Norway Education System Explained

Norway places great emphasis on lifelong learning, with an education system built on the principle of equality and accessibility. From barnehage to university, the Norwegian model is distinctive in several ways. Education in Norway is compulsory for all children aged between 6 and 16 and paid for by the government. This guide takes you through the Norwegian education system step by step.

Structure of the Norwegian Education System

The Norwegian school system can be divided into three parts:

Elementary school (barneskole, ages 6-12)
Lower secondary school (ungdomsskole, ages 13-16)
Upper secondary school (videregående skole, ages 16-19)

Elementary and lower secondary school are mandatory for all children aged 6-16.

Barnehage: Early Childhood Education

A barnehage is a pre-school institution for children under the age of six. The philosophy is less about formal education and more about encouraging independence and cooperation. Attendance is near universal. In 2021, 93.8% of children aged 1-5 attended a barnehage, with attendance rising to 97.2% among children aged 3-5. Costs are subsidised by the state, and parental fees are capped through the so-called “max price” scheme.

Barneskole: Primary School (Grades 1-7)

Compulsory education begins at the age of six and continues until age 16, covering ten years of schooling. Barneskole primary school comprising grades 1 to 7 takes children from a first year spent playing games through to completion of a thorough academic grounding. In the first year of primary school, students spend most of their time playing educational games and learning social structures, the alphabet, basic addition and subtraction, and basic English skills. In grades 2-7, they are introduced to mathematics, English, science, religion (focusing not only on Christianity but also on all other religions, their purpose, and their history), aesthetics, and music, complemented by geography, history, and social studies in the fifth grade.

For children in grades 1-4, municipalities are required to offer after-school programmes known as SFO (skolefritidsordning) or AKS in Oslo. For non-Norwegian speaking pupils, schools must provide additional support to help them reach an adequate level of Norwegian. No official grades are given at this level. However, the teacher often writes a comment, analysis, and sometimes an unofficial grade on tests. Tests are to be taken home and shown to parents.

Ungdomsskole: Lower Secondary School (Grades 8-10)

When pupils enter middle school known as ungdomsskole they move from getting school reports to receiving actual grades. These are important because they affect their right to enter secondary school. A lower secondary school in Norway. When the students enter lower secondary school, at age 12 or 13, they begin being graded on their work. Their grades together with their location in the country will determine whether they get accepted to their upper secondary school of choice or not.

During grades 8 to 10 they may add one elective subject including a choice between European languages and Norwegian studies. From eighth grade, students can choose one elective (valgfag) and one language. Typical offered languages are German, French, and Spanish as well as additional English and Norwegian studies. Before the educational reform, students could choose a practical elective instead of the languages.

Videregående Skole: Upper Secondary School (Grades 11-13)

After compulsory schooling, teenagers progress to videregående skole, which covers three years of general studies or four years of vocational training. Students must apply for a place, and while there is an element of choice, priority is given based on grades. Completion rates are strong by international standards. However, there are differences: 86% of girls complete their programme compared with 78% of boys.

Secondary school or Videregående skole provides two streams to follow. Students choose between general studies with a strong academic flavor, and vocational studies. Within both are many subsets of choices. Although this level of educational is non-mandatory, most young people choose to benefit from it.

Prior to 1994, there were three branches of upper secondary schooling: general (language, history, etc.), mercantile (accounting, etc.), and vocational (electronics, carpentry, etc.) studies. The high school reform of 1994 ("Reform 94") merged these branches into a single system. Among the goals of the reform was that all students should have a certain amount of general studies large enough to make them eligible for higher education later, meaning more theory in vocational studies, and that it should be possible to cross over from one education path to another without losing too much credit.

Since the introduction of the reform Kunnskapsløftet ('the knowledge promise' or 'the lifting of knowledge', the word løfte having two meanings) in the fall of 2006, a student can apply for a general studies (studieforberedelse) or a vocational studies (yrkesfag) path. Inside these main paths, there are many sub-paths to follow. An upper secondary school usually offers general and vocational curriculum. Vocational studies usually follow a typical structure named the "2+2 model": after two years of school training (with workshops and a short internship in industry), the student does an apprenticeship for two years in an enterprise or a public institution. The apprenticeship is divided into one year of training and one year of practical work. The new reform makes the incorporation of IT into the schooling mandatory, and many counties (responsible for the public high schools) offer laptops to general studies students for free or for a small fee. Students graduating upper secondary school are called russ in Norwegian.

Fagskole: Tertiary Vocational Education

For those who do not pursue a university degree, fagskole (tertiary vocational education) provides further opportunities. Fields such as health, technical subjects, welfare, and business are particularly popular.

Higher Education

There are both universities and university colleges. There are 8 universities, 9 specialized colleges, 24 university colleges and a range of private universities in Norway. However, a major change came in 2023: students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland are now required to pay tuition fees at public universities. In 2021, there were 318,105 students in higher education in Norway. Popular subjects include natural sciences, engineering, and health-related fields. Studying abroad remains attractive to some Norwegians. Applicants must either have completed their secondary schooling or be aged over 23 and be able to prove their level of competence.

Higher education is anything beyond upper secondary school, and normally lasts three years or more. To be accepted to most higher education schools, a student must have attained a general university admissions certificate (generell studiekompetanse). This can be achieved by taking general studies while in upper secondary school or through the law of 23/5 where a person must be above 23 years of age, have five years of combined schooling and work experience and have passed exams in Norwegian, mathematics, natural sciences, English and social studies. Some degrees also require special electives in second and third grade (e.g. maths and physics for engineering studies.) The majority of higher educational institutions are run by the state and take responsibility for their own instruction, research, and dissemination of knowledge. Where there are more applicants than students admitted, applicants are ranked based on their grades from upper secondary school.

Universities, which concentrate on theoretical subjects (arts, humanities, natural science), supply bachelor (three years), master (five years) and PhD (eight years) titles. Universities also run a number of professional studies including law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and psychology. However, these are generally separate departments that have little to do with the rest of the university institution. University colleges (høgskole), which supply a wide range of educational choices, including university degrees at bachelor, master and PhD levels, engineering degrees and professional vocations like teacher and nurse. Private schools, which tend to specialize in popular subjects with limited capacity in public schools, such as business management, marketing or fine arts. The oldest Norwegian university is the University of Oslo established in 1811 and still the nation’s largest. Its faculties include dentistry, education, humanities, law, mathematics, medicine, natural sciences, social sciences and theology.

Lifelong Learning

Norway places great emphasis on lifelong learning. Adults who did not complete their education earlier in life are entitled to primary, lower secondary, or upper secondary education free of charge. Study associations and distance learning providers offer courses ranging from basic literacy to university-level studies. These one-year experiences, popular with young adults, do not have exams or formal curricula.

Homeschooling

Homeschooling is permitted in Norway but remains very uncommon. Municipalities are responsible for oversight and usually carry out evaluations once or twice a year. No formal teaching qualifications are required, but the responsibility is significant, and there is no financial support available. In recent years, concerns have been raised about inconsistent oversight across municipalities.

Key Aspects of the Norwegian Education System

Equality and Accessibility

Norway’s education system is built on the principle of equality and accessibility. For foreign parents, the main challenges are usually linguistic and cultural rather than financial.

Vocational Training

For older students, Norway offers both academic and vocational routes, ensuring flexibility and strong connections to the labour market. Norwegian employers, trade unions and vocational authorities have a good record of cooperation although the overall system does suffer from quality assurance failures and a surprisingly high dropout rate. There is considerable pressure from commerce and industry on the authorities to deliver a competent workforce, and strategic changes are ongoing.

Special Education

Norway's first large-scale education institution for people with intellectual disabilities was founded in 1898 by educator Emma Hjorth. Since the 1970s, the government has legislated the policy that all children should be educated in local schools. Since then, special education has taken place mostly in ordinary schools. The need for special education in school depends on the individual student's abilities and capabilities.

In special education, the Educational/Psychological Service maintains highly qualified specialists, educational psychologists, social welfare workers, and kindergarten teachers, playing the role of safety net in society. The Educational/Psychological Service visits school, provides students with help when needed, and assists their family members. According to The Act relating to Universities and Colleges, universities and university colleges must take responsibility for the students' learning environment.

Grading System

Norway has multiple different grading systems, both unique ones and ones that have been based on foreign grading systems. The way the new Bologna system was introduced implies that students who had started their studies while the old system still was in effect will graduate with transcripts containing grades from both systems (i.e. Lower levels of education use a scale running from 1 through 6, with 6 being the highest and 2 the lowest passing grade. For non-final tests and mid-term evaluations the grades are often postfixed with + or - (except 6+ and 1-) and it is also common to use grades such as 5/6 or 4/3 indicating borderline grades. At the conclusion of their school careers, upper secondary pupils aspire to graduate with a diploma. This is obtained by those who have passed all their subjects, and lists grades which are "based on teachers' determination of overall achievement marks of their own students."

As well as these teacher-assigned grades, the students' diplomas may feature one or more examination grades. A minority of students will be chosen at random to sit an exam, a concept called trekkfag in Norwegian. The word fag means 'subject', whilst the verb å trekke can be translated as 'to draw, to pick', as one would describe picking a card from a pack.

School Year and Holidays

In Norway's schools, there are two semesters. The new academic year begins in the middle of August. The first semester begins in August and ends in December. In Norway's school, there are several long vacations. For example, after the academic year ends in June, students in Norway have summer vacation, which is eight weeks from the middle of June until the middle of August. They also have Christmas holidays after the first semester ends in December until the second semester begins in January. In addition, in the last week of October, pupils in primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools have fall break, with another week-long break (winter break) in the middle of February.

In Norway, there are thirteen national holidays that students are free from school. In the middle of April, there are four days of Easter break. Norway celebrates International Workers' Day on May 1 and its Constitution Day on May 17. Furthermore, Norway also celebrates Ascension Day in May, with the exact date depending on the each year. Ten days after Ascension Day, the country celebrates Pentecost, and Whit Monday the next day. Students do not have to attend school on these national holidays. However, some of the holidays are included in the long break.

Historical Context

In 1736 training in reading was made compulsory for all children, but was not effective until some years later, when ambulatory schools (omgangsskoler) were also established. In 1827, Norway introduced the folkeskole ('people's school'), a primary school which became mandatory for seven years in 1889 and nine years in 1969. Under the Independent Schools Act of 2003, private schooling in Norway has become available. However, very few such schools exist in comparison to Norwegian public schools.

Teachers in Norway

Preschool teacher (førskolelærer or barnehagelærer): These teachers are primarily employed in kindergartens and the first four grades of primary school. Adjunct teacher (adjunkt): These teachers primarily work between the 5th and 10th grades of lower secondary school, but some are also employed in high schools, usually in minor subjects. To become an adjunct requires a bachelor's degree in a particular subject from a university or university college. Many adjuncts have studied other courses at a lower level, which they teach as a secondary subject (a mathematics teacher may have studied physics at a lower level, but teaches both). Lecturer (lektor): Lecturers work in upper secondary school and high schools, from 8th grade up to the third year of high school. Lecturers have a master's degree from a university, along with a pedagogy course.

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