Norway - Education and Schools

Education in Norway is compulsory from aged six to 16, and is provided in free of charge at primary and lower secondary level. Most Norwegian children attend public schools, but there are also a number of fee-paying private schools in Norway, normally based on specific religious beliefs or alternative methods of education.

Students who have completed ten years of education have the option of continuing for three further years of upper secondary education to obtain vocational qualifications or qualifications for entry to higher education. Higher education is available in universities and polytechnics, and higher education in Norway is open to students from other EEA countries, but they have to fund the education themselves or by means of a loan or grant.

The children of foreign nationals living in Norway are entitled to attend Norwegian schools free of charge, but education is in Norwegian. Most expatriates send their children to one of the international schools in Norway's main cities, which offer programmes of study leading to the International Baccalaureate or the British GCSE and A levels.

These include Oslo International School and the British International School of Stavanger, while Bergen, Kongsberg and Sandefjord also have international schools. There are also schools catering for specific nationalities, such as the French International School in Stavanger.
Some of the international schools offer pre-school education programmes.