← Back to the rankingA+ World Academy
Kristiansand, Norway · est. 2015 · Private
Illustration · Kristiansand
A+ World Academy is a private English-language upper secondary boarding school aboard the sailing ship Sørlandet, with its home port in Kristiansand. The school opened in 2015; it was created by the foundation that owns the ship. Each year it takes up to 72 students aged 16-19, who spend the whole school year, about 10 months from August to May, on board: in that time the ship visits more than 15 ports in 10 countries on both sides of the Atlantic. Students come for one year - the school says they can spend a full junior, senior or pre-university year with it and then return to their home school or go on to higher education. The curriculum, according to the school, is accredited by the Middle States Association; the timetable includes AP courses, mathematics, science, history, languages and social studies, and home schools usually transfer the grades and credits. All classes are taught in English. Besides lessons, everyone learns seamanship, takes the S3 personal growth course and joins service projects in port. Norwegians are typically the largest group, but students have come from more than 25 countries. The school does not name which foreign languages are taught as subjects: the programme page only mentions languages among the core subjects.
Key facts
Programmes
AP · American programme
Languages of instruction
English
Students
up to 72 students a year (the number of places on board)
Registration fee
≈ $565
500 EUR
About the fees The price is given without a school year: 66500 EUR for tuition, room and board for the whole 10-month school year, all inclusive - school and work uniforms, sailing gear, textbooks, travel and medical insurance, maritime training and all school activities in port. For Norwegians who meet the full criteria there is a reduced price of 43775 EUR. On top of this families provide spending money for meals on shore leave, SIM cards and souvenirs.
Admissions The school accepts students of any nationality aged 16-19; no sailing experience is needed, but strong English is required because all classes are in English, along with good academic standing. Admission is rolling with no deadline while places last (72 per year). Steps: online application, introductory call with admissions, a 400-500 word essay, the latest transcript, a 500 EUR fee, a first interview with admissions and a second with the Director of Admissions. After a conditional offer the family has 10 days to pay a non-refundable 10% tuition deposit and sign the terms and the student handbook. Enrolment for 2027-2028 is open.
Stages and year groups One school year at sea: the school says students can spend a full junior, senior or pre-university year with it. An American-style curriculum accredited, according to the school, by the Middle States Association (MSA): core subjects are mathematics, science, languages, social studies and history, plus AP (Advanced Placement) courses. The school promises a diploma at the end (earn your diploma), but the site does not say which diploma is awarded or how many AP courses are offered. Credits, the school says, are recognised by most home schools. In addition: maritime training, the S3 personal growth course and field experiences in port.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
College Board · authorised programmeA school aboard the tall ship Sørlandet, home port Kristiansand: the whole school year (August to May) is spent on board, on an American curriculum with AP courses; students join for one year - junior, senior or pre-university. The College Board AP Course Ledger lists it for the 2025-2026 school year.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
College BoardCollege Board, the AP programme
An American organisation that allows a school to put the letters AP on a pupil's transcript. The permission is granted course by course and tied to a particular teacher, it has to be renewed every year, and College Board reads the course syllabus before granting it.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run advanced AP courses - not the school as a whole, but one by one: by subject and by teacher. Governance, safeguarding and the primary years are not part of that check. Which subjects are actually approved is visible in the ledger. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →AP
Advanced Placement: American advanced courses for the senior years. The exam for a course is set and marked by the College Board, not by the school. A good result is counted by American universities as a first-year course already passed, which saves a student time and money.
What this means for this school. A school does not get to call a course AP automatically: the College Board reads the course syllabus and approves it separately for every subject and every teacher, and the permission has to be renewed each year. Every approved school in the world is listed in the open AP Course Ledger, and this school's entry there stands as a line in the accreditation block above. How many courses a school is approved for, and in which subjects, the ledger does not show in its general listing. AP has no leaving certificate of its own: it sits on top of the school's main programme rather than being a separate system.
American programme
The American school programme, with the High School Diploma at the end. It usually comes together with AP courses, which the College Board stands behind, and with an American accreditation - MSA, NEASC or Cognia.
What this means for this school. The diploma is written out by the school itself: the American programme has no common leaving exam, and the content of the senior years is set by the school. Outside checking therefore rests on two things here - the accreditation of the school, and the AP exams if the school runs them.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Where leavers go: University of Oslo · ETH Zurich · University of Munich · University of Edinburgh · University of Manchester · University College London (UCL) · King's College London · University of Exeter · Durham University · Amsterdam University College · Franklin University · University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
and others, 19 universities in the school's list in allThe school lists universities where graduates have enrolled in Canada, Europe and the USA and says that 98% of graduates are admitted to their first-choice university; there are more than 500 graduates in total.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
✓Boarding
Clubs and activities: Baking club · Stargazing · Music sessions · Spa club · Mystery-solving club
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
There are typically 18-20 crew on board: 10-12 maritime crew and 7-8 academic crew. Teachers and the doctor stay on board all year; the maritime crew rotates every 4-6 weeks and the deans about every academic quarter, one on the ship and one on land. On shore are the Head of School, the land-based dean and the admissions team. The About us page names 12 teachers, most of them from the USA.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
✓Staff training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The ship, according to the school, holds the highest international safety certifications and meets strict maritime standards; regular drills are held on board. A doctor is on board for the whole school year and there is a medical room; medical insurance is included in the fee. At sea students have no internet access; the ship stays in constant contact through the captain, deans and teachers.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)75 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data70 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data73 Value for money (6%) scored at the median95 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 7 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country