Porsgrunn videregående skole (PVS) is a public upper secondary school (videregående skole) of Telemark county in Porsgrunn, in two buildings on Kjølnes Ring. It prepares students both for university and for vocational careers: it offers studiespesialisering, a sports programme with an elite-sport track, art, design and architecture, and vocational programmes in hairdressing, floristry and interior design, information technology and media, and technology and industry. Since 2010 the school has offered the IB Diploma Programme: in grade 11 (Vg1) students can choose the preparatory Pre-IB class, where most lessons are in English under the Norwegian curriculum, and in grades 12-13 (Vg2-Vg3) the Diploma Programme itself in English. The other programmes are taught in Norwegian. Education is free. The school was the first in Norway to be named a dyslexia-friendly school, and it offers extra Norwegian for students whose first language is not Norwegian.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Norwegian, English
Languages taught
German, Spanish, French
About the fees Education is free: the school states that there are no fees for the IB Diploma Programme, as for the other programmes of the public upper secondary school. Laptop rental is paid separately: 1427 NOK per year for the 2026-2027 school year. IB students keep their right to loans and grants from Lånekassen, the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund.
Admissions Vg1 places are allocated by the county through the Vigo system: the deadline is 1 March and priorities can be changed until 30 April; Vg1 admission is on general grounds by grades, and for the sports programme up to half the places are awarded taking sporting achievements into account. For the Diploma Programme (Vg2-Vg3) students also apply through Vigo by 1 March, every year anew; applicants outside the Vigo system or from abroad submit the school's own application form with supporting documents. The school says it admits students of all nationalities able to benefit from the programme, provided they have a Norwegian residence permit and an address in Telemark county. Required are a completed Vg1 in general studies or a related programme, MYP 5 or other schooling of at least 10 years, satisfactory English and mathematics; if in doubt, the school may set an entrance test in mathematics and English. If places are short, priority goes to students with good grades, those who do not speak Norwegian fluently and those coming from another school with education at Vg1 level. Students may apply for the IB after Vg1 at any school.
Stages and year groups Grades Vg1-Vg3 (11-13). A Norwegian upper secondary school under the LK20 curriculum, three years, grades 11-13 (Vg1-Vg3). University preparation: studiespesialisering (a common Vg1, then specialisation in natural sciences or languages, social studies and economics), idrettsfag (sports programme with toppidrett and breddeidrett), kunst, design og arkitektur; the result is the vitnemål and generell studiekompetanse. Vocational programmes: frisør, blomster, interiør og eksponeringsdesign; informasjonsteknologi og medieproduksjon; teknologi- og industrifag; plus a work and everyday life training programme (AHT) and Kombiløpet. IB track: Vg1 med internasjonalisering (Pre-IB) under the Norwegian curriculum with most lessons in English, then the IB Diploma Programme in Vg2-Vg3 in English; DP subjects: Norwegian A Literature, English A Language & Literature, Norwegian B, English B, Global Politics, History, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, mathematics Applications and Interpretations and Analysis and Approaches. The IB Diploma qualifies for universities in Norway and abroad.
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 pool
✓Sports hall
·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
Also on site: Sports ground or field
Teaching staff
The school publishes neither the number of its teachers nor their 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
The school runs a student services team (Elevtjenester) in both buildings: social-pedagogical counsellors, education and career counsellors, school nurses, the educational-psychological service, a minority adviser, the follow-up service and police. The school declares zero tolerance of bullying, exclusion, violence, discrimination and harassment and works under chapter 9A of the Education Act on the school environment. For Vg1 students there is the VIP mental health programme and the VIP makkerskap class 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 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
Porsgrunn, Norway · State