Ryslinge Højskole

Ryslinge Højskole – immersion and community

For more than 150 years Ryslinge Højskole (folk high school) has been opening its doors to students from Denmark and abroad.

As a student here, the school becomes your home and you will live here with about 40 fellow students. Living in close proximity is rewarding because you get to know each other exceptionally well. However, it can also be demanding at times to constantly be around other people.

Nonetheless, studies show that more than 95% of former folk high school students consider their stay there as one of the most important events of their lives.

The purpose of the school:

Originally, the Danish folk high schools were established with the aim to provide knowledge and culture to Danish youth, thereby enabling them to become active participants in a democratic society. The goal was to educate a number of ambassadors, who could return to their part of the country and create change.

These are Ryslinge Højskole’s core values:

Human first, because we believe that regardless of whether we see ourselves as citizens or individuals, being human is the most important thing.

Take responsibility, because we – as citizens as well as individuals – have to be daring if we are to create a better life or a better society.

Use tradition, because we are not the first people on the planet, and our decisions about where to go from here will be wiser if based upon knowledge of where we have been before.

The school offers a number of elective classes, in which you will receive tuition in a given subject. But the primary purpose of these classes, as well as the rest of the classes and your stay here in general, is to create engaging, responsible and competent citizens and individuals.

There are no exams or tests at the school. There is no curriculum. We are not bound by a certain way of teaching or learning. This is a free learning environment, limited only by the school and the students.

Everyday life

You will be accommodated upon arrival at the school. Rooms are singles and doubles, most with private toilet and shower.

Meals (vegetarian upon request) are served by the kitchen three times a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner – with refreshments, tea and coffee between the meals.

The school is a strictly non-smoking premises, outdoors as well as, and especially, indoors. You will, however, find designated smoking areas on the school grounds.

While alcohol is allowed at the school, we ask that drinking is limited in the weekdays. You need explicit permission from a teacher to take alcoholic drinks outside of the common rooms.

Students are expected to help with the cleaning of common areas of the school, and all students will also help out in the kitchen a number of times during their stay.

Student meetings are held once a week. This is a forum to express opinions and gain influence on everyday life at the school.

The focal point of the day is the morning assembly. Every morning, all students meet in the assembly to sing, listen to a story and receive practical messages. This is your primary place for receiving information, and attendance is essential.

The school offers facilities such as a theatre hall, music rooms and studio, sports hall, cinema and much more, all at the students’ disposal.

All tuition is in English as well as in Danish, and English skills are sufficient to participate in the classes. Normally, we don’t provide Danish classes at the school, but if enough foreign students wish for Danish lessons this can be arranged.

The project

The essential part of a stay at Ryslinge Højskole is an individual project. One of the school’s mandatory classes is project management. It is our goal that our students, upon the end of their stay, are capable of carrying out a well-planned, financially sound project of relevance. While at the school students choose a project based upon their own wishes and work on this project during their stay. The project is partly used as a case in the project management classes, but should also result in something each student would be proud to mention in his or her resume.

Project management classes is 5 hours/week.

General classes

Besides project management, the school offers a number of other general classes:

Elective classes:

All elective classes (as well as the general classes) are structured in a way that enables all interested students, beginners as well as experts, to gain something from the classes. Elective classes are 20 hours/week. Of these, 11 hours are independent study and 9 are with a teacher.

Music & Singing:

When you choose the music and singing class you meet two professional musicians educated at the Rythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. Guided by them you build a meaningful musical community and investigate the creative process of playing music together despite both technical, cultural and human differences. Regularly we work in smaller groups with the voice, technical skills, composition, text and body awareness.

The USA:

In the US class, a class in English only, we are explorers on an imaginary journey through the time and space of the US, investigating a specific part of the world. In doing so, we dig into history, culture, politics, heaven, earth and as many things in between as we can think of. What we are really working with are stories. Stories people tell to each other, about each other, about the nation and the land they belong to. As such, the US class is on the one hand a class about the United States, where you gain insights into the country and the people. On the other hand, it is also, more generally, a class that teaches you to search for the meaning of the stories and to examine what lies beneath the surface of what is told. A curious mind and sufficient English skills are the only requirements to join.

Electronic Music & Composing:

In our classes you will work with your own music. I and our eminent guest teachers will help and guide you through the process of making your music. Your style and your preferred software/electronic equipment is your own. There are no limits to how you wish to express yourself, though we encourage originality and a strong identity in your music. We accept all levels of experience, from beginner to expert.

Photography:

Photography is a matter of personal expressions. Everything has been photographed, but still a lot of good pictures are made, and photographers are developing to high international standards. So how can you make yourself different from all the others?

I claim that it’s a matter of personality!

Through different exercises and challenges you will have the opportunity to increase your skills and self understanding of the way you work. We work both B&W- analogue and digital, meaning you have a lot of opportunities to examine the photographic world.

The work in the photo class will include a lot of practical assignments but we will include and discuss the theory behind the understanding and composition of pictures as well . Bring your camera and prepare yourself for a period of "hard work" and funny experiments.

The level of photographic knowledge is not that important, but you’re expected to get involved and work seriously.

Thomas Thomsen - Leader of the Photography class

Theatre & Acting:

In this class you will learn how to use your most prominent instruments, namely your body and your voice. In the interaction with your fellow actors, you will develop a clear sense of timing, precision, overview and balance. This class is for the student who wants to act, to immerse him/herself in the many faces of acting – and not least to the one seeking to challenge him/herself.

From time to time regular classes are suspended and all students work on joint projects. The biggest of these projects is the Berlin-project, where we will produce a play to perform - in Berlin.

Student requirements

As a student at Ryslinge Højskole, you are expected to be interested in both yourself and the community around you. This means that you are expected to take your stay and your project seriously, but also be willing to learn and live in the community. As such, you are expected to participate in the classes, even if you already know some of the things taught. This is because the school’s pedagogical values include learning from each other. This you cannot do on your own.  And often you will learn something you did not expect.

Presence, enthusiasm and receptiveness are essential elements in getting the most out of your time here – for you and for us.

Nice to know - and prices

• All students will go on a study trip to one of Europe’s big cities
• Guests are welcome for shorter stays
• Room prices:
  • Singles ensuite: Dkr 1475/week
  • Doubles ensuite: Dkr 1225/week
• The price includes tuition, room and board
• The price excludes the study trip of Dkr 2500 (335 euros)
• Wireless internet access everywhere, including your room
• Ryslinge Folk High School is situated on Fyn, only a short distance from the expressway between Odense and Svendborg
• Train connections to Ringe, 4 kilometres from the school
• The bus across the road from the school will take you to Ringe, Odense or Svendborg
• If you have further questions, call us at + 45 29 88 10 20

Who can apply?

We accept and welcome students of all nationalities.

The only requirements are sufficient English skills and a min. age of 17½ upon arrival.

Cirius scholarships:

For students from the new EU countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania), it is possible to apply for scholarships. For more information, see http://en.ciriusonline.dk/grants-and-scholarships/folk-high-school-grants, or contact us for further details.