Reading remains a central part of life at Rødkilde, but smoking—including long pipes—has been left behind.

Winter
Ball

With 160 years behind it, Rødkilde has a rich array of traditions that are uniquely its own. Among these is the winter ball, which lights up the dark season with the Les Lanciers dance. With the help of AI, the school has brought past and present together. The sighting of the year's first starling grants a half-day off. The school year begins festively on the school's birthday, with costumes and friendly outdoor competitions. On the final evening with that year's graduates, the cannon is fired into the summer night at Skyttehuset.

Rødkilde Gymnasium is a candidate school* for the Diploma Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. IB World Schools share a common philosophy- a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education- that we believe is important for our students.

Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.

For further information about the IB and its programmes visit http://www.ibo.org