A safe and welcoming start to life at the boarding school
Thirty-six new boarding students have begun their everyday life at Birkerød Gymnasium’s boarding school. Through shared experiences, challenges and new routines, the foundation has already been laid for strong relationships and a safe, welcoming home far away from home.
On Tuesday, 11 August 2026, the 158-year-old boarding school opened its doors to 36 new students from different parts of the world. What they have in common is that they will attend Birkerød Gymnasium and make their daily home in one of the boarding school’s 100 rooms.
Head of Boarding Anders Lorentzen welcomed students and parents in the dining hall. Intro students and boarding school teachers were ready to greet them and help the new students settle in. After moving in, the most important part began: getting to know the other boarding students. While the students took part in teambuilding activities, the boarding school teachers met with the parents and explained the framework for everyday life.
Saying goodbye to parents is a big moment for many. But by the fire pit, attention quickly shifted to the new housemates and the first conversations. This transition is central to life at the boarding school: students should feel that they are not simply moving into a room but becoming part of a community with supportive adults and other young people around them.
The traditional intro weekend gave the new boarding students the chance to get to know one another, the staff and the local area better. On Friday, the group walked through Birkerød to Politiparken, where shared dancing, different exercises and an ice cream in the summer heat created an informal setting for spending time together.
Back at the boarding school, the student corridors competed in disciplines that required creativity, cooperation and reflection. They built kites against the clock, played bumper ball and moved flour with playing cards - using only their mouths. The activities made room for commitment, laughter and new sides of the students. When you solve tasks together, it becomes easier to make contact, contribute to the group and experience that everyone has something to offer.
On Saturday, the sense of community continued at an indoor climbing park in Gladsaxe. Here, the students challenged themselves at height and supported one another when their courage was put to the test. Later, everyone gathered for a shared dinner and the annual group photo in Dumpedalen. The evening featured reinterpretations of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales, with each student corridor creating its own performance. Creativity was given free rein, and the boarding school teachers served as the judging panel. Overall, the Lower A corridor won this year’s intro competition.
The following Monday, the first normal week began with homework café and preparations for the upcoming Semper Ardens clubs, in which boarding students and boarding school teachers take part together. In this way, the experiences from the intro weekend are carried forward into everyday life, where academic focus, leisure interests and social life are closely connected.
The start of the year is therefore about more than a program filled with activities. It is designed to create a sense of security and make it possible for students to find their place, take responsibility and engage in the life around them. At the boarding school, young people develop socially through meeting people from different backgrounds, and they learn that a strong community requires both room for the individual and a willingness to contribute.
The new boarding school year is now underway. Ahead lie lessons, clubs, traditions and small everyday moments - and, not least, the relationships that over time can make the boarding school a safe and pleasant home.
And if former boarding school students were to define safe and pleasant, they would probably say “Randi”! Before the new boarding school year truly got underway, Birkerød Gymnasium marked a special milestone. Randi Buch Iven from the kitchen celebrated her 40th anniversary at BG.
Since joining in 1986, she has served as head of kitchen, housekeeper and cook, and is therefore part of the continuity and care that have shaped life at the boarding school for generations. The management, former and current boarding school teachers and the kitchen staff celebrated her at a warm reception, and the boarding students can look forward to Randi’s care and treats for many years to come.
Written by Anders Lorentzen, Boarding School Manager. Private photos from @#Birkeboarding