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The Norwegian School System

The Norwegian School System

par Hannah OLS Community Manager,
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School

Source: Pixabay

Norway is known for scoring high on international surveys when it comes to education. We have one of the highest literacy levels in the world, constantly ranking at 100%. So what is the secret? I might not be able to give you the exact conclusion to this, but I can pinpoint some of the key aspects when it comes to the Norwegian school systems. I will in this blog post focus mainly on secondary, upper-secondary and high school level, and cover higher education in a later post.

First some basics;

Education in Norway is compulsory for 10 years, from the age of 6 to 16. Every year around 60.000 new pupils start school. High School is not compulsory, yet 80% complete within the standard time, which is 3-5 years.

In high school you can either choose a three-year general program that allows you to pursue an academic path, or a two-year vocational path. Those on the vocational path will have another two years of apprenticeship after finishing the first years in school. They will get on-the-job training combined with theoretical education. The division of pupils who chose the academic and vocational path is almost 50/50, although many start the vocational path, and then take an additional year in school to get the general competency too.

One of the cornerstones of the Norwegian education system is its emphasis on equality. Regardless of your background or where you come from, the system is designed to ensure that everyone has access to quality education. You will see a lot of examples of this is the following section. Let’s start at the beginning;

High attendance in preschool

Norway has a very high attendance of children in preschool, even compared to our neighboring countries. 93 % of children between the age of 1-5 attend. For children aged between 3-5 the preschool coverage is 97 % (OECD 2021). Part of the reason why, is that Norway has low unemployment rates – most parents work a full-time job. Preschool is also considered an important arena for learning and socialization before starting school.

No school fees

Education is in general free in Norway. No fees to attend, free books and materials on the lower levels, and any excursion or activity planned by the school is without cost. The rule is as follows; if it is happening between 8 am and 4 pm on a weekday, and it is connected to the curriculum, it has to be free of charge.

Although school and activities are free, I should add that pupils are not offered food in schools, so you have to bring your lunch box from home every day.

No uniforms

Unlike some European countries, like England and Cyprus, Norwegians do not use school uniforms in public schools. You are free to wear almost whatever you want, including religious symbols, as long as it is not in conflict with the Norwegian Law, or discriminatory towards others.

Grades

Grading starts relatively late, from the upper secondary level onwards. In upper secondary and high school pupils are graded from 1 to 6, 6 being the highest. This is different from higher education, that uses the international A-F grading.

Do you want a fun fact about the Norwegian grading system? You are scored on the result of your performance in every subject except one; in gymnastics your grade is based on your effort, not results. This leads us to the next point, which is..

Less focus on competition

In generally, the Norwegian school system try to avoid putting pupils up agains each other. A common saying amongst teachers and parents of school children is;

EN: What is most important is not to win, but to participate

NO: Det viktigste er ikke å vinne, men å delta.

Many schools have implemented “learning partners”. If you are done learning what you are supposed to learn in a particular class or topic, you then have to make sure that your learning partner has the same level of understanding too.

Public School is the norm

Norway has a relatively high percentage of pupils in public schools. As the quality level is considered high in public schools, and it is free, most parents send their children here. In 2022, a total of 5% of children attended private schools.

Learning foreign languages

Norwegian children learn English from a young age, and most also start leaning a second foreign language from upper secondary level. Especially in high schools there is quite a variety of languages you can learn as part of your basic education. This is, however, dependent on what they are offering at your local school. The most common languages to learn is German, French and Spanish. Many Schools also offer Russian and Mandarin (Chinese).

If you are of Sami origin you have the opportunity to have classes in one or more of the Sami languages instead, but keep in mind that Sami is considered a native language, not a foreign language in Norway.

The school will make sure you attend school

Not a single blogpost without mentioning the Norwegian nature; In a sparsely populated country with fjords and mountains and rivers, what about the young population? No need to worry! If you live more than approximately 4 kilometers from your school (distance may vary according to what education level you are at), it is up to the school to get you there. And yes, this is true even if your parents decided to settle on a remote island where the sea freezes over in the winter.

What about the teachers?

And last, but not least, a very important aspect of any quality education; The teachers. A standard teachers degree in Norway is now a five year master degree. Although not every teacher in school has this degree today, the aim is for teaching to be a high skilled, high-ranking and sought-after profession.

In Norway, it is also regulated how many pupils there is supposed to be per teachers in a classroom; In lower secondary a class should not exceed 16 pupils per teacher, whereas in upper secondary the maximum number of students is 21. These numbers are norms and not laws, so it is something for the school to strive for when planning their classes and timetables. Fewer pupils per teacher will make it easier for teachers to to their job, which is after all one of the most important job a society can have.

I hope you have learned something new about the Norwegian school system!

Best,

Hannah, OLS Community Manager - Norwegian



Sources:

OECD (2021): Education at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing. 

Utdanningsdirektoratet (2023): Utdanningsspeilet 2022.www.Udir.no/utdanningsspeilet.