← Back to the rankingDen norske skole Costa Blanca
L'Alfàs del Pi, Spain · est. 1972 · Private
Illustration · L'Alfàs del Pi
Den norske skole Costa Blanca (DnsCB) is a Norwegian school for grades 1 to 13 in l'Alfàs del Pi on the Costa Blanca, north-east of Alicante; one of the oldest Norwegian schools abroad, it has been running since 1972. The school is approved by the Norwegian authorities as a private school under the privatskolelova and receives Norwegian state funding covering 85% of the cost of schooling, so fees for families are relatively low. It is owned by Fundación Noruega Costa Blanca, a foundation registered in Spain. In the 2025-2026 school year grades 1-10 had about 200 pupils out of 204 approved places, with one class per grade, usually of 20; the upper secondary level is approved for 75 places on the studiespesialisering track. Teaching follows the Norwegian curriculum in Norwegian; in upper secondary Spanish is the compulsory foreign language, and English is taught both as a core and an elective subject. The school stresses good teacher coverage, modern equipment and a personal computer for every student from grade 4. Pupil turnover is high: some live in Spain permanently, others come for a year or two, and the school works to help newcomers make friends quickly. In the past the school took part in European Erasmus+ projects with trips and homestays abroad.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $2 316 a year
205 EUR a month
The year is counted as ten payments: the school does not say how many payments it takes.
Programmes
Norwegian programme
Languages of instruction
Norwegian
Languages taught
English, Spanish
Students
about 200 in grades 1-10
Class size
Usually about 20 pupils per class, up to 24 in grade 10; classes never exceed 24 because of room size.
About the fees Fees for grades 1-10 in the 2026-2027 school year are monthly: 205 EUR a month for the first child, 140 EUR for the second, 100 EUR from the third. Grades 11-13 pay an annual fee of 2275 EUR, of which 900 EUR is paid on accepting the place and the remaining 1375 EUR before the start of school; the website names no sibling discounts in upper secondary. Leaving during the year requires three months' notice, which must be paid.
Admissions Grades 1-10 admit children who can document Norwegian citizenship, as well as Swedish citizens when there is no Swedish school nearby and the Swedish agency Skolverket has approved. Grades 11-13 admit only Norwegian citizens entitled to Norwegian upper secondary education (ungdomsrett); the school does not admit adults over 24, holders of vocational certificates or top-up (påbygg) courses. The deadline for both levels is 1 March; afterwards grades 1-10 admit pupils while places remain until 1 September, and admission closes on 1 October. If grades 1-10 are oversubscribed, the order is: children of staff, siblings of pupils and of new pupils, then a lottery. In grades 11-13 full-year applicants come first, then grades from previous years and the number of years at this school decide; two places in grade 11 are reserved for students with special education, with a deadline of 1 February. Current pupils in grades 1-10 confirm their place by 1 February. A place is secured with an advance payment. A refusal can be appealed to the Statsforvalteren.
Stages and year groups Grades 1-13. Norwegian curriculum: barneskole and ungdomsskole for grades 1 to 10, one class per grade, with grade 10 exams; videregående skole Vg1-Vg3 (grades 11-13) on the studiespesialisering track. The school has not offered the health and childhood (helse- og oppvekstfag) track since autumn 2025. Electives in the 2025-2026 school year: marketing and management, English, sociology and social anthropology, psychology, history and philosophy, social studies, third-level Spanish, and mathematics S1 and S2; a subject runs if at least 5 students choose it. The outcome is a Norwegian vitnemål. There are no international programmes (IB, Cambridge).
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
UdirThe Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (Udir) has approved the school as a Norwegian school abroad under the Private Schools Act: it teaches the Norwegian curriculum and receives a state grant.
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
UdirNorwegian Directorate for Education and Training (Utdanningsdirektoratet, Udir)
A Norwegian school abroad: the full-day Norwegian curriculum, approval by Udir under the Private Schools Act and a state grant.
What the badge means for this school. This is a Norwegian school abroad: it teaches the full-day Norwegian curriculum, and the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training approved it under the Private Schools Act - this can be seen in the Statsforvalteren list. The entry is not a quality inspection. The curriculum and the qualifications are Norwegian. Whom the school admits and what it charges are on its own website. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Norwegian programme
The Norwegian school curriculum taught in Norwegian under the LK20 curriculum: barneskole and ungdomsskole (Years 1-10) and, at some schools, the upper-secondary videregående skole leading to the Norwegian vitnemål.
What this means for this school. The curriculum is set by the Norwegian state: the school is approved by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training (Udir) under the Private Schools Act, follows the Norwegian curriculum and receives a state grant. A child who returns to Norway carries on without switching from another system.
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 hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio
Campus: The school is in the residential area of El Oasis in l'Alfàs del Pi, north-east of Alicante. A new building with an arts and crafts room, classrooms and after-school care space opened in the 2025-2026 school year, and in 2026 a new library for grades 8-13 opened, where students can read, find books and do homework. There is a computer room, a sports ground, a schoolyard and a kitchen. Every student from grade 4 to the end of upper secondary has their own PC or Chromebook. From 11:15 to 12:00 there is a long break with packed lunch, play and activities. As the only Norwegian school abroad to do so, the school runs after-school care (SFO): 45 places for grades 1-4, Monday to Thursday until 16:00 and Friday until 15:00.
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: The school says it has qualified teachers and good teacher coverage; the special education coordinator holds a master's degree in special education, and the social counsellor joined the school in 2026 after working in upper secondary schools since 1999.
Teachers work in two teams: primary and lower secondary. Teachers are available to students in every break. The website has no list of teachers by name; only the leadership, the social counsellor and the special education coordinator are named.
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
·Counsellornot stated on the website
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
Zero tolerance of bullying: every adult must intervene, report to the principal and investigate, and the principal draws up an action plan; if a pupil is bullied by a staff member, the principal informs the school owner. Families can turn to the Statsforvalteren if they think the school has not done enough. The school has a social counsellor students can talk to and a special education coordinator who works with the Norwegian educational psychology service. There are student wellbeing leaders for breaks, and the school reports concerns to Spanish and Norwegian child protection services.
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 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 data55 "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