| Herlufsholm School and Estate | |
|---|---|
| Herlufsholm Skole og Gods | |
| Established | 1565 |
| Type | Private School |
| Chairman | Jens Moberg |
| Headmaster | Klaus E. Jakobsen |
| Founder | Herluf Trolle & Birgitte Gøye |
| Students | 600 (approx.) |
| Grades | 6th to 12th |
| Location | Herlufsholm Kostskole, Næstved, Denmark |
| Colors | Blue and white (Gøye family) Yellow and red (Trolle family) |
| Yearbook | Diple og Hørere |
| Newspaper | Diplen |
| Website | www.herlufsholm.dk |
Herlufsholm School and Estate (Danish: Herlufsholm Skole og Gods) is a private day and boarding school for boys and girls (co-educational since the 1950s), founded in 1565 by Admiral Herluf Trolle and his wife Birgitte Gøye.
The school is located by the Suså river in Næstved, about 80 kilometers south of Copenhagen, capital of Denmark. As the oldest boarding school in Denmark, the school hosts a number of unique traditions. Trolle-morgen (at which Herlovians commemorate the birthday of the founder Herluf Trolle) and Fugleskydning ("bird-shooting"), when old and new students visit the school with their families, are the two biggest events of the year.
Today it is the only school in Denmark with a compulsory school uniform, and has approximately 600 students. The number of boarding students is roughly equal to day students. Although the majority of boarders come from Denmark, a fair share come from abroad, particularly those studying for the IB diploma.
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Peder Bodilsen founded the Benedictine monastery Skovkloster ("forest monastery") on the River Suså in 1135. The monastery was dissolved in the Reformation and taken over by the Danish Crown estate. The Danish naval hero and admiral Herluf Trolle traded his estate at Hillerødsholm (now Frederiksborg Palace) for this estate, the name of which he changed from Skovkloster to Herlufsholm in 1560. Trolle died in 1565 and his wife, Birgitte Gøye, founded the school here according to their mutual wish for the Danish youth "of noble and honest heritage".
The school has been co-educational since 1985 - not since the fifties.
The modern campus campus retains a general Gothic appearance thanks to the former abbey church which dates from the early Middle Ages. Adjoining the church is what was the old monastery building, of which the only original part remaining is the cellars; the present Klosterbygningen ("The Monastery Building") stands on the site. Klosterbygningen consists of the church (in which the students gather in the morning), the two dining halls, the festsal (ballroom) and other amenities. In the mid 19th century there was also a dormitory for the youngest students.[1]
The second largest building is Skolebygningen ("The School Building") which contains two dormitories and some classrooms. Up until the middle of the 20th century most of the teaching took place here, but now less than half the school's classrooms are located here.
The third most important building is Museumsbygningen ("The Museum Building"), which contains another two dormitories, the science department, the biology department and the school's collection of historical scientific apparatus and specimens of animal species, many now endangered; the collection dates from the 1870s.
Herlufsholm also has a separate library (one of the oldest in Denmark), a small hospital, the principal's house, a few house for teachers and various other service and administrative buildings.
The rest of the classrooms are located in Nye Skolefløj ("New School Building"), connected to the principal's office, the staffroom and Helenhallen, which is the second largest gymnasium, also containing a stage.
Recently the school erected a new modern gym in order to accommodate the growing number of students, named Trollehallen after the founder.
The school's other dormitories are: Skolebygningen (Skygningen); Museumsbygningen (Mygningen); Vuggestuen (Vuen); Egmontgården; Lassengården; Birgitte Gøye-gården; and Pernille Gøye-gården. The newest dormitory Bodil-gården finished construction in 2010, and is thereby the second mixed-gender dormitory along with Lassengården
The school has continually been home to students since its foundation. Possibly because of its origin as a monastery the pupils are called disciples. Students are also called Herlovianere (Herlovians) and former students are Gammelherlovianere (Old Herlovians). Until recently the school was an all boys boarding school but to meet the standards of the new century the school gradually opened for day students and girls. In the 90's the board implemented the International Baccalaureate. Herlufsholm is the only school in Denmark with a compulsory uniform.
The uniform is centered on the blue shirt with Birgitte Gøyes crest on the chest which every student 6th-12th grade, boarding as daystudent must wear at school - except at gym class of course. Generally students wear charcoalgrey or blue pants - light color variations are banned and so is black. Students in 12th may wear white pants - supposedly a reference to the navy. Over the shirt students often wear a pullover in either grey or blue. All students are opt to buy the two school ties - which they are only obliged to wear when wearing their blazer. Students in middleschool, 6th-9th, may wear a double buttoned blazer, students in the preparatory class (between 9th and 10th grade) as well as the students in 10th-12th grade may wear the school blazer with the Gøye arms on the chest. Prefects wear the Trolle arms instead.
A unique thing about the school is that the students have their own mini-language called the herlovianersprog. Words are obtained by simply taking the first and last syllables of a word and making a portmanteau of the two. So for instance, skolebygning ("school building") becomes skygning. Only imagination limits the possible words. Even though the language is exclusively utilized by the students some words have been adapted into Danish, for instance "svælling" (cygnet), which there was not previously a specific word for in Danish, is herlovian for Svane + Ælling (Swan + duckling). So far two dictionaries have been published.
Herlufsholm has a long list of traditions. The two biggest events of the year are:
Trolle-morgen January 14, the founder's birthday, is a major event, as many old students return to the school on that day to commemorate their founding father in the dark hour of early morning.
Fugleskydning ("bird-shooting") in mid-August starts the new school year. It is a tradition dating back to the latter part of the 19th century. Old and new students meet at the school to shoot down a wooden bird on a pole with bows and arrows.
Students march out of the old school building, Skygningen, to the front of the principal's house where he gives the big wooden bird to 3G, and the little wooden bird to the 9th graders. The procession then continues around the Klosterbygning where the Forstander (provost) cries out a hurray for the "fugleskydning". The procession then continues into Nyhave ("New Garden") where a square is formed and the Fugleskydning song is sung, accentuated by firecrackers simulating cannonfire.