1. The Norwegian School System
May 2015

2. In general
All children in Norway are obliged to attend school from the age of six to sixteen
The ten first years of schooling is elementary school
Elementary school is divided in primary and lower secondary school
Most youth attend upper secondary school
All public schools in Norway are free of charge
Pupils in elementary school have the right to get a free school ride if they live further away than 2 kilometers for 1st grade and 4 kilometers for grade.
The school year starts in the middle of August after eight weeks of summer vacation

3. Elementary school
It is very common to attend kindergarden prior to grade 1
The seven first years is called primary school. It is divided into grades 1 to 7. Year is called lower secondary school.
Pupils that have a different mother tounge than Norwegian or Sami have the right to receive extra language courses
Pupils with special needs have the right to receive adapted teaching.
It is very important to include the parents in the childrens learning. Parents are expected to get involved and have a close dialogue with the school. They are supposed to attend parental meetings twice a year and meetings regarding their own child every autumn and spring.
Children in 1.-4.grade have opportunity to attendent the After School Programme (ASP). The parents have to pay if they want ASP to take care of their children until 5 p.m. It costs approxomately 300 Euro.

4. Upper secondary school
Pupils who have completed elementary school have the right to go to upper secondary school. Their grades from elementary school may decide which school they attend.
To get University admission the students must complete three years at Upper secondary school.
Another option at Upper Secondary school is to complete two years as a student and two years of training to be a qualified craftsman.
Students do not pay a school fee but they must provide for their own school materials and books.
The final grades from Upper Secondary School determines your further study and work opportunities.

5. Public Higher Education
Norway has seven universities, 27 university colleges and five scientific university colleges.
Students must pay a small term fee (maximum 100 Euro) twice a year.
There are also several private higher education institutions with much higher school fee. Students can apply to get economical support for their education from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund.

6. Teachers
Due to their formal education teachers have various titles. The most common title is adjunct which acquires four years of education.
Ordinary wages vary depending on what kind of education the teacher have, how many years the teacher have been teaching and how many pupils there are in the class. New adjuct teachers earn approxomately Euro. The wage limit is approxomately Euro for adjunct teachers.