In the IB Diploma Program, which is taught in English, at present we have 30% native English-speaking teachers. It is important to note that in Norwegian schools English is not considered a foreign language and is part of the national curriculum from pre-school. Therefore the level of English language skills among most Norwegians is exceptionally good.

Students must possess a high level of English-fluency to enroll in the IB Diploma Program. Extra support is offered for students learning Norwegian. Students who join our IB Diploma Program range from new-beginners in Norwegian to native-level fluency.

Our IB Diploma Program offers English and Norwegian language and literature classes, as well as English and Norwegian language acquisition classes (also called Language B in the IB). We also offer School Supported Self-Taught Literature for students who have mother-tongue level reading and writing fluency in a language other than English or Norwegian. Students attend literature analysis classes with English literature students, and work with a tutor in their chosen language. Previously matriculated students have take Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Greek, Chinese, Croatian and Italian as self-taught literature courses. Please contact us to find out more about the possibility of a self-taught literature course in the language of your choice.

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Typically no, however if there is a specific need we are able to do so.

All students receive a personal laptop (Thinkpad) to use during the duration of their studies. We have our own IT department who work with students to maintain and troubleshoot the laptops as needed. We use the Microsoft 365 platform for most school work. Teams is our primary communication tool, course material sharing platform and assignment submission platform. All classrooms are equipped with projectors and/or SmartBoards. Students have free access to the school's robust wifi network.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we were for periods of time required to use virtual classrooms as our learning space. We used Teams at that time, and continue to use the Microsoft 365 platform in our daily communications.

We are a public school and welcome students of all faiths. As a public school it is not permitted to practice a religion as a school activity (Norwegian Education Act, 2024).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Program

Our average diploma attainment rate on the first attempt is roughly 80%. Our average diploma attainment rate after the second attempt is close to 100%.

Teachers assign homework based on the needs of the individual courses they teach. Some courses have more homework than others. A few courses have little or no homework.

IB students can expect 1 to 2 hours of homework combined with revision and studying on average during the school week.

Roughly 95% of our students go on to attend a higher educational institution within a few years of graduating from the Bjørnholt IB Diploma Program.

Our school has a fantastic and quite large department of Accommodated Learning and Student Support Services.

All students are assigned a school counselor and regularly meet their counselor for goal-setting, check-ins and trouble-shooting. In addition to a student's individual counselor, we have a school psychologist, a pedagogical psychologist, several school nurses, two minority counselors, an advisor from the state social welfare organization and a team of experienced social workers on staff. We also have a highly skilled department of accommodated learning with deep expertise in all sorts of special learning needs.

Students in the IB Diploma Program who are motivated and interested in particular areas of study are encouraged and supported to pursue those interests through city-wide activities, competitions and associations. Our small IB Diploma Program allows for a high degree of personalization in response to student motivation and interest.

Yes. We have a large team of student support service professionals. Among them are an educational/pedagogical psychologist and a clinical psychologist.

Yes, in specific cases.

We ask students who have not attended an IB Middle Years Program, or a Norwegian school immediately prior to applying to our IB Diploma Program, to participate in a Mathematics and English skills mapping evaluation.

Typically there is not a waiting list.

The main registration deadline is 1st of March for school start in August of the same calendar year. This is the deadline for all Oslo public upper secondary schools. However, as an international program we know that families often relocate over the summer. We accept ordinary applications for admission until 1st August for school start in the same month. For students and families arriving in Oslo after 1st of August, please contact us.

Students may join the IB Diploma Program up to and including the third week of school. After that time, students may inquire about a special admission from the IB Diploma Program Coordinator.

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No. We have an open campus for IB Diploma students.

Yes. We offer a free bus service from the Oslo Central Train station to the Ryen communication hub with onward travel directly to the school, with return service available in the afternoon. More information is available on our website.

We offer free breakfast to all students until 10.00 every day in our school cafeteria. At lunch time students may choose to purchase lunch from the cafeteria. Options include the daily warm lunch special, a variety of sandwiches, salads and fruit, as well as yogurt and packaged noodle meals.

All food served in the school cafeteria is halal. We also offer glutenfri sandwich options.

Students do not wear uniforms.

IB Diploma students in good standing are invited on a school-sponsored trip to Berlin, Germany toward the end of their first year of the IB Diploma Program. This trip is offered as an extension of our curriculum at no cost to students. Clubs vary by year and student interest. We have a class v. class futsal tournament in school each year. We also have a strong interest in club volleyball. In the past we have sponsored a cricket team, chess and chat, model United Nations, sewing and service, and film clubs, to name a few. In Norway sporting activities are typically run by neighborhood clubs rather than schools.

IB Diploma students are required to participate in the IB Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) program. To satisfy the activity requirements of CAS students have access to the school weight room, spinning room, climbing wall and large sports hall. In addition, students are permitted to seek out their own physical activities outside of school.

Annual futsal tournament (class v. class), currently volleyball, basketball

Our school is co-located with a branch of the Oslo public library, which works together with the school for education programming,as well as providing services and programming available to all public library branches. We have four science laboratories for natural science students. We have two black box theaters, and one auditorium. We also have a sound studio and a film studio, as well as many multimedia production facilities within the school.

We have a weight room, spinning room and dance studio in our school. We are co-located with the local area sports hall and have continuous access to the large sports hall and the four-story tall climbing wall in the sports hall. The hall is used in the evenings by local sports clubs.

The core values of Bjørnholt upper secondary school are Achievement, Equity & Inclusivity. We are a highly diverse school and therefore emphasize all students feeling of belonging in and out of the classroom. We meet students where they are both academically and socially. We prioritize a student-centered environment in our school. Students' voices are hear and no one shall feel alone. We accomplish this through a strong student government and student services team that includes counselors, social workers, student mediators, national social welfare agency advisors, our on-site healthcare team, and minority-identity counselors. We serve free breakfast daily, arrange sports tournaments at school, cabin trips, girls'- and boys'-nights, and host theme evenings throughout the school year. We also offer homework help after school and "open school" during school holidays. Our mission is to support all students who enroll in Bjørnholt upper secondary school to realize their dreams and develop their academic potential.