← Back to the rankingKristiansand katedralskole Gimle
Kristiansand, Norway · est. 2007 · State
Illustration · Kristiansand
Kristiansand katedralskole Gimle (KKG) is a state upper secondary school (videregående skole) run by Agder county in Kristiansand and one of the largest in the region: about 1500 daytime students and about 100 in evening courses. The present school was formed in 2007 by merging two old schools: Kristiansand Cathedral School, which traces its history to a Latin school that existed by 1651, and Gimle videregående skole, a former commercial gymnasium. The main language of the school is Norwegian; it offers the general academic programme studiespesialisering with a wide choice of subjects, the largest sports programme in the country, a sales, service and tourism programme and others. Since 2010 it has been the only school in former Vest-Agder offering the IB Diploma Programme: a Pre-IB preparatory class in Vg1 with bilingual mathematics and science, then the two-year IB programme in Vg2-Vg3 taught almost entirely in English. About a quarter of IB students are of foreign origin. Tuition is free.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Norwegian, English
Languages taught
French, German, Spanish, Chinese
Class size
in the general and sports programmes 30 students per group, in the vocational programmes 15; on the international track the school promises more teachers per student and smaller groups
About the fees Tuition is free: the school stresses that in many countries the IB programme costs hundreds of thousands of kroner a year, while here the same offer is entirely free. Students must lease a laptop from the county for an annual fee, 1427 NOK in 2026-2027, equal to the lowest Lånekassen equipment grant. Norwegian courses outside school, where needed, are paid by the family.
Admissions Admission to Agder state upper secondary schools is through the common vigo.no system by 1 March; Vg1 places, including Pre-IB (30 places), go to students from Agder on the basis of grade 10 marks. The IB Diploma (Vg2-Vg3) is open after Vg1 studiespesialisering or equivalent schooling: an average grade of 4, grade 4 in theoretical mathematics 1T and 4 in English are required; MYP graduates need an average of 5.8; students may enter directly after grade 10 if they have completed 1T and Vg1 English. Besides the vigo.no application, a separate school application form and a meeting with the IB coordinator about motivation and subject choices are required; the admissions committee reviews applications in June, and the county grants admission on the school's recommendation. A registered address in Agder county by 1 March is required (families moving before 1 July may apply but secure a place only after documenting the address) for the whole period of study. Foreign students need a valid residence permit; applicants from abroad may apply directly to the school with a motivation letter; if their schooling is unclear, tests in mathematics and English and Pre-IB first may be required. All IB students must reach the Norwegian B HL level, taking courses at their own expense if needed.
Stages and year groups Norwegian upper secondary school under the LK20 curriculum (Kunnskapsløftet): studiespesialisering (in Vg1 a Pre-IB line with bilingual 1T mathematics and science and, optionally, social studies and geography in English, and an innovator line with a UiA course), idrettsfag, salg service reiseliv and other programmes; graduates receive the Norwegian vitnemål. The IB Diploma Programme in Vg2-Vg3 (since 2010): group 1 Norwegian A and English A Language and Literature, self-taught language A (Swedish, Danish, Spanish, French, German); group 2 Norwegian B, English B, Spanish B, French B, German B, Chinese ab initio (online via Pamoja); group 3 economics, history, psychology, global politics, Digital Society, environmental systems; group 4 biology, physics, chemistry; group 5 Mathematics AA and AI. There are no arts (group 6) yet. The IB Diploma requires 24 points, and Norwegian studiekompetanse is granted from 20 points. The school does not mention Cambridge programmes.
Address Jegersbergveien 1, 4630 Kristiansand
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
Campus: The school is in the Gimle and Oddernes area of Kristiansand, next to the University of Agder; two 1970s buildings are linked by the new Krysset building (2010, architects CEBRA), which houses a large canteen, the service centre, an auditorium and the library; the old buildings were renovated at the same time. The canteen is open from 7:45 to 14:00: sandwiches, baguettes, salads, fruit and a hot dish daily, with vegetarian and gluten-free dishes on request; free school breakfast from 7:30 to 7:55. The school has a historic book collection going back to a library founded in 1775, and art collections. Every student leases a laptop from the county. It is a day school with no boarding.
Clubs and activities: Elevråd (student council) · Språkkafé (language café) · European Youth Parliament · International Language Competition · Ung Kultur Møtes (youth culture festival) · Ungdomsbedrift (student enterprise)
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 regularly attend IB workshops in English as part of their professional development.
The school leadership consists of the head, the deputy and department heads, including the head of IB and Pre-IB; the full staff list is kept in a separate directory. The website does not give teacher numbers or qualifications.
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
Several school health nurses work at the school every day, by appointment or drop-in. There are counsellors (rådgivere), social workers (miljøarbeidere), diversity advisers, links to the educational psychology service PPT and a student ombudsman. The school has a school environment plan under the Education Act and a form for reporting an unsafe environment; new students work in a buddy system.
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 data75 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