There are many advantages to an IB school:

• IB World Schools (the only schools authorized to offer IB programmes) are subject to a strict accreditation process monitored by the IB, ensuring that schools provide a high-quality of education.
• IB teaching methods and curriculums are research-based and draw from the best educational practices from systems around the world.
• IB teachers are required to participate in many professional development opportunities to continually promote their awareness of current educational practices and new thinking.
• IB students develop a sense of the world around them and their responsibility to it. (See “What is an IB Education?”)
• IB programmes are recognized internationally and ease the educational transitions of mobile students so that their education is not adversely affected if their families relocate.

The IB is committed to ensuring that students in IB programmes meet and exceed local or national standards. With the implementation of any IB programme, schools are required to examine their curriculum to carefully ensure that there is alignment with local, state, or national standards.

At AIS, we follow the national curriculum in Danish A. Beyond this, we follow locally developed curricula, which aligns to the IB. AIS has a school inspector whose job it is to ensure that AIS meets all curriculum requirements as a private school in Denmark. To review reports from our school inspector, you’re welcome to check the school’s website – About AIS: Statutory Information

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an internationally-recognised curriculum framework for young learners aged 3–12 designed by the International Baccalaureate (IB). Founded on a philosophy that recognizes a child’s natural curiosity, creativity and ability to reflect, the PYP generates a stimulating, challenging learning environment to nurture those assets and foster a lifelong love of learning in every child. The PYP, like all IB programmes, is transdisciplinary, meaning students learn across subject areas while investigating big, conceptual ideas.

In the PYP, our curriculum is built on six themes of global significance, which create a transdisciplinary framework. The themes are: “Who We Are,” “Where We Are in Place and Time,” “How We Express Ourselves,” “How the World Works,” “How We Organise Ourselves,” and “Sharing the Planet. Through these themes, students gain knowledge in six principal subject areas: Language (English), Mathematics, Science and technology, Social Studies, The Arts (Visual Arts & Performing Arts), and Personal, Social, & Physical Education (PSPE). All students in the school programme also begin learning Danish from PYP4.

Visit the IB website at www.ibo.org

• Read more about the PYP at AIS here on the school’s website.

• Play an active role in your child’s learning by attending school meetings and events Speak with your school’s PYP coordinator, homeroom teacher, and subject teachers

Speak with other parents whose children attend the IB programmes

The PYP is designed for students aged 3–12 (preschool and primary grades). The MYP spans students aged 11–16, and the Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP) is for the last two years of high school, students aged 16–19.

At AIS, our PYP1, PYP2 and PYP3 students are a part of the Early Years Programme. Students transit into the school programme when they begin PYP4 in the calendar year that they turn six, in accordance with Danish law.
Students transit into the MYP at AIS when they reach the completion of the PYP and finish PYP8.

The Middle Years Programme (MYP) is a curriculum framework designed for learners aged 11–16 by the International Baccalaureate (IB). The MYP is a five-year programme, which can be implemented in a partnership between schools or in abbreviated two-, three- or four-year formats.

In an MYP classroom, you’ll notice that the students are at the centre of learning. They are drawing connections between all subject areas, learning is explicitly linked to the world around them, participation in a foreign language is required, and a variety of formal and informal assessments are used to inform teaching and learning.

MYP learning experiences infuse global points of view wherever possible in order to promote understanding of other cultures, an awareness of the human condition and an understanding that there is a commonality of human experience.

The MYP curriculum framework comprises eight subject groups, providing a broad and balanced education for early adolescents. Students take the core courses of language and literature, individuals and societies, mathematics, sciences, physical and health education, language acquisition, arts, and design. A unique feature of the programme is that it extends the traditional curriculum to include immersion in four themes— approaches to teaching and approaches to learning, global contexts and concepts. Students also complete a personal project, which is an independent piece of work that may be an essay, an artistic production or another form of expression.

In the final year of the programme, the optional MYP eAssessment provides a balanced and age-appropriate strategy that schools can use to validate student achievement: Students demonstrate their understanding and skills through classroom performance, onscreen final examinations and a personal project conducted over an extended period of time. AIS students take the full suite of eAssessments in the final year of the school – MYP5. Students who undertake external assessment are eligible for the IB MYP Certificate. Find out more about MYP assessment here.

Most students at AIS are interested in continuing along the IB Pathway, and progress into the pre-IB or IB Diploma Programme, either in Denmark or abroad. There are 17 IB High Schools/Gymnasiums located across Denmark – the closest being Aarhus Gymnasium and Grena Gymnasium.

AIS students, however, have a broad range of choices in front of them, including upper secondary programmes in Danish (STX, HTX, HHX, HF, EUD, EUX). Students interested in progressing into a Danish upper secondary education programme must complete the Danish afgangsprøve. AIS works closely with Aarhus Kommune Ungdommens Uddannelsvejledning (UU) to ensure that all students are prepared for their next steps after they graduate from MYP5.

You can read more about where our previous graduates went here

In our Early Years Programme, care is offered from 7:30-17:00 each day. Lessons and the IB schedule at Early Years runs from 8:30-14:30, where our Early Years students have a broad schedule including indoor and outdoor play, Unit of Inquiry, Arts, PSPE, and many other fun learning activities.

In the school programmes at AIS, the school day begins at 8:00 and lessons end at 14:15 for PYP4 and PYP5 students, and 15:00 for the rest of the school.
There is a morning break from 9:45-10:15, and lunch break/playtime from 11:45-12:45. We go outside to play every day – no matter the weather!

Any PYP4-8 students who need morning or afternoon care can sign up for After School Activities (ASA) or Morning & Afternoon Care (MAC), based on their needs. More information on ASA & MAC is included in the next question.

All students at AIS have a schedule and timetable, which details their lessons for the day. Beyond this, we have many school-wide and programme-wide events such as assemblies, presentations, Mother tongue language clubs, field trips, and much more. Our location in the heart of Aarhus means that we are close to the forest, the sea, and many attractions in the city centre; it is important to use to utilise the opportunities around us and we explore the chance to connect with our local community in Aarhus.

ASA (After School Activities) & MAC (Morning and Afternoon Care) are programmes we offer to all PYP4-8 students. Students enrolled in MAC may join form 7.00-8.00 and from 14.15-15.00 while students enrolled in ASA may join form 7.00-8.00 and from 14.15-17.00 each day. We provide opportunities for our PYP students to engage in active and creative activities with other students across our Primary Years Programme. Each day we offer a wide selection of creative activities, sports and clubs under the guidance and support of our highly trained staff. We welcome our students’ input and help when creating these clubs and activities as they help to complement their full and balanced school schedules.

Please follow the link for further information about our out of hours activities and childcare

In Denmark, sports and club activities usually take place outside of school campuses in associations and sporting unions. At AIS, we aim to bring a selection of these activities to the Dalgas campus to give a glimpse of the possibilities in Aarhus.

In addition to the daily ASA & MAC activities, school clubs are run by professionals in their fields are offered at AIS for both PYP and MYP students. The list of available clubs on campus is sent out at the beginning of each term together with the AIS School Newsletter.

Please note that the enrolment for these paid clubs is separate to ASA & MAC enrolment. Providing there is space in the club in question, and that the club is open to your child’s age group, your child may join at any time. In the past, we had the pleasure to host chess, badminton, hockey carrom, robotics, dance, basketball, football, drama & art clubs on campus.

This page will be updated with the current clubs on campus in August and January. If you are interested in a club that is not listed in the clubs on our campus list, please get in touch with us and we would be happy to guide towards the right organisation.

Our ASA coordinator can also guide you or put you in contact with people or organisations who can assist you in finding relevant clubs that your child may be interested in within your local area.

Being part of an international community with students from all around the world is a hallmark of an international school. At AIS, we have students from a broad range of nationalities and with extremely diverse backgrounds and educational histories. As such, we focus heavily on student wellbeing and helping students find a place and feel at home during their time at AIS, no matter how long they are with us.

Students are placed in the appropriate grade-level based on a thorough review of their previous educational history while taking into consideration their unique, individual profile and needs. We work hard to help find the best placement for each individual child who joins us.

Some students enter the school with little or no English – we have English as an Additional Language (EAL) programme in place to help support the language acquisition process.

Ja! Yes!

Danish is a mandatory subject for all students in the school-programmes, from PYP4 and upward. AIS currently has three-levels of Danish – Danish A (Mothertongue/Language & Literature), Danish B (Language Acquisition/Intermediate) & Danish C (Language acquisition/New to Danish).

Students in MYP5 Danish A take the Danish afgangsprøve in Danish Language and Literature at the end of their course.

If you check the “How We Learn” tab, you’ll find information about Danish in the PYP and MYP.