← Back to the rankingSankt Petri Skole
Copenhagen, Denmark · est. 1575 · Private
Illustration · Copenhagen
Sankt Petri Skole (Sankt Petri Schule) is a German-Danish encounter school in central Copenhagen; it dates back to 1575 and calls itself the oldest German school abroad in the world, historically linked to the Danish royal house and the neighbouring Sankt Petri church. German and Danish are equal languages of instruction: teachers teach in their native language, mathematics is taught in German, Danish in Danish, and in the gymnasium almost all subjects are taught in German except Danish, history and social studies. The school runs from grade 0 to the gymnasium: in grade 9 students sit the Danish FP9 exam and the German lower secondary exam, and the gymnasium leads to the German International Abitur DIA, recognised in Denmark as equivalent to the studentereksamen. 630 students from 18 countries attend, taught by 54 teachers. Since 2021 the school has had its own kindergarten, as well as a music school and after-school care. The school's values are Christian, and religion is a compulsory non-denominational subject.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $4 761 a year
31 500 DKK
Programmes
German programme · National programme
Admits from
5 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
German, Danish
Languages taught
English, French
Class size
up to 24 students in primary classes
Registration fee
≈ $166
1 100 DKK
About the fees Fees for 2026-2027: first child 2625 DKK per month (31500 DKK per year), second 2300 (27600), third 1725 (20700), the fourth child attends free. Fees and after-school care are collected by direct debit on the 10th of each month. In special cases the school may grant a reduction on application by 1 September. The kindergarten costs 2468 DKK per month.
Admissions Demand exceeds places, so families are advised to join the waiting list as early as possible; if there are more applicants than places, the school management selects, and a place is not guaranteed even to German-speaking children. Grade 0 takes children who turn 6 in the year of entry; nine months before the start there is an information evening, a visit day in grade 0 and sometimes a talk with the management. Children with a Danish CPR number register online, those without one through the office. From grade 1 only German-speaking children are admitted; a report or recommendation from the previous school, a talk with the management and usually a trial week are required. Students moving from abroad can register for the gymnasium at any time through the office; the school also takes exchange students from German-speaking countries, including those without Danish. The school says many parents move to Copenhagen for work during the year and students can join at any time when a place is free. School trips, parents' evenings and religion lessons are compulsory.
Stages and year groups Grades 0-12. Grade 0 (an entry year with two teachers in language lessons), primary grades 0-5 (three classes per grade), secondary grades 6-9, gymnasium grades 10-12. Grades 0-9 follow the curricula of the German state of Thuringia together with the Danish folkeskole curricula; in grade 9 students sit the Danish FP9 exam and the German SEK I leaving exam. The gymnasium leads to the Deutsches Internationales Abitur (DIA), which the Danish ministry recognises as equivalent to the studentereksamen; graduates receive a double DIA and STX qualification. Danish, history and social studies in the gymnasium follow Danish rules. Students without Danish get intensive Danish as a second language, those without German get German as a foreign language; English starts in grade 3, French is an elective from grade 6.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
ZfA · accreditationWDA · part of the alliancePASCH · takes part in the programmeThe Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA) lists the school as a German school abroad (Deutsche Auslandsschule). Graduates sit the German International Abitur (DIA) together with the Danish STX exam. The school is a member of the World Association of German Schools Abroad (WDA) and of the PASCH network.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
ZfACentral Agency for German Schools Abroad
A German federal agency. It recognises a school as a German school abroad, funds it and grants the right to award the German leaving certificate. Quality is examined by a state inspection about once every six years, and schools that pass receive the mark of an excellent German school abroad.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →WDAWorld Association of German Schools Abroad
An association of the owners of German schools abroad: in essence an industry lobby and a service organisation. It runs no inspections. The condition of admission is a recognised German certificate, but that recognition is granted by the German state, not by WDA.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to an association of school owners. There is no inspection of its own behind it: the badge rests on a decision of the German state and adds nothing to it. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →PASCHSchools: Partners for the Future, an initiative of the German foreign ministry
More than two thousand schools in about 120 countries. A school cannot apply for itself: participants are chosen by German agencies in agreement with the embassy. Very different schools sit under one mark - full German schools abroad, and ordinary national schools that simply teach German well.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to a German support programme. By itself the mark means neither a German curriculum nor the right to award a German certificate: of the two thousand PASCH schools, about seventeen hundred hold no such right. Look for a ZfA status next to it - that is the one that is about this. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →German programme
The German school programme. Recognised German schools abroad award the Deutsches Internationales Abitur, the German leaving certificate used for entry to universities in Germany. Behind the recognition stands the federal agency ZfA.
What this means for this school. ZfA recognition comes at levels: a school that takes pupils through to the German leaving certificate is one thing, a school with the DSD language diploma, where German is taught as a subject, is another. Which level this school holds is not stated here.
National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Exam results FP9 2025/26 (49 students): average in compulsory exams 9.5 against 7.9 in Copenhagen and 7.4 in Denmark; Danish 8.6, mathematics 9.7, science 10.9; all students scored at least 02 in Danish and mathematics.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school is in central Copenhagen near Nørreport station, next to the Sankt Petri church: grades 0-5 are in the building on Larslejsstræde, grades 6-12 in the building on Nørregade. Since 2021 the school has its own kindergarten opposite, at Sankt Peders Stræde 4. There is a school library organised like Danish public libraries, a music school, SFO after-school care for grades 0-3 from 7:00 and until 17:00 and a club for grades 4-6; from grade 10 every student gets a personal iPad. The school provides all textbooks and exercise books free. There is no parking for parents. There is no boarding; the school association helps find host families for exchange students.
Clubs and activities: Kinderchor Sankt Petri (children's choir) · Umweltrat (environmental council) · Jugend musiziert (music competition) · Model United Nations-AG (Model United Nations club) · Jugend debattiert (youth debating competition) · Jugend forscht (youth science competition) · Musikschule (music school)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers54
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: German and Danish are taught by native speakers
The school has 54 teachers. German and Danish are taught by native speakers; in other subjects the language of the lesson is the teacher's native language. The management includes teachers trained in Germany and graduates of Danish teacher training colleges.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
Since 2017 an anti-bullying strategy has been in force, led by a specially trained teacher; its aim is to prevent bullying at school and online and to support student wellbeing. The school is declared alcohol-, smoke- and drug-free; all students are covered by the school's accident insurance during lessons and on school grounds.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country