Rygaards International School — English-medium education to IGCSE in Hellerup

Rygaards International School is a co-educational day school at Bernstorffsvej 54 in Hellerup. It teaches in English from Reception through Year 11. There is no boarding and no upper-secondary programme after age 16.

The campus contains two distinct schools. The international section follows an English curriculum and serves families whose stay in Denmark is expected to be temporary. The Danish section is for children living more permanently in Denmark and follows Danish requirements. They share the site and the school’s Christian foundation, but they are not interchangeable admissions routes.

The international section is a practical choice for a child who needs continuity with British-style schooling and expects to take Cambridge or Pearson Edexcel IGCSEs at the end of Year 11. It is not an IB school. An IGCSE is a qualification normally taken around age 16, not a complete university-entrance diploma. Before accepting a place for an older child, decide where A levels, the IB Diploma or another upper-secondary qualification will be taken next.

Age, curriculum and daily life

Reception is available to children who turn four by 1 September. It is optional. Year 1 begins at five by 1 September, and pupils entering Year 2 are expected to have previous formal schooling. Placement uses a September-to-August birth-year pattern rather than simply matching a child’s current grade label from another country.

Primary teaching draws on the English National Curriculum and international material. Secondary runs through Year 11, with IGCSE courses in Years 10 and 11. The school does not admit new pupils to Year 11. It also says that Year 10 entry is not available after the October half-term, because too much of the two-year IGCSE course would have been missed.

English is the main teaching language. Danish begins in primary, normally with two weekly lessons from Year 2 and three in secondary. French, German or Spanish is introduced from Year 7, subject to the school’s grouping and course arrangements. These language lessons are useful, but this remains an English-medium school; families planning a permanent Danish future should compare the depth of Danish with a Danish school.

The ordinary school day is approximately 09:00–14:45. The school publishes no bus or canteen service and has no uniform. Reception has optional care to 17:00. Years 1–4 can use SFO (skolefritidsordning, school-age childcare) after lessons, generally to 17:30 and to 17:00 on Fridays.

The morning-care times need confirmation. The current 2026/27 fee PDF says 06:30–08:55, while a school webpage gives a later start. Ask the office which hours are actually staffed before relying on morning care for a commute.

Who receives priority

Rygaards does not treat its international waiting list as a simple first-come queue. The published groups prioritise children of internationally mobile workers. Broadly, the order is:

1. Children of international workers who have recently arrived or will soon arrive in Denmark.
2. Children of international workers who have reached school age while the family is in Denmark.
3. Children of international workers moving from another international school in Denmark.
4. Certain Danish or partly Danish families returning after several years of work abroad.

Within a priority group, siblings receive preference. The policy defines “recently arrived” narrowly, so a family that has already lived in Denmark for some time should ask how it will be classified. A place is still conditional on the child passing the school’s assessment and on the school being able to meet the child’s needs.

Application and assessment

Families first submit a registration of interest. If the school invites a formal application, it asks for the latest school report and charges the 2,000 DKK non-refundable application fee. Reception and Year 1 applicants attend an age-appropriate play session. Older pupils may be tested in English, mathematics and non-verbal reasoning and interviewed.

For Years 3 and above, a child applying from abroad may first complete supervised preliminary tests at the current school. Years 9 and 10 require fluent English and normally involve preliminary online assessment followed by testing on campus. Passing a test does not override the priority groups or create a place where the year is full.

Disclose learning, language, behavioural and social-emotional needs before assessment. The published policy allows the school to request additional EAL, mathematics or special-needs testing. It can decline or later end enrolment if it cannot meet a need, if material information was withheld, or if behaviour or non-payment breaches the agreement.

Rygaards describes a specialist support service, but its public pages do not give a complete entitlement, capacity limit or fee schedule. Ask admissions to assess the child against current reports and state in writing what can be delivered, by whom, at what frequency and at what cost. A named service is not evidence that every level of need can be accommodated.

Verified 2026/27 fees

School fees are charged in 11 monthly instalments from August through June, with no July payment.

Category	Annual fee with CPR/diplomatic status	Monthly fee	Monthly fee without CPR/diplomatic status at 5 September 2026
Reception	100,375 DKK	9,125 DKK	Not published
First child at Rygaards	44,550 DKK	4,050 DKK	8,350 DKK
Second child	42,350 DKK	3,850 DKK	8,150 DKK
Third child	31,900 DKK	2,900 DKK	7,200 DKK
Fourth child	27,225 DKK	2,475 DKK	6,775 DKK

Reception does not receive a sibling reduction. The lower main-school fee depends on the child having a valid Danish CPR number or diplomatic status and being enrolled by 5 September 2026. Without that status, or with later enrolment, the school charges the higher column because it loses the expected state subsidy. The payment terms say the higher rate then applies for the whole school year, even if the subsidy position later changes. Reception is governed by a different childcare arrangement, and the fee table leaves its non-CPR column blank; obtain that price directly.

Other published charges include:

• application fee 2,000 DKK, enrolment fee 2,000 DKK and deposit 15,000 DKK;
• Years 7–11 supplement 4,675 DKK a year;
• compulsory Years 7–10 travel supplement 6,050 DKK a year;
• Reception after-care or SFO 24,200 DKK a year;
• Years 1–4 morning care 4,400 DKK a year;
• International Parents’ Committee fee 400 DKK per family and class money 400 DKK per pupil;
• holiday SFO in the listed autumn, winter and first summer week 400 DKK per week.

The travel supplement is non-refundable even if the pupil does not join the trip or leaves before it. Late collection from SFO costs 300 DKK per 15 minutes. Examination remarks and extra examination subjects also carry published charges.

Families may pay monthly, half-yearly or annually in advance; changing payment frequency costs 100 DKK. A child who starts between the first and twentieth day of a month is charged for that whole month. A start after the twentieth is charged from the first of the following month. The school can issue up to three overdue reminders at 100 DKK each. Its terms make spouses, registered partners or cohabiting partners in the pupil’s household jointly liable, even when a company is named as payer.

For Reception, some municipalities may offer a subsidy under the Danish Day Care Act. This is a direct arrangement between the parents and the municipality. Parents must pay Rygaards in full, obtain the required signed receipt and claim under the municipality’s rules. It is not an automatic school discount.

Rygaards also participates in the Danish fee-reduction scheme based on household income and the number of children. Applications are normally collected by the school by 31 August, with any reduction applied from February through June. The 2026/27 application date has passed; ask about the next round rather than assuming a rebate.

Leaving and deposit terms

Withdrawal from school or Reception requires three full calendar months’ notice, and July does not count. Fees continue through the notice period even if the child stops attending. SFO and Reception after-care require one month’s notice to the end of a month.

The deposit is returned only when books are returned, all balances are paid and the school has bank details. An unclaimed deposit becomes the school’s after six months. For Year 11, return may wait until after 1 September so examination remarks and administrative charges can be settled. A new pupil who does not take up the agreed place loses the deposit.

Our view

Rygaards is a convincing Hellerup option for an internationally mobile family that wants English-medium schooling through IGCSE in a smaller, established setting. The relatively low subsidised tuition can be attractive, but only when the CPR or diplomatic condition is met by the stated date. The fee almost doubles for a first child without that status.

Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.