← Back to the rankingNorlights International School Oslo
Oslo, Norway · est. 2015 · Private
Illustration · Oslo
Norlights International School Oslo (NLIS) is a state-funded private school in Skådalen, Oslo, opened in 2015, initially for grades 1-5. Today it has about 200 students and 30 staff from more than 40 nationalities. The school offers all three IB programmes: the Primary Years Programme in grades 1-6, the Middle Years Programme in grades 7-10 and the Diploma Programme in the last two grades; in the MYP the school incorporates the goals of the Norwegian LK20 curriculum. There is no separate grade 11: admission is to grades 1-10 and 12-13. The language of instruction is English; Norwegian is taught from beginner to native level, and Spanish is added in middle school. The school is non-profit: the state covers 85% of education costs, so fees for families are low. Classes have no more than 22 students, and the whole school no more than 228. Alongside lessons there is a social values programme, PPV, and service projects.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · PYP, MYP, DP
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Norwegian, Spanish
Class size
No more than 22 students per class.
About the fees The fee list on the website gives no year; the school says fees are updated every January. Currently listed: grades 1-7 and 8-10 43450 NOK per year, 3950 NOK for 11 months; grades 12-13 (Diploma Programme) 29700 NOK per year, 2700 NOK for 11 months. Fees are calculated on the basis of state funding, which covers 85% of education costs, and may change with it. There is a 5% discount for the second and third child of a family.
Admissions The school admits anyone who meets the conditions for admission to Norwegian state schools, and its admission area is the whole country. Applications for grades 1-10 open on 1 October for the following school year, places are offered from 1 February and then as they become available; families must reapply each year. If there are more applicants than places, priority is: the school's preschool students, siblings of students, children of staff, students with an international background (by nationality of the child or parents, academic language and time lived abroad), children of embassy staff, students from IB and other international schools, gender and nationality balance, residents of Oslo municipality, then a lottery. Grades 9 and 10 require school certificates from the previous school. For the Diploma Programme the deadline is 1 March, later applications go to remaining places; applicants need grade 11 of a Norwegian school, MYP 5, IGCSE or another qualification after 10 years of schooling, satisfactory English and mathematics, or else an entrance test; external entry into the second DP year is not accepted. Only those with a residence permit or not requiring a visa to stay in Norway may apply to the high school. There is no application fee; admission decisions can be appealed to the county governor.
Stages and year groups Grades 1-10, 12-13. IB Primary Years Programme in grades 1-6 (PYP 1-6, from age 6); IB Middle Years Programme in grades 7-10 (MYP 2-5), ending with the personal project and incorporating the goals of the Norwegian LK20 curriculum; IB Diploma Programme in grades 12-13 (DP1-DP2). The school has no grade 11: students enter the DP after grade 11 of a Norwegian school, MYP 5 or IGCSE. There is no kindergarten. The About us page says the school is authorised for the PYP and MYP; the home page and the DP page say it offers all three programmes.
Address Skådalsveien 33, 0781 Oslo (Skådalen)
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP, DP · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes.
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: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. 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 →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
·Librarynot stated on the website
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school is in Skådalen in north-west Oslo, next to a metro station on the Holmenkollen line. Grades 1-5 have a paid After School Care Program after lessons until 16:45, and a morning group from 07:30 if demand is sufficient; activities include play, visual art, crafts, drama, literature, sports and music. An Oslo municipality school nurse visits twice a week. Learning platforms are Toddle, Raz-Kids and Salaby. It is a day school with no boarding; there is no kindergarten.
Clubs and activities: Music Choir Club · Art Club · Ski Club · Gardening Club · Piano & Guitar Club · BrainoBrain · Student Council · Eco Committee
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 sizein the key facts above
The school has 30 staff from more than 40 nationalities. The staff directory names the homeroom teachers of grades 1-6, teachers of Norwegian, Spanish, English, mathematics, sciences, music, physical education, theatre and Diploma Programme subjects, the PYP, MYP and DP coordinators and the student support team.
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
An Oslo municipality school nurse visits twice a week: health checks, hearing and vision tests, vaccinations under the Norwegian programme, conversations with students, including about bullying and mental health; the nurse takes part in the school's programme to prevent violence and sexual abuse. The school has an anti-bullying policy, a school environment plan under Norwegian law and a student support team; the PPV values programme works against racism, prejudice and discrimination.
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%)95 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 data60 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median95 "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 7 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