Delegation from Denmark visits Scottish 'school of the future' in bid to learn lessons and innovate education

A delegation from one of the world’s most vaunted education systems has visited a school at the forefront of change in Scotland in a bid to draw inspiration and potentially adopt aspects of their learning.

A delegation led by John Klesner, an advisor to the Ministry of Education of Denmark, visited the “school of the future”, the UK’s first innovation school at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow.

35 Danish delegates and teachers who formed part of the visiting delegation hoped to learn from the principles of Kelvinside Academy.

Students at the school engage in hands-on problem solving and collaborative projects to solve real-world social and environmental problems, developing a portfolio of work to present to potential employers, rather than taking a grades-based approach to learning.

A delegation led by John Klesner, an advisor to the Ministry of Education of Denmark, visited the “school of the future”, the UK’s first innovation school at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow, Scotland.

Morten Lyhne Lodberg Sørensen, Head of School Department at the Favrskov Kommune, said: “It’s really inspiring to learn about the policy, the values, the way to lead and the structure of the school, particularly its approach to innovation and entrepreneurship and encouraging pupils to think about this at a young age.

“We’re hoping our trip gives us hands-on experience to bring something structural back to the Danish school system.

“Denmark is in a period where schools have an opportunity to become more independent and I think we can learn a lot from how Kelvinside Academy incorporates creativity and innovation into its culture.”

Student Yasmeen Boutaleb talks to the delegation. John Klesner , an advisor to the Ministry of Education of Denmark and a delegation from the Favrskov Municipality in Denmark visited the “school of the future” – the innovation school at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow.

Frank Kejlberg, a Deputy Head Teacher from the Favrskov Kommune added he and his colleagues will return to Denmark with new ideas on how to prepare pupils for the real world.

He said: “If you look at the adult world and the employment situation, we come into work every day where we don't know what's going to happen. We don't know the problems we're going to face.

“So that's one of the challenges we face, getting students to improve their ability to solve real life problems in a creative, innovative environment, rather than reading a book and getting the answers.

“And I think we can take inspiration from our visit to Kelvinside Academy to tackle this challenge from different angles.”

Rector Dan Wyatt said: “We are always looking to expand our field of vision to learn from the very best examples of education around the world - we are very pleased that our friends from Denmark share that approach.”