Denmark opens first Nordic Swan labelled school after costly delays

Denmark’s first permanent Nordic Swan labelled public school opens officially today in Sundby near Nykøbing Falster, DR reports. The first children will begin at Sundskolen on Monday after several years of delays and setbacks.

The school meets requirements covering the environment, indoor climate and energy consumption. Nordic Swan labelled buildings must also meet strict chemical standards, use certified timber, achieve high technical quality through independent checks and offer good opportunities to reuse and recycle building components.

School leader Carsten Løye said he was looking forward to seeing the children use the new facilities, which he described as a major improvement over their previous school building.

The old building, constructed in the late 1960s, was run down and had problems with its indoor climate. The new school was originally scheduled to be completed in late summer 2022.

The construction was affected by a bankruptcy, while the cost rose to 303 million kroner, more than double the original budget of 143 million kroner.

Guldborgsund Mayor Simon Hansen said the new school was still the right investment because parts of the old building could not be used and bringing it up to modern standards would have been expensive.

Parent representative and school board chair Louise Bay Nielsen said she had followed the building project closely for several years and was pleased that the school was finally opening. She said Monday would be an especially important moment, when all the children could enter the building.

New school already lacks space

The school will open with new facilities but already faces a shortage of space. Student numbers are so high that the municipality has rented two Nordic Swan labelled temporary buildings for fifth and sixth grade classes.

Hansen called the project a success, saying many families with children had moved to Sundby since the project began. The temporary buildings will remain a solution while the municipality determines whether the increase in student numbers is permanent. If it is, a more permanent solution will be needed.