A new Danish efterskole in Herning has welcomed its first 73 students with an unusual combination on the timetable: sport alongside practical experience in trades and vocational professions. Arena X, which opened on 11 August, was originally conceived as a sports-focused boarding school, but its programme has evolved to include activities ranging from carpentry and plumbing to IT and social and healthcare work.
The school is aimed at students in the Danish 10th grade and combines the traditional efterskole experience with sports training and a compulsory programme designed to introduce young people to different occupations.
What a Danish efterskole is
An efterskole is a distinctive part of the Danish education system: a residential school generally attended by teenagers for one year towards the end of compulsory education. Students live at the school and combine ordinary academic subjects with activities that often reflect a particular specialisation, such as sport, music or the arts.
At Arena X, sport remains central. Students can choose disciplines including wrestling, badminton and handball, while training is organised in cooperation with sports clubs in and around Herning.
But the school has added another element to the model. According to DR, every student must complete a skills programme exposing them to occupations including carpentry, plumbing, IT and social and healthcare work. The programme combines theoretical teaching with opportunities to experience the professions in practice.
Principal Ulrik Larsen said the aim is for students to encounter actual trades rather than learning about them only in the classroom.
“All students will go through a skills programme where they come into contact with real trades such as carpentry, plumbing, IT or social and healthcare work. They will go through the theory, but also go out and try it in practice,” Larsen told DR.
Arena X combines sport and vocational skills
The concept extends beyond a small selection of traditional crafts. Arena X says students can explore more than 40 vocational directions through cooperation with Herningsholm Erhvervsskole, a vocational school in Herning, and local companies.
The practical component therefore also works as a form of career orientation. Students can experience different working environments before deciding what kind of upper-secondary education they want to pursue.
The approach reflects a broader debate in Denmark about how to make vocational education more attractive to young people. Larsen told DR that the school believes it is responding to a growing effort to encourage more students to consider practical education.
That effort has also become part of national education policy. In 2025, the Danish government and a broad parliamentary majority agreed to substantially strengthen vocational education. The agreement provides for an additional DKK 500 million (€67 million) per year from 2030 to improve its quality.
Denmark wants more young people to consider vocational education
Danish vocational programmes (erhvervsuddannelser) combine classroom education with training in a company and cover more than 100 occupations, including electricians, mechanics, bricklayers and social and healthcare assistants.
The labour-market prospects are significant. According to Statistics Denmark, 82 percent of people who completed vocational education in 2022 were employed three months after graduation, the highest proportion among the educational groups included in the agency’s comparison.
The Danish Ministry of Children and Education has also pointed to demand for skilled workers while reporting signs of increased interest in vocational programmes in parts of the country. At the same time, the number of apprenticeship agreements fell by 6 percent between 2024 and 2025, illustrating one of the challenges facing a system that depends heavily on training inside companies.
The country is preparing wider changes to upper-secondary education as well. From 2030, the planned epx programme is intended to create a new vocational and professionally oriented upper-secondary pathway, while students will still be able to enter vocational education directly after compulsory school under certain conditions.
The first year begins with 73 students
Arena X has 73 students in its inaugural year. DR reports that the school has capacity for 120, meaning it is beginning operations below its maximum size. Larsen nevertheless said there are already around 100 students registered for the following school year.
The numbers will provide an early indication of whether combining the established Danish efterskole model with direct exposure to trades can attract teenagers who might not otherwise consider vocational education.
For Arena X, the first year will test a relatively simple idea within a much larger Danish education debate: giving students the opportunity to work with their hands before asking them to decide what kind of education they want next.
