Viborg Katedralskole is a public upper secondary school in Viborg that calls itself the oldest upper secondary school in Denmark: its oldest documented date is 1132, and teaching at Viborg cathedral probably began when the diocese was created around 1060. Since 1926 the school has been in the building by architect Hack Kampmann. About 1100 students study here each year. The school offers Danish STX, including a sports gymnasium with lines for athletes, and an international department: the one-year PreIB and the two-year IB Diploma Programme. In PreIB all classes except Danish and one creative subject are taught in English, and the IB Diploma is taught in English; STX is taught in Danish, and its pages are in Danish only. The school has a boarding school for 173 STX and IB students from Denmark and abroad, where six boarding teachers live with their families and there is a matron.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Danish, English
Languages taught
German, Spanish, Chinese, Latin
About the fees The school's website says nothing about tuition. The boarding fee is paid monthly and includes meals, supervision, social activities, internet and utilities; the website calculates the amount only through a calculator, with no published price list.
Admissions The IB Diploma is intended for students aged 16-18 at entry and PreIB for ages 15-17, but the school will consider other ages. Direct entry to the IB Diploma requires 11 years of schooling: the first year of STX, a Danish 10th grade or comparable international qualifications, for example at least five IGCSE subjects including Mathematics, English and a science; very good English and an average of B in key subjects are required. PreIB follows the Danish STX admission rules plus at least a Danish 7 in English. The school takes a holistic view: it asks for a personal statement and school references, prefers a meeting with the student and parents, and may set an admissions test and interview. PreIB applications go through optagelse.dk and the school form, IB Diploma applications by form to the coordinator, with a deadline of 1 March, and late applications are considered. Applicants from outside the EU/EEA must document a residence permit for the whole programme and a Danish CPR number when applying; the school does not help with residence applications. Boarding requires a separate application by 1 February.
Stages and year groups Grades PreIB, IB1-IB2; STX 1-3. International department: the one-year PreIB (equivalent to the first year of Danish STX, with a foundation course from August to November, after which students make their final choice of STX or IB) and the two-year IB Diploma Programme, IB1 and IB2, with the Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge and CAS core and external IBO examinations. Students choose six subjects, three or four at higher level. Danish STX leads to the studentereksamen, and the school has a sports gymnasium.
Address Gl. Skivevej 2, 8800 Viborg
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school; it is taught in English after a preparatory pre-IB year, alongside the Danish STX programme and the studentereksamen exam.
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
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: DP (ages 16-19). DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →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
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
✓Boarding
Also on site: Sports ground or field
Campus: Since 1926 the school has occupied the neo-classical building by architect Hack Kampmann at Gl. Skivevej 2 in Viborg, with modern classrooms and laboratories inside. The school has its own cinema, laboratory, sports hall, gym and a renovated canteen cooking from scratch; the library is open to students all day. The boarding school is 50 metres from the school, close to the town centre and the lakes: everyone has their own room with a wardrobe, kitchens and bathrooms are shared per hall, and there is a lounge, cinema, study room, football fields and an evening homework café.
Clubs and activities: The Senate · Minerva (Denmark's oldest student society, which holds balls) · Café · Green VK (environmental society) · Novus (student media) · Radio Wad-up · Bohrs disciple · The Musical Committee · The MGP Committee · The Jingle Band · Role Playing Club · Red Cross Committee · Choir · Free Visual Arts · Film Club · KBK Football Club · Volleyball Club · Book Club · Baking Club · Quiz Club · Boarding School Band · Creative and Knitting Club
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The staff page lists teachers with their subjects, including those teaching IB and PreIB subjects, as well as study counsellors, two mentors, a librarian and boarding school teachers. Students say teachers are always open to talk. Homework cafés with teachers and older students run four days a week, plus two evenings for boarders. The website does not list teacher qualifications.
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 policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The Rules of Study and Conduct explicitly prohibit bullying, including through digital media and in free time when it harms the learning environment. The school calls student well-being a high priority: students are supported by study counsellors and two mentors, and in the 2025 national well-being survey the school scored an index of 75 against a national average of 74. Six teachers with their families and a matron live at the boarding school, so an adult is always available; the boarding school is tobacco-free around the clock.
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%)82 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data85 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median83 "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 7 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
Viborg, Denmark · State