Bjørnholt videregående skole is a municipal three-year upper secondary school (videregående skole, Vg1-Vg3) in south-east Oslo, run by Oslo municipality through Osloskolen. The school focuses on equity, community and achievement for every student and describes itself as highly diverse. It offers the general university preparatory programme studiespesialisering, vocational programmes in information technology and media, electrical engineering and drone operation, a youth follow-up programme and a special education department. Since 2010 the school has offered the IB Diploma Programme in English in the second and third years of upper secondary, Vg2-Vg3; students complete the first year, Vg1, on the regular Norwegian programme or come with equivalent preparation from abroad. Education is free, including the IB line; the school stresses that unlike most IB schools it charges no fees. Graduates with the IB Diploma also gain Norwegian university entrance qualification.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Norwegian, English
Class size
small classes on the international track in the second and third years of upper secondary
About the fees Education is free: the school is municipal, and no fees are charged on the Norwegian programmes or the IB line; the school states directly that there are no fees for the IB Diploma Programme and that unlike most IB schools it is completely cost-free. First-time IB exam registration is free for students.
Admissions The IB line admits students into Vg2: applicants must have completed the first year of Norwegian videregående skole (Vg1 studiespesialisering) or equivalent preparation such as MYP 5 or GCSEs. The school addresses both internationally mobile students and internationally minded Norwegian students. A mandatory condition is residence in Oslo municipality at the time of application, as it is a public school; those who can document a move to Oslo with their parents by the start of the school year may also apply. Admission does not grant the right to live in Norway. Applications are made through vigo.no (IB code STUSP2Z) and the school's form with documents: lower secondary certificate or IGCSE results, latest transcript, a teacher's recommendation and a certificate of residence; the first deadline is 1 March 2026. Applicants from abroad without a Norwegian ID number submit a paper application to the Oslo schools admissions office. The coordinator may request an interview or diagnostic tests; in the first week all students take language and mathematics placement tests. Other programmes admit through vigo.no by the regular grade point competition.
Stages and year groups A Norwegian upper secondary school following LK20: Vg1 studiespesialisering (all common subjects, Spanish levels 1, 2 and 1+2), Vg2-Vg3 with the natural sciences and the languages, social sciences and economics tracks, plus sport; the outcome is the Norwegian vitnemål. Vocational programmes: information technology and media production, electrical and data technology, a three-year drone programme with university preparation; a special education department. The IB Diploma Programme has been offered since 2010 in the second and third years (Vg2-Vg3, classes 2IB and 3IB) in English, with no separate pre-IB year. DP subjects for students starting in August 2026: Norwegian and English Language and Literature, Self-Taught Literature, Norwegian B and English B, Economics, Psychology, Environmental Systems and Societies, Sport, Exercise and Health Science, Physics, Mathematics: Applications and Interpretations; Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS are required. Three subjects at higher level and three at standard level. Promotion to the second IB year requires at least 85% attendance and a predicted total of at least 20 points. First-time IB exam registration is free; graduates with the IB Diploma also gain Norwegian university entrance qualification.
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 hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: Volleyball · Bjørnholthallen (after-school training) · Elevrådet (student council) · Elevmeglere (student mediators) · TeknologiHagen (school garden and apiary) · CAS
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: IB teachers are an experienced team with many years in the IB programme as teachers and examiners, including alumni of the IB Diploma Programme.
The programme handbook names the IB teachers and their subjects; the website also names the school leadership and department heads. The school does not publish the total number of teachers.
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 policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school works under the law on students' right to a safe and good school environment: zero tolerance for bullying, violence, discrimination and harassment; all staff must monitor, intervene and report to the principal, and in especially serious cases or if a student is harassed by a staff member the school owner, Oslo municipality, is notified. There is an action plan for the school environment. Student services include counsellors, social workers, a NAV adviser, diversity advisers and the school health service (free, confidential, no appointment needed). The school trains student mediators every year to resolve conflicts. Homework help and extra Norwegian and mathematics tutoring are available.
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 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 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
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