Timeline 1832 - 1840: Vocational School

The vast range of subjects taught led to an obvious problem: two years of schooling soon turned out to be insufficient, and the arrangement of adding two forms onto the Secondary School proved to be unsatisfactory. Thus the first reform was introduced only three years after the United Secondary and Vocational School had been opened. The secondary and vocational schools were separated and continued their work as two independent institutions. The Vocational School was extended to three years, consisting of a compulsory one-year introductory course, which provided basic skills in mathematics and draughtsmanship while also including general subjects. In the second and third years, the pupils took classes tailored specifically to their career aims.

One of the main points of dispute was how much mathematics was to be taught, as the material taught at the school was not sufficient for many of the pupils. The pupils themselves (!) repeatedly called for the introduction of differential and integral calculus, a key component of mechanics, and from 1836/37 it was permanently added to the curriculum.

Two years later schooling was extended to four years, and was now divided into one year's general education followed by three years of training tailored to various professions. Vocational training was offered for four main categories of workers:

1. Engineering workers, such as architects, mechanics, machine operators, etc.
2. Chemical and technical workers such as mining, iron and steel workers, pharmacists and manufacturers
3. Secondary and senior secondary school teachers
4. Traders

The school's new orientation was reflected in a new name. The Vocational School was renamed the Polytechnical School in 1840, which was also the first year to see printed programmes containing course outlines, the predecessors of today's university calendars.