← Back to the rankingArendal videregående skole
Arendal, Norway · est. 1805 · State
Illustration · Arendal
Arendal videregående skole is a public upper secondary school run by Agder county in central Arendal, one of the oldest in Norway: it traces its roots to 1805. Almost 900 students attend, in two buildings on Tyholmen and in Barbu. Most follow the Norwegian studiespesialisering programme in Norwegian, including a research track focused on science and an international Vg1 with reinforced English, plus a vocational programme in sales, service and tourism, art and design, adult education and theory for apprentices. Since 2006 the school has offered the IB Diploma Programme in English: after the Norwegian Vg1 students take it in Vg2 and Vg3, the last two years of school; up to 25-30 are admitted each year. Year 10 graduates of the neighbouring Arendal International School can enter the IB directly. In the regular programme students learn German, French or Spanish; in the IB, English and Norwegian as first or additional language. Education is free, textbooks are lent free and breakfast is free every morning.
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. The school states: free learning materials for all - it buys textbooks and licences and lends them to students for the year. In addition, all students under 24 receive an equipment grant from Lånekassen regardless of parental income if they apply. Breakfast before the first lesson is free; lunch in the canteen is paid separately, and the site gives no prices.
Admissions The IB Diploma admits students who have completed Vg1 at a Norwegian school (any programme), students from year 10 of the IB MYP, and international students after at least 10 years of schooling, with excellent English and without a completed upper secondary education. A registered address in Agder county by 1 March is required: those moving before 1 July may apply but only secure a place after documenting the move with their family, and an Agder address is required throughout their studies. Steps: application via Vigo by 1 March (IB as first choice) and a separate school form, an essay by 1 April, and an interview with the coordinators in May-June, which can be online. Guidelines: from Vg1 a grade of at least 4 in English and 3 in mathematics, from the MYP a 5 in English and mathematics. The school welcomes students from abroad, exchange students and students from other schools; applicants from outside the Norwegian system are advised to contact the coordinator. Decisions are made by the IB coordinators. Regular programmes admit through Vigo under Agder county rules.
Stages and year groups Norwegian track: studiespesialisering (general, with the forskerlinje research track and the international Vg1 med internasjonalisering with reinforced English and some lessons in English), Kunst, design og arkitektur, Salg, service og reiseliv, Påbygging til generell studiekompetanse, adult education and theory for apprentices; the outcome is a vitnemål under the LK20 curriculum. IB track: the IB Diploma Programme in Vg2-Vg3 after the Norwegian Vg1 (or straight after MYP year 10), in English, since 2006. IB subjects: English A, Norwegian A, Norwegian B, History, Psychology, Global Politics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches, Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation, Visual Arts (subject to teacher availability and interest), plus TOK, the Extended Essay and CAS. IB exams are in May of the second year; in Norway an IB Certificate with 20 points or more and no grade below 3 also gives generell studiekompetanse. To progress to the second IB year students need at least 20 points and grades of 3 or higher in four of six subjects.
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
Where leavers go: University of Oslo · Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) · University of Edinburgh · University of British Columbia · Leiden University · Noroff University College · Medical University of Łódź
The school names universities where IB graduates have enrolled and profiles several graduates from 2018-2025; more than 18 IB cohorts have taken final exams. For Norwegian universities IB points are converted through Samordna opptak.
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
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Elevrådet (student council) · Operasjon Dagsverk (annual student charity action) · Ekskursjonsutvalg (excursions committee) · Bibliotekutvalg (library committee) · Kantineutvalg (canteen committee) · 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
The 2026-2027 booklet names the leadership, four counsellors, three student contacts, librarians and teachers by department; the IB team includes the DP coordinator and teachers of biology, chemistry, English, mathematics, Norwegian, TOK, physics, psychology, global politics and history, with two teachers for most subjects. The school speaks of experienced and dedicated IB teachers and teachers of high professional standing but does not publish qualifications or class sizes. In the 2011-2012 school year the school had 130 employees.
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 follows the rules for students at Agder county schools, which explicitly cover bullying outside school and online; the home page has a form for reporting school environment concerns, and there is a school environment committee. Four counsellors provide career guidance and social and educational support and refer students to the PPT educational psychology service, child psychiatry, the police and child welfare; three student contacts work for a safe environment. There is a school nurse who runs the Tankevirus coping course, and the VIP-makkerskap programme builds close-knit classes after the move from lower secondary. The IB has policies on academic integrity, admissions, assessment, inclusion and language, and a complaints procedure.
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 data70 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 data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data76 "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