PROGRAM COUNTRY:
NORWAY
The kingdom of Norway is a constitutional monarchy in
Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the
Scandinavian Peninsula. It is a beautiful country with deep
blue fjords and high mountains. The Norwegians are very
proud of their country, and their Constitution Day on May
17th is one of the most important holidays and it is very much
celebrated in all parts of the country. Norwegians are known
to be a friendly people with a good sense of humor.
COUNTRY INFORMATION
Situated: Northern Europe, Scandinavia
Area: 386.958 square kilometres
Inhabitants: 5.1 million
Capital: Oslo
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk)
National day: May 17
Celebrities: AHA, Lene Marlin, Marion Ravn, Kurt Nilsen,
Ylvis, Petter Northug, Røyksopp NORWAY – “THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN”
Norway is the land of the midnight sun, the brown cheese, the
moose, the northern lights, the reindeer and the “lusekofter”.
A lusekofta is a warm wollen cardigan, knitted in beautiful
traditional designs. The “lusekofter” and other equally thick
sweaters are much appreciated, since much of the country of
Norway is situated north of the Arctic Circle. The word Norway itself means “the way to the north”. To the east, Norway
shares a border with Russia, Finland and Sweden, whilst to
the west, the country faces the Atlantic Ocean. Norway is a
country of extremes. Ranging from the rugged mountains to
the solemn beauty of the fjords, from the emptiness of North
Cape to the beaches of the south. In the north you can experience the midnight sun in June and 24 hours of darkness
in December. Mountains and sea dominate this country on
the western edge of the Scandinavian peninsula. The coast
is punctuated by fjords, which can be as deep as 3,700 feet
(1,000 metres), and is dotted with islands.
Trondheim
Bergen
OSLO
and ends in December / January. The spring semester starts in
January and ends in June. High school consists of three years,
and this is a preparation for higher education. The students
have a certain number of compulsory subjects such as Math,
English, Norwegian, history and social science, but they can
also choose between a range of subjects depending on their
interests and depending on the schools. There are certain educational programs to attend, for example the natural science
program, social science program, language program (English,
French, German or Spanish are common languages at most
schools), business- and economics, arts, media and communication and sports programs just to mention a few.
The relation between teachers and students is usually friendly
and informal and the grading range is 1– 6, where 6 is the
highest grade. School normally starts at eight or nine o’clock in
the morning, and ends between one and four in the afternoon.
Many students would like to come to Norway every year and
the school spots are very limited. Therefore, STS High School
and all exchange students must be open and thankful to the
schools and follow the curriculum that the school is offering.
If you have a special request, please contact the STS office
in Oslo or your local area representative and we will guide
you further. STS will do everything we can to accommodate
your requests, but STS cannot guarantee anything since the
academic decisions are up to the school.
All schools normally have physical education on the schedule. Other sports activities take place after school, in the local
community, and will have to be arranged by you and the host
family whilst in the host country. However, STS encourages
all exchange students to express what type of activities they
enjoy in their application since this sometimes can contribute to a successful Host Family match. School transportation
varies and many students ride public transportation to and
from school at their own expense. Many schools have a lunch
cafeteria where you can buy lunch but the most common
tradition in Norway is to bring a packed lunch “matpakke”.
SCHOOL LIFE
Norwegians start school at the age of six. Everybody has to
complete 10 years of elementary school. The school year is
divided into two semesters, the fall semester starts in August
Most Norwegians know English very well but it is of greatest
importance to understand that all teaching is in Norwegian
only. Most exchange students that come to Norway speak
STS HIGH SCHOOL • WWW.STS-EDUCATION.COM
languages that are very different from Norwegian and it is
important to understand that this will be a challenge in the
beginning. Therefore, STS strongly recommends that you
study Norwegian in your home country prior to your arrival
in Norway. Measures like this will help you to follow basic
conversation both in school and whilst making new friends. It
is important to respect your teachers and fellow students and
school attendance is strictly obligatory. The demands on you
as an exchange student will be the same as on other students
even if the teachers will understand that the language is a
challenge in the beginning.
HOST FAMILY LIFE
Most of the students go straight to their permanent host
family when they arrive in Norway. STS must accept all host
families before a student can move in to their home. All STS
host families volunteer to host students from different part of
the world and you should be prepared to be placed either in
the south near the beautiful Norwegian archipelago, in the
north where you can experience the famous aurora, in the
west where the deep fjords and glaciers are found, or in the
east near the capital Oslo.
The average Norwegian family consists of a mother, father and
two children. However, STS has host families without children
as well as single parents and they are all equally appreciated.
Traditionally, Norwegian families are not known to be actively
religious but many Norwegian families go to church on holidays. In their everyday life, people are busy with work, school
and activities. Most families have dinner together every day,
and parents try to spend as much time as possible with their
children. Most Norwegian children are taught to be independent and are encouraged to make their own decisions from an
early age. In the upbringing of the children a lot of emphasis
is placed on being active, independent and creative.
As an exchange student, it will be expected of you to help out
in the host family’s home like all other family members and it
is important to show the host family that you take initiative
to participate in the family life. Norwegian families are often
very active families that engage in sports and outdoor activities such as hiking and cross-country skiing. Being active, it
is very important that you take care of your hygiene and it
is common to shower every day even if you don’t do sports.
popular weekend-activity in the winter, while hiking, boating
and swimming take up a lot of people’s time in the summer.
Soccer is a big sport amongst both boys and girls and handball
is also very popular in many Norwegian communities. If you
like other sports such as tennis, golf, basketball, volleyball,
aerobics or ice hockey, you will most likely find clubs and
organizations to join in your local community. In addition to
sport clubs, there are many organizations for music, singing,
dancing, drama, and arts and crafts. Norwegians enjoy getting together for celebrations, both in public and at home and
the bigger towns offers amazing opportunities when it comes
to youth clubs as well as cultural events like cinema, theatre
and concerts. STS recommends about 1,500 – 3,000 NOK for
pocket money per month.
PROGRAM EXTRAS
All exchange students in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland are invited to participate in several excursions during the
year. The excursions give the students great opportunities to
make friends from all over the world at the same time as they
are experiencing new and exciting parts of the Nordic countries. The excursions may vary from year to year and the prices
depend on what is included. Information and invitations will
be sent out by email after arrival in the host country.
A year could look like this (all dates and locations are subject
to change)
Sweden – October – An excursion to Gothenburg to experience
the second largest city of Sweden. Shopping, an amusement
park and a boat ride on the canal was amongst the activities.
Finland – December – An excursion to Rovaniemi in Lapland
where you can visit the home town of Santa Claus.
Norway – March – An excursion via Oslo to Hafjell for a typical
Scandinavian Skiing weekend.
Denmark – May – An excursion to the famous Lego Land in
Denmark.
European Tour
At the end of June, STS offers an amazing three-week bus
tour around Europe. You get to visit 10 countries together
with students from all over the world. The price includes accommodation, half board, sightseeing, most entrances and
activities, Disneyland in Paris etc. Information about this tour
will be sent to all students during the exchange year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj37r5fGi1o
SPARE TIME ACTIVITIES
As mentioned above, Norwegians like to consider themselves
a very active people that love to be outdoors. Skiing is a very
All information is subject to change.
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