← Back to the rankingAalesund International School
Alesund, Norway · est. 2012 · Private
Illustration · Alesund
Aalesund International School (AaIS) is a private, non-profit international school in Ålesund for children aged 6-16, years 1 to 10. It opened in August 2012 at the initiative of major companies in the region and the local Chamber of Commerce; since 2013 it has been in its own building in Gåseid. The school is authorised for the IB PYP (years 1-6) and MYP (years 7-10) and also meets the requirements of the Norwegian curriculum Kunnskapsløftet: in middle school the Norwegian curriculum is taught in an interdisciplinary way, and after year 10 students go on to Norwegian videregående skole. The language of instruction is English; Norwegian is on the timetable to the same extent as in local schools, at first-language or acquisition level, and there are Spanish lessons. About 120 children of more than 30 nationalities attend, in small classes. The school receives 85% of its funding from the state and the rest from fees, so fees are low.
Key facts
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Norwegian, Spanish
About the fees No year is given for the fee schedule; the school calls it current: 2595 NOK per month for the first child, 1947 NOK for the second, 525 NOK for the third and each subsequent child; fees are paid 10 times a year, September to June. The enrolment form gives the same fee per year: 25950 NOK, siblings 19470 NOK. The fee is the same for all families; the school explains that 85% of its funding comes from the state and 15% from fees. SFO after-school care is charged separately, price on request.
Admissions The school is open to all children regardless of nationality: it expects children of overseas families moving to Ålesund, children of Norwegian families who have lived or plan to live abroad, and local students; it welcomes children from Ålesund and neighbouring municipalities. There are no entrance exams and enrolment is year-round, at any time in the school year. Steps: getting to know the school and emailing it, an online application, and written notification of acceptance with the child's teacher and class. On entry the school assesses language level and places the child in English and Norwegian language and literature or language acquisition groups.
Stages and year groups Grades 1-10. IB Primary Years Programme in years 1-6 (ages 6-11) and IB Middle Years Programme in years 7-10; alongside, the school meets the requirements of the Norwegian curriculum Kunnskapsløftet, and in middle school the Norwegian curriculum is taught in an interdisciplinary way. MYP subjects: English language and literature, language acquisition (English or Norwegian), mathematics, science, individuals and societies, physical and health education, performing arts (drama, music, dance), visual arts and media, design (graphic design and IT), Spanish, Norwegian language and literature. In year 10 students complete the MYP Personal Project, whose grade counts towards the average for upper secondary admission through Inntakskontoret, and receive career guidance; each spring year 10 travels abroad, usually to Spain for 3-4 days. Swimming in years 3 and 7, an annual ski day.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years and Middle Years programmes.
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
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Playground · Makerspace
Campus: Since 2013 the school has occupied a building of about 2000 square metres in Gåseid, roughly halfway between Ålesund centre and Moa/Spjelkavik; in 2018 the school bought the property from the municipality. The building has classrooms, a two-section library (primary and middle school, about 6800-7000 books in English, Norwegian and other languages), a makerspace with a 3D printer and virtual reality equipment, a music room, Kenny's Cafe canteen seating 80, a school kitchen and a gym. Outside there is a playground, a multisport astroturf field and a basketball court. There is SFO after-school care for years 1-4, including during holidays. Students from Ålesund municipality living more than 4 km from school (2 km in year 1) receive a free bus card.
Clubs and activities: Spanish Club · Chess · Arts & crafts · Student Council · Erasmus+ Let's Be Green!
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
The team page names 21 teachers, the whole school principal, the PYP and MYP coordinators (who also teach) and administrative staff; the teachers include several Norwegian teachers, a Spanish teacher and an inclusion team of special education teachers, inclusion teachers and assistants. The school does not state teacher qualifications or class sizes, only mentioning small classes; new staff must provide a police certificate.
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 roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school states zero tolerance of bullying, violence, discrimination and harassment and works under Chapter 12 of the Education Act Opplæringsloven on a safe school environment; the principal is responsible, and the rule also applies in after-school care. There is an inclusion team and a social worker, a student council and a health and safety officer among the teachers. The building is approved by the health authorities for acoustics, indoor climate, air quality and lighting. New staff must provide a police certificate.
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%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 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.
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