UWC Red Cross Nordic is a private international boarding college at Haugland near the village of Flekke (Fjaler municipality) on a fjord in Western Norway. The foundation for a Nordic college was established in 1986, and the college opened on 30 September 1995 in the presence of Queen Sonja of Norway, who remains its patron. About 200 students aged 16-19 from over 85 countries attend; 30% of places go to students from the Nordic region, and most of the rest, under the statutes, come from underprivileged and conflict-torn regions, including students with disabilities. The two-year programme is the IB Diploma Programme in English, with a foundation year and an English summer course for those who need preparation. The college rests on three pillars - humanitarian, environmental and Nordic - and works in partnership with the Norwegian Red Cross, whose rehabilitation centre is next door. Most students study on scholarships funded by the Nordic countries.
Key facts
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Spanish, French
Admissions The college admits students aged 16-19 for the last two years of school, from all over the world. There are three routes. The first and main one is through the national committee in the country of residence or citizenship: committees select on demonstrated potential regardless of family income, usually by written application and interview, sometimes with group activities, an exam or a selection camp; the criteria are intellectual curiosity, active commitment, social competence, resilience and motivation. The second is the Global Selection Programme for a limited number of full fee-paying places with no scholarships. The third is direct application to the college for young people living in Vestland county: three places a year (for 2026 applications were open from 25 October 2025 to 2 March 2026), applicants must be 16 or 17 on 1 August, attend Vg1 or the final MYP year, be registered in Vestland and be eligible for a Lånekassen grant. 30% of places go to students from the Nordic countries. Applicants with disabilities must be functionally independent. The school year starts in August.
Stages and year groups The two-year IB Diploma Programme: six subjects, one from each group, three at higher and three at standard level, plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS. Subjects: Language A Literature in Danish, English, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish, English Language and Literature and school-supported self-taught literature in the mother tongue; English B, Norwegian B, Spanish B, French ab initio and Spanish ab initio; Economics, History, Philosophy, Geography, Global Politics, Psychology, Environmental Systems and Societies; Chemistry, Physics, Biology; Mathematics AA and AI; Visual Arts, Theatre. All first-year students take one term of introductory Norwegian. For students who are not yet prepared there is a three-week English summer course and a Foundation Year with the college's own diploma. The programme is for ages 16-19.
Address Hauglandsvegen 304, 6968 Flekke
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeNEASC · candidateUWC · part of the movementUWC · school is part of the networkThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. The school is a college of the UWC movement.
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 →NEASCNew England Association of Schools and Colleges
An American accreditation working since 1885. For international schools it uses an approach where the visitors look first at live lessons rather than at folders of paperwork: the team works in the school for about a week. It is the only one here whose public directory honestly separates accredited schools from candidates.
What the badge means for this school. The school is a candidate for accreditation by this organisation: the route has been started but not completed. Candidacy speaks of an application made and a file accepted for consideration, not of the outcome of an inspection, and the organisations themselves usually require schools to say that it does not guarantee accreditation. The candidacy is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →UWCUnited World Colleges
A movement of eighteen colleges on four continents, selecting pupils from all over the world regardless of what their families can pay. A new college does not join the network, it is founded from scratch: the route takes two to six years and requires an endowment and non-profit status.
What the badge means for this school. The school is one of the eighteen UWC colleges. That is not an accreditation, but the status cannot be bought either. Be careful with similar wording elsewhere: a "link to UWC" through a national committee that selects pupils is not the same thing at all. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
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 pool
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
✓Boarding
Also on site: Art studio
Clubs and activities: Model United Nations · Red Cross Certificate · Global Concerns · Friluftsveka (outdoor week with skiing) · Ridderrennet (ski race for people with disabilities: taking part and volunteering) · SaFuGe (student charity) · Outdoor Leadership Programme · Student Council · Peer Listeners · Host Family Programme
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 sizenot stated
Teaching combines classes, pastoral care and the extra-academic programme, and staff live on campus. In the last two years staff have come from 22 countries, from Australia and Ghana to Norway and the USA. The college has 22 advisors, mostly teachers, each with about 10 students whom they meet at least once a fortnight; each house has a house leader. Learning support is provided by two specialists and two further teachers, helped by student peer tutors. The leadership team is named on the website; the Rektor has taught IB Philosophy and Spanish for many years.
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 training
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The college is committed to protecting students from harm; it has a designated safeguarding lead and a deputy, the Safeguarding24 online reporting platform, a board representative for safeguarding and a community safeguarding handbook. The Care Centre is staffed by the college nurse and a wellbeing counsellor: daily drop-in sessions, a health check at the start of the year; the nearest doctor is in Dale and the hospital in Førde. There is a team of student peer listeners, house leaders, advisors and staff with three-year Mental Health First Aid training; the designated safeguarding lead lives in the student village. All students complete a 12-hour basic first aid course and a non-violent communication programme.
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 data90 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
Flekke, Norway · est. 1995 · Private