HTX's history: from technical school to technical upper secondary exam
How the technical gymnasium emerged from technical schools and became a modern upper secondary examination
The technical high school HTX is one of the youngest of the high school educations in Denmark. But the idea behind — linking technology and natural science with an academic education — is older than the education itself. To understand where HTX comes from you must go back to the technical schools that emerged as Denmark moved from an agricultural country to an industrial society.
§The roots in the technical schools
When industrialization accelerated in Denmark from the mid-1800s the need grew for craftspeople and technicians who could not only know their trade in practice but also count, draw and understand the new machines. Trade associations and guild masters established technical schools in cities where apprentices received instruction in drawing, arithmetic and trade theory in the evening and on Sundays — so they could still attend their work in the workshop during the day.
The country's oldest technical school, The Technical Institute in Copenhagen (later Copenhagen Technical School), was founded in 1843 by a circle of master craftsmen. Over the following decades, craft associations opened similar schools in all major cities. It was here that the Danish tradition of combining practical craftsmanship with technical-scientific knowledge really took root — a tradition that HTX would later build on.
§The post-war period and the hunt for technical hands
After World War II, industry and the welfare society grew rapidly, and with them the need for workers with technical and scientific education. The old gymnasium forms — the general gymnasium — were book-oriented, and vocational training rarely led to higher education institutions. There was a missing bridge between practical-technical and higher education.
In the 1970s the vocational basic education (EFG) came as an attempt to modernize and broaden vocational education. It was in the continuation of this thinking that the idea of a technical student examination took shape: an education that could give technically interested young people access to further technical and scientific education.
§The 1982 experiment and the road to a real upper secondary school leaving examination
The Higher Technical Examination was established as a pilot in 1982 by the Ministry of Education. The background was the increasing demand for technically and scientifically trained labour. Initially, the course was two years and placed in direct continuation of the EFG basic education — in other words intended as a superstructure that gave access further into the technical track.
The experiment went well and in 1988 the training became permanent. At the same time it was given general academic qualifications so it no longer just opened technical doors but gave broader access to further education on par with the general gymnasium. A decisive step followed in 1994 when the training became three years — the length we know today.
§Timeline: HTX development
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1843 og frem | The first technical schools are established by guilds and trades associations; technical evening and Sunday teaching of apprentices |
| Mid-19th century | Industrialisation creates a need for technically trained craftsmen and technicians |
| 1970'erne | The vocational basic qualifications (efg) modernize vocational training |
| 1982 | Higher technical examination established as two-year experiment extending the basic course |
| 1988 | The education becomes permanent and is awarded general study competence. |
| 1994 | The education becomes three years |
| 2016 | The name is changed to technical student examination; the abbreviation htx is retained |
§From higher technical examination to technical upper secondary school leaving examination
In 2016 the education formally changed name from higher technical examination to technical student examination. The well-known abbreviation HTX was however retained. The name change was more than cosmetic: it marked that HTX was now a full-fledged upper secondary student examination — equivalent to STX HHX and HF — with a technical and scientific profile as its hallmark.
§How HTX looks today
Today HTX is an independent three-year high school with weight in technology technology and science. Where the apprentice once sat in evening school with drawing board and notebook after a day's work the HTX student now works in modern laboratories programs builds prototypes and works project-oriented. The tools have changed character — from drawing compass and logarithm table to measuring equipment computers and digital design programs — but the basic idea is the same as the old technical schools: combining technical practice with academic understanding.
“HTX grew out of technical schools' old dream: that those who work with technology should also understand the theory behind it — and have the way open to study further.”