Municipalities are responsible for providing free primary and lower secondary education. Children start school when they are 6 years old, then go to primary school for 7 years and middle school for 3 years.
School is compulsory for children who live in Norway for more than three months, regardless of whether they have a national ID number. They will be assigned to a school based on their address, but parents can apply for their children to attend another school.
Public schools are free of charge, and teaching is conducted in Norwegian. Classrooms are co-ed. New arrivals in grades 3-10 may join adapted language-training groups, and pupils have the right to adapted education in Norwegian until they are proficient enough to follow the standard curriculum.
English language classes begin in the first grade, and a second foreign language is mandatory in high school for students who have opted for the higher education entrance qualification.
It is common for newly arrived non-Norwegian speakers to attend a language center for up to 6 months before starting at their local school.
Read more on Welcome to Oslo website (link).
After-school programs
Children can attend after-school activities through AKS ("Aktivitetsskolen") in Oslo, or SFO (before / after school and possibly holidays) in the rest of the country.
Norwegian high school
High school (or A-levels) are also free in Norway, except from private alternatives such as IB (International Baccalaureate), which is taught in English. The cost of an IB program is approximately NOK 6500 - 10 000 a year. Some public middle and high schools offer IB. See the complete IB list here. In Oslo there are also French and German school options: Lycée Francaise d’Oslo and Deutsche Schule Oslo.
Kindergarten opportunities
Kindergarten (barnehage in Norwegian) is a voluntary educational program for children below school age. Your child can attend either a municipal or private nursery. In Oslo, more than 90% of all children attend kindergarten.
Read more on Welcome to Oslo website for information about kindergarten admission, cost and opportunities (link).
The main language spoken is Norwegian, but with over 200 nationalities presented, employees are trained to meet the children's need for extra care and support when they do not know the language.
Maximum price for kindergarten (link) attendance in Norway is NOK 3050 a month. This applies to both municipal and private nurseries. You pay an extra price for food offered, which varies from place to place.
The admission to Oslo’s kindergartens are allocated through a common application process administered by Oslo municipality. The main admission deadline is 1 March of every year with commencement the following August or September. You can apply at any time, also after the admission deadline. However, most kindergartens do not have vacancies to accept new children outside of the normal process. To apply for kindergarten in Oslo, check this website (link).
If living in another municipality, check the official municipality website for more information.
