Higher Technical Examination Programme

The HTX-Programme

The HTX is a 3-year vocationally oriented general upper secondary programme building on to the 9th/10th form of the Folkeskole and leading to the higher technical examination (the HTX-examination), which qualifies for admission to higher education, subject to the special entrance regulations applying to the individual courses of higher education.

Types of Institutions

The HTX-programmes are offered by the technical college

Admission Requirements

The 3-year HTX-programme builds on to the 9th year of the Folkeskole or similar.

All pupils, who have received the relevant teaching and passed the prescribed examinations, can continue in an upper secondary programme more or less of their own choice.

Access is however not totally free to the general upper secondary programmes. If a school finds that the pupil and his or her parents do not take the guidance provided serious, and that there is a risk that the pupil cannot meet the requirements of the general upper secondary programmes, the pupil may be recommended to sit for an admission test to one of the general upper secondary programmes.

Levels and Age Groups

The HTX-programme is a 3-year programme, of which the introductory 6-month part comprises the aims of the second school period of a vocational education and training programme offered by the college.

The programme caters for the 16-19-year-olds and is divided into years with a certain number of obligatory and optional subjects of both a general and a vocational nature. The students may have the same teacher in the different subjects throughout the programme.

Branches of Study, Specialisation

The programme comprises a number of obligatory subjects such as vocational subject 1, vocational subject 2, technology, mathematics, science, physics, chemistry, biology, Danish, English, 2nd foreign language and social studies as well as a wide range of optional subjects, among which the students have to choose at least two at level A. Among the optional subjects can be mentioned business economics, economics, work environment, history of technology, international technology and culture, information technology, material technology, design, statistics, quality control etc.

The subjects can be taken at 3 levels: A, B and C, with A as the highest level. In the last year of the programme, the students choose a technical subject at level B or A. The choice of technical subject decides the specialisation indicated in the certificate. The students can choose between the following specialisations: Construction and energy, Design and production, Service and communication, Process and food and Nature and agriculture.

General Objectives

It is the aim of the programme to give the students a general and technical upper secondary education, which through theoretical and workshop-related teaching qualifies the students for admission to higher education according to the provisions laid down to this effect. The programme furthermore provides a partial basis for occupational employment and qualifies for a reduction of the period of schooling in a vocational education and training programme according to the provisions laid down to this effect.

Curriculum, Subjects, Number of Hours

The programme builds on the 9th form of the Folkeskole or a corresponding qualification and is of 3 years' duration. The school organises the teaching so that the aims of the teaching of the individual subjects are met, before the students are to be examined in the subject. Each student completes his own final project.

Methods

The teaching is based on vocational theory and method and on practical vocational conditions. The aim of the course of being a preparation for higher education studies must be reflected in the organisation of the teaching, and teaching methods must be used which develop the independence of the students and their ability to argue, generalise and make abstractions.

The teaching is organised so that the subjects support each other with a view to creating an appropriate and equal distribution of the workload of the students.

Pupil Evaluation

Students are given marks for the year's work on the basis of their performance in class and their homework.

As a rule, the examinations are held at the end of the programme. The college sends the students up for examination at the end of the programme. A student can normally only be registered for the examination, if he or she has participated in the instruction, has handed in the written work and has had it approved by the teachers concerned.

Oral and/or written examinations are held in almost all of the subjects. The students' performance at the examination is assessed by the teacher/examiner and external examiner(s) appointed by the Ministry of Education.

Certification

When the students have completed all the examinations at the end of the 3rd year, the school issues a certificate indicating all the marks obtained by the students at the examination and in the year's work.

The Ministry of Education decides on the design of the certificate.