Ås videregående skole is a large public upper secondary school run by Akershus county in Ås, with more than 1800 students. It grew out of the vocational Follo yrkesskole, opened in 1948; a combined school was built on its site in 1978, and a new building in 2010. It runs nine programmes: the Norwegian studiespesialisering in Norwegian, art and design, sports, vocational programmes in electrical engineering, health, technology and industry, hairdressing and interior design, adult education and adapted education. Since 1997 the school has offered the IB Diploma Programme in English: it is taken in Vg2 and Vg3, the last two years of school, after the Norwegian Vg1, and about 30 students are admitted each year. Education itself is free, but the county charges IB students 10000 NOK a year. The school is a university partner school of NMBU, students take part in Model UN and the European Youth Parliament, and it hosts exchange students. In the regular programme students learn German, French and Spanish.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Norwegian, English
Languages taught
German, French, Spanish
About the fees Education at a county school is free: regular programmes, including Vg1, cost nothing, and textbooks are lent free. Akershus county charges IB Diploma students (Vg2-Vg3) a fee of 10000 NOK per school year, according to the 2026-2027 application form; the school warns that the amount may change. Spanish B and French B in the IB are taught online at extra cost, amount not stated.
Admissions The IB Diploma admits students who have completed Vg1 studiespesialisering, the IB Middle Years Programme or an equivalent programme. Applicants must live in Akershus county (or hold a gjesteelevsgaranti guest-student guarantee from another county), and foreign applicants must hold a valid residence permit in Norway; families moving to Norway are advised to contact the IB Coordinator. Steps: application via vigo.no by 1 March (by 1 March 2026 for 2026-2027) and the school form with transcripts, a personal statement and a teacher reference; first-semester Vg1 grades are used; applications listing IB at Ås as first choice are normally considered first. The county publishes previous admission cut-off points. Other programmes admit through Vigo under Akershus county rules. The school receives exchange students every year: in the first semester they take a beginner Norwegian course and otherwise follow ordinary classes.
Stages and year groups Norwegian track: studiespesialisering (science and languages, social sciences and economics; elite sports toppidrett can be added in Vg1), Kunst, design og arkitektur, Idrettsfag, vocational programmes Elektro og datateknologi, Frisør, blomster, interiør og eksponeringsdesign, Helse- og oppvekstfag, Teknologi- og industrifag, Påbygging til generell studiekompetanse, adult education and adapted education; the outcome is a vitnemål under LK20. IB track: the IB Diploma Programme since 1997 in Vg2-Vg3, in English, about 30 places a year. IB subjects per the 2026 form: Norwegian A: Literature, English A: Language and Literature, a school-supported self-taught first language, English B, Norwegian B, Spanish B or French B online at extra cost, Environmental Systems and Societies, History, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches online; plus TOK, the Extended Essay and CAS. Norwegian A or Norwegian B HL is required for admission to Norwegian universities. IB exams take three weeks in May of the final year; the diploma requires 24 points, Norwegian studiekompetanse 20 points.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. The IB track runs inside a Norwegian upper-secondary school: after a preparatory year (pre-IB) in Vg1 comes the Diploma in Vg2-Vg3; alongside it runs the Norwegian studiespesialisering programme.
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: DP (ages 16-19). DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
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 hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Model UN · European Youth Parliament · Elevråd og allmøte (student council and general assembly) · Skolemiljøutvalg (school environment committee) · Toppidrett (elite sport in Vg1) · Friluftsliv (hiking and outdoor life) · CAS
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
According to the history page the school has about 250 employees. IB students in the brochure call the IB teachers at Ås the most dedicated; IB classes, the school says, are smaller than in the regular programme. Each year an English Teaching Assistant from the USA works at the school through the Fulbright programme. The school hosts student teachers from NMBU, ILS and OsloMet. The school does not publish teacher qualifications or class sizes.
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
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school states zero tolerance for any violation - bullying, violence, discrimination, harassment, as well as exclusion and gossip; it has a 2026 school environment action plan, every staff member is obliged to monitor, intervene and report, and the principal is responsible for investigation and an action plan. Students are supported by the school health service, counsellors, a diversity adviser, a social worker, the PPT educational psychology service, the follow-up service and homework help; they can also contact the county ombudsman for children and young people. There is a school environment committee, the VIP-makkerskap programme for close-knit classes and a safety and emergency preparedness plan.
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%)82 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 data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "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 8 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
Aas, Norway · est. 1948 · State