The town of Arendal and the county of Aust-Agder are growing increasingly international. There are several large and medium sized companies and organizations that attract employees from abroad. Following the global trend of taking the whole world as their playground, youth in the region are looking beyond the borders of Norway for further study and work. There is an increasing need for English-medium education. This need has been responded to: it is possible to do one’s entire schooling in English in Arendal, at Arendal International School and Arendal videregående skole.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year English-language programme of international education for 16-19-year-olds. It is done in Norway in the two final years of upper secondary school, and leads to university qualification at home and abroad.
Arendal videregående skole has been authorized to offer the Diploma Programme since the spring of 2007. The programme now enrols around 40 students and many teachers. Much importance and enthusiasm is attached to the programme at Arendal vgs.
Ten cohorts of DP students have taken their final exams at Arendal vgs, with very good results. They have continued into higher education at top universities abroad (e.g. Oxford, University College London, York, University of Toronto, Odense) and in Norway (e.g. NTNU, NHH).
The Diploma Programme is particularly interesting for students with international ambitions / background. Many students who think of staying in Norway for further education will also benefit from and enjoy the programme which has high standards for learning inside and outside of classroom.
To find out more about the Diploma Programme, familiarize yourself with these pages. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact the school’s DP Coordinator Sabrina Simmons.
For general information about the IB and the IB Diploma Programme, please visit the IB Organization's home page.