Six out of ten young people with low grades from Danish lower secondary school now begin a gymnasium program, up from four out of ten in 2002, according to a new analysis from Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd.
The analysis was published on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, and is reported by DR. It looks at young people in the lower half of the grade distribution when they leave grundskolen, Denmark’s compulsory school.
According to AE, gymnasium is generally chosen on autopilot when young people pick an upper secondary education. Analyst Rasmus Lindø Kaslund says this increasingly applies to students who finish grundskolen with relatively low grades.
Only half continue to higher education
Among those who start gymnasium with grades in the lowest quarter, only about half complete the program and go on to higher education. DR notes that this is considerably fewer than among other students who begin gymnasium.
Kaslund states in the AE press release that it is a problem when so many young people do not obtain an education that qualifies them for a profession. He adds that they risk a working life with low job security.
DR links the findings to a planned reform decided by the former SVM government. From 2030, Denmark will introduce a new vocational and profession oriented gymnasial education called epx. It will have lower grade requirements than the traditional gymnasium and a more practical orientation.
The Ministry of Education stated when the agreement was reached on February 18, 2025, that epx will be introduced in August 2030. Per the ministry, the program combines practical and theoretical teaching. The published agreement says it is meant to prepare students for either vocational education or higher education.
TV 2 reported at the time that epx will be a two-year gymnasial education opening in 2030. As noted by the outlet, the program is designed as a mix of practical and theoretical teaching, and schools and municipalities may be able to start earlier.
The AE analysis arrives while the epx reform is already part of the political discussion about education choices after grundskolen. Debate over conditions in Danish schools has also drawn attention this year, including reporting on discipline in Danish classrooms.
AE’s comparison covers the period from 2002 to the present. The organization is the economic council of the Danish labor movement and publishes regular analyses of education and labor market data.
