Sandefjord Upper Secondary School (, often abbreviated to SVGS) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

upper secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

, Norway. It is the largest secondary school in Norway. It is housed in two-story facilities which are located at Krokemoa near the Bugårds Park. It is an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

World School, but it also offers general academics (the college preparatory ''studiespesialisering'' of the Norwegian school system), as well as elite sports, vocational education, and more. It is located across the road from a ''

Meny Meny (meaning "Menu") is a Norwegian and Danish supermarket chain owned by NorgesGruppen and Dagrofa (only the Danish stores, NorgesGruppen owns a 49% stake in Dagrofa). The chain has historically only been active in Norway, where 187 stores oper ...

'' supermarket, and is few meters from

Bugårdsparken Bugårdsparken (''English language, English'': the Bugårds Park) is a 60-acre park and the main sports center in Sandefjord, Norway. It is also home to a 20-acre (8.2 ha) duck pond, Bugårdsdammen, as well as designated picnic areas and hiking tra ...

. The school is home to several student-run businesses, including a bakery, hair salon and an eatery known as ''Restaurant Barden''. The school has about 2,000 students and 350 employees.

History

Sandefjord Upper Secondary School was established in 1997 when four schools merged to become SVGS: * Sandefjord Gymnas (established as Sandefjord Høyere Allmennskole in 1885, renamed Sandefjord Gymnas in 1964) * Sandar Videregående Skole (established as Sandar Yrkesskole in 1941) * Sandefjord Kokk og Stuertskole (est. 1893) * Sandefjord Handelsgymnas (est. 1917) With over 2,000 students and nine branches of study, Sandefjord Upper Secondary School is very large by national standards. It is situated 120 km (74.5 mi.) southwest of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

at the Krokemoa area of

, Vestfold County. An early challenge was to unify the different schools under a single identity and to provide adapted learning for all students. The school offers general and vocational studies, and students of all branches are subject to the same organizational and administrative structure. From its beginning, it was realized that the new school may have problems with dealing with such a large and broad student body. The difficulty was aggravated by the need for new structures, each having specialized, course-related functions. The need for a social communal space was met with the construction of The Forum, a meeting place which consists of a dining area, bakery, cantina, bookstore, and a nearby library. The Forum has been described as the school's "base-camp of student services", and also houses offices for follow-up services provided to school drop-outs. There are also a health service office, educational and career services, along with a teachers’ workshop. As part of the integration of vocational and general academics at Sandefjord Upper Secondary School, the school has established a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for students. High quality and modern structures were made for specialized teaching branches, particularly for students in the music and athletic programs. Students are encouraged to become self-reliant by taking responsibility for environmental and enterprise links with the local business community in Sandefjord. The school's

ICT ICT may refer to: Sciences and technology * Information and communications technology * Image Constraint Token, in video processing * Immunochromatographic test, a rapid immunoassay used to detect diseases such as anthrax * In-circuit test, in ...

project has been regarded as an important way of encouraging teachers of various subjects to work together in changing teaching methods and modify the student-teacher relationships.Budge, David (2000). ''Motivating Students for Lifelong Learning: Education and Skills''. OECD Publishing. Page 171. . Sandefjord Upper Secondary School has an emphasis on student-centered learning and providing authentic experiences to students, illustrated for example by the school's close links to schools in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

in Johannesburg, South Africa. The bond between the schools has resulted in SVGS students volunteering for extended periods of time in Soweto. The South Africa project began in 1999 and offers the opportunity for students at SVGS to travel to Johannesburg in order to visit schools in Soweto. Students from Soweto also visit SVGS as part of the international project. Students have been involved in a variety of projects, including the establishment of a soap factory which is located on campus. Student businesses include a bakery, butcher, physiotherapy, barber, and restaurant. The High School operates its own bookshop and has an on-campus priest hired as faculty. The school's library has a thousand visitors per day. The school's annual budget is 190,000,000 NOK, where 90 percent covers faculty salaries. SVGS has an exchange program with BASF in

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

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Educational programs

Education Programmes for Specialization in General Studies: * Specialization in General Studies:

(IB) * Programme for Sports and Physical Education * Programme for Natural Science and Mathematics Studies * Programme for Social Sciences and Economics Studies * Programme for Language Studies * Programme for Art, Design, and Architecture * Programme for Music, Dance, and Drama * Programme for Athletic Studies Vocational Education Programmes: * Service and Transport * Electricity and Electronics * Technical and Industrial Production * Design, Arts and Crafts * Restaurant and Food Processing * Sales, Service, and Security * Healthcare, Childhood and Youth Development

Athletics

SVGS has two athletic programs: the Programme for Sports and Physical Education (Idrettsfag) and the Programme for Athletic Studies (Toppidrett). Classes are offered in sports such as

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

, ice skating,

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, swimming, and

floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...

. Sports offered at the Programme for Athletic Studies also include

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

orientation Orientation may refer to: Positioning in physical space * Map orientation, the relationship between directions on a map and compass directions * Orientation (housing), the position of a building with respect to the sun, a concept in building de ...

, rowing,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and

underwater rugby Underwater rugby (UWR) is an underwater team sport. During a match two teams try to score a negatively buoyant ball (filled with saltwater) into the opponents’ goal at the bottom of a swimming pool. It originated from within the physical f ...

. The school also uses facilities in nearby Bugårds Park for various sports. The school has a close corporation with Sandefjord Fotball, a professional football club, as well as

Sandefjord TIF Handball Sandefjord Turn- og Idrettsforening is a sports club in Sandefjord, Norway. The club has activities in basketball, team handball, handball, orienteering, sport of athletics, athletics, skiing, volleyball, gymnastics and children's allsports. Its ...

and IL Runar.

Notable alumni

* Espen Sandberg, film director *

Joachim Rønning Joachim Rønning (born 30 May 1972) is a Norwegian film director who previously worked in a partnership with Espen Sandberg, both of whom came from Sandefjord, Norway. As a directing team, they went under the name of Roenberg (a portmanteau of t ...

, film director * Sonja Mandt, politician *

Jonas Kilmork Vemøy Jonas Kilmork Vemøy (born 12 October 1986 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (trumpet) and composer, member of Maridalen jazz trio, and also known from collaborations within a series of bands and album releases. He was raised in Lar ...

, musician * Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth Koren, handball player *

Einar Sand Koren Einar Riegelhuth Koren (born 12 November 1984) is a Norwegian handball player, currently playing for FCK Håndbold. He started his club career in Runar, and has also played for Haslum.

, handball player * Heidi Løke, handball player *

Bjørn Ole Gleditsch Bjørn Ole Gleditsch (born 13 January 1963) is a Norwegian businessperson and politician for the Conservative Party. Since 2003 he is the mayor of Sandefjord. Before this he served several terms in the municipal council.

, current Mayor of

Sandefjord, Norway Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

Frederic Hauge Frederic Hauge (born 15 August 1965) is a Norwegian environmental activist. He is head of the Bellona Foundation which he co-founded in 1986. Bellona is an international environmental NGO based in countries such as Russia, the United States, Norw ...

, head of the

Bellona Foundation The Bellona Foundation is an international environmental Non-governmental organization, NGO headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with branches in Europe and North America. Founded in 1986 by Frederic Hauge and Rune Haaland as a direct action protest gr ...

Lukas Zabulionis Lukas Zabulionis (born 6 March 1992 in Lithuania) is a Norwegian saxophonist and composer of Lithuanian origin, residing in Sandefjord, Norway. Biography Zabulionis has lived in Sandefjord since he was 7 years old. After graduation at Sandefj ...

, musician *

Lise Davidsen Lise Davidsen (born 8 February 1987 in Stokke) is a Norwegian opera singer. She came to prominence after winning the Operalia competition in London in 2015, and is known as a lyric dramatic soprano. Career Lise Davidsen was born in 1987 in S ...

, singer *

Mathias Stubø Mathias Stubø (born 6 April 1992 in Tønsberg, Norway) is a Norwegian musician and DJ in the genre electronica, also known as Proviant Audio. He is the son of jazz vocalist Kjersti Stubø, grandson of jazz guitarist Thorgeir Stubø and nephew o ...

, musician *

Vadim Demidov Vadim Sergeievich Demidov (; born 10 October 1986) is a Norwegian retired international footballer who played as a central defender. Early life Demidov was born in Riga, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, and is of Russian ethni ...

, football player *

Per Mathisen Per Mathisen (born 7 October 1969) is a Norwegian jazz bassist and composer who has worked with Terri Lyne Carrington, Geri Allen, Gary Thomas, Bill Bruford, Alex Acuña, Gary Husband, Ralph Peterson, Nguyen Le and Terje Rypdal. He is married t ...

, musician *

Geir Ludvig Fevang Geir Ludvig Fevang (born 17 November 1980) is a retired Norwegian football midfielder who last played for Sandefjord. He previously played for Fevang FK, IL Runar, Sandefjord Fotball, IK Start, Lokeren and Haugesund. Career Fevang came to IK St ...

, football player * Kevin Larsen, football player * Mats Haakenstad, football player * Ole Breistøl, football player *

Sofie Karoline Haugen Sofie Karoline Haugen (born 22 April 1995) is a Norwegian speed skater. She won a bronze medal in team sprint at the 2018 European Speed Skating Championships in Kolomna, Russia, along with Martine Ripsrud and Anne Gulbrandsen. Haugen participa ...

, ice skater * Tormod Bjørnetun Haugen, ice skater * Simeon Thoresen, mixed martial artist *

Magnus Søndenå Magnus Søndenå (born 9 October 1991) is a Norwegian handball player for Elverum Håndball and the Norwegian national team. From the 2024/2025 season, he plays for Kolstad Håndball Kolstad Håndball is a Norwegian handball club found in 19 ...

, handball player

Notable faculty

Øystein Havang Øystein Havang (born September 3, 1964) is a Norwegian handball player. He played 187 matches and scored 717 goals for the Norway men's national handball team between 1987 and 1997. He participated at the 1993 and 1997 World Men's Handball Champi ...

, handball player *

Karl Erik Bøhn Karl Erik Bøhn (14 February 1965 – 2 February 2014) was a Norwegian teacher, team handball player and coach. His achievements as coach for the women's club Larvik HK include several victories in the Norwegian League and the Norwegian Cup, ...

, handball player *

Hans Mathisen Hans Mathisen (born 27 July 1967 in Sandefjord, Norway) is a Norwegian Jazz guitarist, educated on the Jazzprogram at Trondheim musikkonservatorium (1988–90), well known for his Pat Metheny and Wes Montgomery inspired performances. He is the b ...

, musician *

Kristine Duvholt Havnås Kristine Duvholt Havnås (born 31 January 1974) is a former Norwegian team handball player and World Champion. She was born in Tønsberg. She received a silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

, handball player *

Roger Kjendalen Roger Kjendalen (born 6 June 1965) is a Norwegian handball player. He played 242 matches and scored 930 goals for the Norway men's national handball team between 1985 and 1998. He participated at the 1993 World Men's Handball Championship. While ...

, handball player * Per Ramberg, former Mayor of

Gunnar Pettersen Gunnar Atle Pettersen (born 30 July 1955) is a Norwegian former team handball player and a former head coach of the Norwegian national team. He was awarded the trophy Håndballstatuetten in 2000, and Gullknappen in 2009. Personal life and educ ...

, handball player *

Tonje Larsen Tonje Larsen (born 26 January 1975, in Tønsberg) is a retired Norwegian handballer who played for the Norwegian national team. She is Olympic champion, World champion and three times European champion. As a club player she is several times Norw ...

, handball player *

Olaf Alfred Hoffstad Olaf Alfred Hoffstad (18 March 186515 September 1943) was a Norwegian botanist, writer, school principal and Conservative politician. Born in the mid-Norwegian city of Stjørdal to a mercantile family, he initially embarked on an educational car ...

, former Mayor of Sandefjord

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.vfk.no/sandefjord-vgs Sandefjord Buildings and structures in Sandefjord International Baccalaureate schools in Norway Secondary schools in Norway Educational institutions established in 1997 1997 establishments in Norway