Københavns Idrætsefterskole

What Københavns Idrætsefterskole does

Københavns Idrætsefterskole (KIES) is a privately operated Danish sports boarding school (efterskole) founded in 2004, located at Julius Andersens Vej 25 in Copenhagen's Valby district within the Valby Idrætspark sports complex. The school delivers a one-year residential program for approximately 121 students aged 15–17 (9th and 10th grade), combining the standard Danish Folkeskole curriculum (including FP9 and FP10 graduation exams) with structured daily training across four sports lines — basketball, dance, football, and handball — each running four morning sessions per week alongside partner-club training in the afternoons. The campus is purpose-built for sport-school integration: students have direct adjacency to four indoor halls, four artificial football pitches, 37 grass football fields, and the adjacent Hafnia Hallen, eliminating travel time between academic and athletic activities, while residential life is organized across 12 mixed-sport houses of up to 12 students each.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through annual tuition fees of approximately 111,300–115,500 DKK per student (2,650–2,750 DKK per week across 42 school weeks, with multi-year published escalators to 2027/28), supplemented by separately paid linjetur (sports line trips) and study trips, a new 3,500 DKK non-refundable application fee from 2026 intake, and incremental income from autumn sports camps (handball and dance), Sportsstore merchandise, and likely Danish state efterskole subsidies. The go-to-market model is direct-to-consumer and community-driven: enrollment flows through the school's own website application, Efterskolernes Dag (annual national open day), on-campus Besøgsaftener (open house evenings), sports camps, and referrals from partner clubs including AJAX København, HC København, and Fremad Valby. Operations are supported by 11 staff plus partner-club coaches; the technology stack is intentionally lean, relying on the third-party ViGGO digital communication platform for parent and student messaging rather than proprietary software. Differentiated content includes the flagship two-year Kenya international project for handball students (delivered with Handball That Impacts, Play Handball Kenya, and Active Youth Empowerment Projects), inclusion and anti-bullying programs, and annual sports-line trips to international venues.

Name

Københavns Idrætsefterskole

Legal name

Københavns Idrætsefterskole

Website

https://kies.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KIES is a privately operated Danish sports boarding school (efterskole) in Copenhagen's Valby Idrætspark, serving approximately 121 students aged 15–17 (9th and 10th grade) with a one-year residential program that combines Folkeskole academics with structured training across four sports lines: basketball, dance, football, and handball.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Sports Boarding School (Efterskole)

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth & Scholastic Sports Organizations (K–12, AAU, Club Leagues) (MPAKACAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nonsectarian Independent Boarding Schools (EDAJABAB)

Keywords

• Boarding school education
• Sports education
• Efterskole programs
• Residential secondary school
• Youth sports training

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen SV (Valby)

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition fees (boarding school): Weekly tuition fee model covering nearly all costs of the residential school year, including instruction, accommodation, meals, intro and outro trips, school clothing package, travel, and extraordinary sports experiences. Linje trips (sports-specific trips abroad) and study trips are paid separately by parents.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Københavns Idrætsefterskole (KIES) is a Danish residential sports boarding school that delivers a one-year combined academic and athletic program for 9th and 10th grade students (ages 15–17). Students enroll full-time in one of four specialized sports lines — Basketball, Dance, Football, or Handball — receiving four structured morning training sessions per week alongside formal Danish Folkeskole academic instruction culminating in FP9 and FP10 exams, plus on-site housing, meals, and club-level evening training partnerships.

Product overview

Københavns Idrætsefterskole (KIES) is a Danish sports boarding school offering a one-year residential program for 9th and 10th grade students. Its core offering is structured around four sports lines — Basketball, Dance (Dans), Football (Fodbold), and Handball (Håndbold) — each providing four weekly line-specific training sessions alongside individual club participation. The school supplements sports training with full academic instruction (FP9 & FP10 graduation exams), student housing in 12 cross-line houses, a digital communication platform (ViGGO), meal and kitchen programs, weekend activities, club selection support, and seasonal camps. A distinctive sub-offering is the Kenya Project for handball students, a two-year program combining global citizenship education with a study trip to Nairobi. Annual sport-specific line trips complement each sports discipline.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sports Lines (Linjer) — Basketball, Dance, Football, Handball Four specialized sports training programs for enrolled 9th and 10th grade students, each delivering four weekly line-specific training sessions led by dedicated line teachers and partner club coaches. Designed for students (ages 15–17) committed to their chosen sport who want to combine elite-level training with formal schooling.
• Academic Education (9th & 10th Grade Curriculum) Formal Danish Folkeskole 9th and 10th grade academic instruction with term exams and FP9/FP10 graduation exams, delivered 8:00–15:10 daily, supplemented with career guidance (uddannelsesvejledning) and preparation for upper secondary education.
• Residential Student Housing (Elevboliger) 12 on-campus student houses, each with four rooms (two boys' rooms, two girls' rooms), a common room, and two bathrooms, housing up to 12 students per house in a cross-sport composition to build community.
• Meals and Kitchen Program Daily breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and evening snack prepared on-site, with four students participating in kitchen duties weekly and organic products used where appropriate.
• Kenya Project (Two-Year International Program)

Quantifiable outcome

• 121 students enrolled in 2022/2023 school year

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• AJAX KøbenhavncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAJAX København is a partner in KIES' handball camp programming. The club provides coaches and players to the handball camps held at KIES, contributing coaching expertise and facilitating real club-level training environments for camp participants.
• HC KøbenhavncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHC København collaborates with KIES on handball camps by providing coaches and players. Their involvement ensures that KIES handball students and camp participants receive high-level coaching consistent with club standards.
• Fremad ValbyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKIES has an agreement with Fremad Valby allowing students to use the club's strength training facilities for evening activities. A teacher is always present during these sessions. This partnership extends the school's training infrastructure beyond its own facilities.
• Handball That Impacts (HTI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHTI is the strategic partner co-developing KIES' two-year Kenya project. Together they have created an international engagement program where handball is used as a vehicle for global citizenship, UN Sustainable Development Goals education, and cross-cultural exchange between Danish and Kenyan youth.
• Play Handball KenyaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlay Handball Kenya is a local partner in the Kenya project, facilitating KIES students' interactions with local handball communities, schools, and youth organizations in Nairobi's underserved areas (including Mathare). They coordinate on-the-ground activities during the study trip.
• Active Youth Empowerment ProjectsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerA local partner organization in Kenya working with KIES on the Kenya project. The organization supports youth empowerment initiatives and provides the community context for KIES students' engagement during the study trip, focusing on themes of equality, leadership, community, and volunteering.
• SportsstoreminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKIES has a partnership with Sportsstore allowing students to purchase additional KIES-branded clothing and merchandise beyond the included school clothing package. Orders are placed through a dedicated KIES collection link on the Sportsstore website.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• IMG Academy: Large, established global sports academy combining elite athletic training with academic instruction in a residential model. Far larger scale and international reach, but serves a comparable youth-sport-plus-education use case for serious young athletes.

Direct peers

• Sædding Efterskole: Established Danish efterskole offering sports and academic programs for 9th–10th grade residential students. Competes with KIES for the same age cohort and similar parent value proposition.
• Oure Efterskole: Large Danish efterskole with significant sport and movement offerings, residential structure, and competitive admissions for 9th–10th grade students. Competes for the same segment with broader program breadth.
• Aalborg Sportsefterskole: Danish sports-focused efterskole in Aalborg offering a similar residential academic-plus-elite-sport-training model for 9th–10th graders, with multiple sport lines and club partnerships. Direct competitor for the same nationwide student pool.
• Vejle Idrætsefterskole: Sports efterskole in Vejle focused on combining academic instruction with elite sports training for 9th–10th grade students. Closely comparable offering and target market to KIES, drawing from the same national applicant pool.

Regional players

• Egmont Højskolen: Danish residential folk high school (højskole) with sports-focused programming for older youth, similar residential learning model but different grade level and regulatory framework. Adjacent competitor for sport-minded families.

Emerging players

• Sports Academy Denmark (SAD): Smaller, newer Danish sports/performance training program oriented toward youth athletes. Partial overlap with KIES in target market but does not offer the same residential academic integration at scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KIES-K%C3%B8benhavns-Idr%C3%A6tsefterskole-153093339186
• Instagraminstagram.com/kieslivet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/k%C3%B8benhavns-idr%C3%A6tsefterskole

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Københavns Idrætsefterskole