Herlufsholm School

Herlufsholm School is a private day and boarding school by the River Suså in Næstved, about south of Copenhagen. Herlufsholm was founded in 1565 as a boarding school for "sons of noble and other honest men" on the site of a former Benedictine monastery from the 12th century. Herlufsholm has been co-educational since the 1960s for day students, as of 1985 for boarding pupils. The student body currently exceeds 600 students, of which approximately 275 students are boarders who lived in the dormitories. The pupils follow a 10-day programme with lessons on Saturdays followed by 3-day weekends. The school offers a range of education: from 6th grade in the Danish lower-secondary school; the optional 10th grade; the three grades in upper-secondary school and the international programs: a preparatory class (1–2 year) with IGCSE exams and the International Baccalaureate Programme. The founding of the school Herlufsholm is built on the site of a Benedictine monastery, founded in 1135, of which the church and a few other remnants are preserved and in daily use by the students and staff. The monastery was originally called Sct. Peder’s Monastery, but over the years it became known as Skovkloster. It was seized by King Christian III of Denmark during the Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein in 1536. The king allowed the monks to remain, and the last monk left the monastery in 1559 in favour of another monastery in the close by city of Sorø. Danish naval officer and hero, Admiral of the Fleet Herluf Trolle (1516–1565) and his wife Birgitte Gøye (1511–1574) took possession of the monastery in 1560 in exchange of their home Hillerødsholm (which later became Frederiksborg Palace). The couple changed the name into Herlufsholm and founded the school in May 1565, but Herluf Trolle never saw their dream materialise because he was fatally wounded on sea during the Great Northern War; he died in Copenhagen in June 1565.