Privatskole
A neutral page on privatskole as an alternative to the folkeskole and on the difference between everyday language and official school taxonomy.
Short answer
A privatskole is a free primary school outside the municipal folkeskole. In official use, privatskoler belong inside the broader category of free primary schools together with school types such as friskoler.
Privatskole. Privatskole is used in Denmark for a primary school outside the municipal folkeskole system. In official usage, privatskoler belong inside the broader category of free primary schools together with school types such as friskoler and lilleskoler.
Why it matters
Many parents search for privatskole even though legislation and ministry guidance usually work with the broader category of free primary schools. Without that distinction, comparisons with other school types quickly become imprecise.
The privatskole matters as a reference object because it combines institutional independence and educational freedom with the requirement that teaching must stand on a level comparable to the folkeskole.
Data and methodology connection
The Ministry of Children and Education describes free primary schools as an alternative to the folkeskole and explicitly notes that the category covers names such as friskole, privatskole, and lilleskole.
The same ministry page also states that teaching at a free primary school must stand on a level comparable to the folkeskole and prepare pupils for life in a society based on freedom and democracy.
Sources
Clarifications
Is privatskole the same as friskole?
Not necessarily. In everyday speech the words often overlap, but in official usage free primary schools is the broader category inside which both privatskoler and friskoler may sit.
Is a privatskole public?
No. A privatskole is not a municipal public school. It is a self-owning free primary school operating within the framework of the independent schools act.
DanskeGrundskoler.dk. (2026). "Privatskole". Skoleviden. https://danskegrundskoler.dk/en/skoleviden/privatskole