In order to prepare the students of Horsens Statsskole for the challenges caused by the process of integration in Europe , globalization and international cooperation, the school organizes exchange programs with partner schools in Europe ( Spain , France , Italy , Germany , Hungary , England , Slovenia , Poland and Lithuania ). New schools, also from countries outside Europe , who wish to join the network, are always welcome to contact us. 

Whenever we work with schools from abroad, we see the exchange program as having a double purpose:

It is meant to develop the students’ knowledge of cultural differences and prepare them to handle such differences to the mutual benefit of both parts in the meeting. Hopefully it will also show them that they can benefit from studying abroad later on.

During the last couple of years, however, it has become increasingly important for us that the exchange program has also got a clear and well-defined academic/scientific purpose. Before, during and after the exchange, the students must work on projects which are parts of the curriculum, and which are common to both groups – as far as that is possible.

Therefore the projects connected with the exchange will be prepared by the specific teachers involved and developed to fit the curriculum. Communication by e-mail before and after the visits is, of course, an important aspect.

The working language of the exchange program is English, and the Danish students will be familiar with at least one other European language (German, French, Spanish or Italian).

We have usually organized the exchange in this way: Every year in March, all of our six second year classes visit one of our partner schools for about a week. A group of about 25 students from the partner school then visit our school either shortly afterwards, in April, or in September after the summer holidays. During the visits both groups are privately accommodated, and so are the teachers if it can be arranged. If the group travels by bus, the drivers are usually put up in a hostel. Included in the exchange the students have also very often had a couple of days in the capital of the respective countries alone with their teachers.

This is, of course, not the only possible way of organizing a contact between schools, and we will also be very interested in other types of contacts, for instance through the Comenius program.