Longyearbyen School ( no, Longyearbyen skole) is a combined

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

school located in and serving

Longyearbyen Longyearbyen (, locally �lɔ̀ŋjɑrˌbyːən "The Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000 and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ...

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group rang ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. The school has about 270 pupils and 45 teachers. It is the northernmost school in the world.

History

The

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

was established in 1920 as a cooperation between the

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church ...

and the

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Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK), or simply Store Norske, is a Norwegian coal mining company based on the Svalbard archipelago. It was formed in 1916, after a Norwegian purchase of the American Arctic Coal Company (ACC). The company ...

(SNSK). The first teacher was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Thorleif Østenstad, who taught in a

barrack Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

s near the church. Originally, there were eight pupils, but by 1926, it had grown to sixteen. In 1935 pastor Just Kruse was assigned as principal and teacher of the school. He was in office until the evacuation in 1941. A separate school building was taken into use in 1938, but it was destroyed in the bombing of Longyearbyen in 1943. When the school resumed operations in 1946, it initially used a two-room house at Haugen. With the 1951 opening of Huset, a community center, the school was located in the second story. From 1954, the school was reorganized. It has two classes, the vicar was no longer responsible for teaching, and operations were taken over by SNSK, who received a 25,000

Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ...

per year subsidy from the government. From 1957, a principal was hired and the school split into three classes. In 1964, a private middle school was established. From 1971, a new school building was taken into use, in time for the introduction of obligatory nine-year education. The new facilities included a gym and a swimming pool. From 1972, teachers were no longer permanently employed, but instead given three-year fixed terms. Ownership and funding of the school was taken over by the Ministry of Education and Research from 1 August 1976. From 1978, upper secondary education was introduced, for which a extension was built. A further was added in 1984. In 1995, an additional was added and the following year, Svalbardhallen, a multi-purpose indoor sports complex, was opened. The same year, the school received an Internet connection. Regular school for six-year-olds started in 1997. In 1999, the school took over the community's music school. A new middle school building was taken into use in 2005, followed by another section for younger students the following year. From 1 January 2007, ownership was taken over by

Longyearbyen Community Council Longyearbyen Community Council ( no, Longyearbyen lokalstyre) is the local government for Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway. It has many of the same responsibilities of a municipality. It is organized with a 15-member council which since 2011 has b ...

Demographics

The student body is highly transient, as working adults in Svalbard usually have two to three year contracts and leave after they finish these contracts. Due to the low population the school emphasizes friendship and dealing with conflicts properly. In 2007 there were 230 pupils; they consisted of Norwegians and those from 12 other countries, including about 10 Thai students. None of the students had originated in Svalbard. Once pupils reach ages 16 or 17 most families move to mainland Norway.

Curriculum

The curriculum is largely the same as that of mainland Norway. In 2007 students 16 and older took courses on survival in the wilderness.

References

External links

Longyearbyen skole
{{Authority control Primary schools in Norway Secondary schools in Norway Longyearbyen 1920 establishments in Norway Educational institutions established in 1920 Education in Svalbard Buildings and structures in Svalbard

History

Demographics

Curriculum

See also

References

External links