The Norwegian School System

Norwegian schools are very informal. The children do not wear school uniforms, and the teachers are addressed by their first name, or a nick name. This is the case in most Scandinavian schools, and, for some unknown reason, in Québec!

There are rarely sports or extra-curricular activities connected to the school. When the day is over, the kids return home to do their homework.

School is compulsory in Norway for a total of 10 years. Children start school at the age of 6, and when they leave, they are 15. This part of schooling is called "Grunnskolen", and it's divided in two - "Barneskolen" (age 6-12, grade 1-7) and "Ungdomsskolen" (age 13-15, grade 8-10).

Afterwards, most students continue school at a "Videregående skole", which lasts for 3 (or 4) years.

Most schools in Norway are public schools. All textbooks and notebooks are free in Grunnskolen, and the children get a pencil or two a year, and a ruler when they start school. From the day one starts Videregående skole, one has to pay everything oneself, the text books, the notebooks, the graphic calculators, the pens, everything.

"Barneskolen" and "Ungdomsskolen" are two separate units - in most cases. If it's a very small community they'll be in the same building. The "Barneskolen" should be within walking distance of the children's homes, at least that's the government's policy. If a 1st grader's school is further than 2 km from his/her house, then the local school authorities must pay for the child's transportation to/from school. In some cases children must travel by ferry to get to school: There are many tiny islands just off the coast, inhabited islands, and the children have to attend the nearest school, often on the main land or a larger island close by.
A school year in Norway lasts 190 days. The students have got 8 weeks of summer vacation, a week off in October, two months of Christmas vacation, a week off in March (winter holiday) and about a week off during Easter. In addition there are teachers in service days and public holidays.

Grunnskolen
The following subjects are taught in Grunnskolen:
*Norwegian
*Math
*English (mainly from 5th grade)
*Social Science (also geography and history)
*Science and Environment
*Religion
*Physical Education
*Music (involves learning to play the flute)
*Arts and crafts (drawing, painting, woodshop, sewing etc.)

*Domestic science (mainly from 6th grade when they are allowed into the school kitchen)
In addition, the pupils have 2 optional subjects in grade 8-10.

Barneskolen - Primary school
The children are in classes of 20-24 pupils. The group of children in one class have all their lessons together and continue to be one class for as long as Barneskolen lasts. In Barneskolen, they tend to place neighbors together so the children will find some familiar faces at the new school. The class has one main teacher, one who is their teacher. In many classes, this teacher will continue being main teacher for the rest of the Barneskolen. There are also other teachers in the classroom at certain times, assistants or helpers.
In the 2 or 3 first years, this teacher will be teaching almost all the subjects, except maybe P.E and music. When the children start 4th grade, they are likely to have a couple of teachers more.
The children bring packed lunches to school. As long as they are in Grunnskolen they are almost obliged to do this - cafeterias are rare and the children may not leave the grounds during the day without special permission. In some Videregående skoler there's a cafeteria where one may buy lunch. At that level, the students may exit the school grounds as they choose.

Ungdomsskolen - Lower secondary school
The classes from Barneskolen are split up when the pupils move on to Ungdomsskolen, and new classes are formed. This way the students get to know students from other schools, and there's no crowd rotting together on the new teachers.
The same subjects are taught here as in Barneskolen, but now the students also have two optional subjects. The subjects which they may choose varies, but most schools offer French, German, other linguistic subjects and several creative subjects.
The students do not get grades, marks or report cards until they start grade 8. The marks are numeric, 1 being the lowest, 6 being the highest one achievable.
A student's marks are based on his/her performance on written exams, projects and his/her interaction in class.
The written exams usually last one or two periods. The students get a sheet of questions from, say, the last chapter in their text book, and then they answer these questions on a separate sheet of paper. It's not unusual that a students writes 6 pages on such an exam! Full sentences and longer explanations are often required as answers. Schematic drawings and lists can be used to get a point through.
The students have midterms in November/December and in April/May. Each midterm lasts 5 hours, and midterms are given in Norwegian, English and Maths. These are the only subjects which are considered written subjects - and the only ones in which the students might have to do a written final at the end of 10th grade. At the end of 10th grade the students may also have an oral final exam in any subject, an exam which lasts for about 20 minutes. All final exams are graded by a teacher from an

See NORWEGIAN SCHOOLS (Continued on page 7)