Denmark’s first permanent Nordic Ecolabel-certified public school, Sundskolen in Sundby near Nykøbing Falster, opened officially on Saturday after years of delay. The first pupils start on Monday.
The opening ceremony took place on August 8, 2026, in Sundby in Guldborgsund Municipality. DR reports that the school is the country’s first permanent public school to carry the Svanemærket, the Nordic Ecolabel. Pupils move into the building on Monday, August 10.
According to DR, the school received the label because it meets requirements on environment, indoor climate, and energy consumption. Principal Carsten Løye said he is looking forward to seeing the children in surroundings far better than the ones they came from. The previous school building dated from the late 1960s and was worn down, with problems including the indoor climate.
Louise Bay Nielsen, parent representative and chair of the school board at Sundskolen, told DR she has followed the construction closely for years. She described Monday as the big moment, when all the children take over the school.
Delays, bankruptcy, and a rising bill
The building was originally supposed to be ready in late summer 2022. As reported by DR, the project was hit by a bankruptcy during construction, and the final bill grew to 303 million kroner, more than double the original budget of 143 million kroner.
Guldborgsund Mayor Simon Hansen, of the Social Democrats, said the old Sundskolen was not suited to teaching, with areas pupils and staff were not allowed to use. Per the mayor, bringing the existing school up to modern standards would also have been expensive, so building new was the right decision.
The project has been in the works for years. Dezeen reported in 2021 that Henning Larsen had begun construction on the school in Sundby, describing it as set to become Denmark’s first primary school with the Nordic Ecolabel. That coverage noted a planned opening in 2022 and a capacity of 580 students.
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More pupils than places
The school opens with a space problem already in place. DR reports that the number of pupils is high enough that the municipality has rented two Nordic Ecolabel-certified pavilions for fifth and sixth grades, because the new building cannot hold all students.
Hansen still calls the project a success. He said the school was built for the pupil numbers expected when the project started, and that many families with children have since moved to Sundby, which he described as a positive challenge.
According to the mayor, the pavilions are a temporary solution while the municipality waits to see whether the rising pupil numbers are a lasting trend. If they are, a more permanent answer to the shortage of space will have to be found.
The school sits on Falster, not far from Stubbekøbing.
