Hønefoss vgs is an upper secondary school (pupils aged 16-19) situated in the small town of Hønefoss (population about 15 000), the centre of the municipality Ringerike (about 30 000). The school is owned by the county of Buskerud.

The main school is located at Osloveien, with two subsidiaries at Risesletta and Ringerike fengsel (prison education). There are about 700 pupils divided into 55 classes.

Hønefoss videregående skole, Osloveien

Facts and figures:

o   Main school, Osloveien:       500 pupils

o   Subsidiary, Risesletta:          180 pupils

o   Subsidiary, Ringerike fengsel: 30 pupils

o    180 employees (of which 150 are teachers)

The school offers nine of the twelve foundations in the Norwegian upper secondary school system:

o   Building and construction

o   Design, arts and crafts

o   Electricity and electronics

o   General studies (specialization in Arts, crafts and design or in ICT and Electronics)

o   Health and social care

o   Media and communication

o   Restaurant and food processing

o   Service and transport (only second year specialization in ICT Service and Transport and logistics)

o   Technical and industrial production

o    We also offer a supplementary programme for general university admissions certification as a third year for vocational students.

Upper secondary school in Norway

All young people between the age of 16 and 19 have a legal right to three years of upper secondary education. This education is not compulsory, but more than 95% attend school in these age groups.

There are 11 different foundation courses to choose among. A little less than half the students choose General studies, leading on to Universities and similar institutions.

A little more than half the students will attend the other courses, which are more or less vocational.

Advancing to the second year (VG2) there are about 100 different courses to choose from. The third year (VG3) will for most vocational directions of study consist of two years of training combined with productive work in business or industry. Their education will be completed with a craft certificate or journeyman's certificate when they have passed a final test.







 

Other foundations in the region of Ringerike:

·         General Studies (specialization in Language, Natural science and mathematics or Social sciences and economics)
·         Music, Dance and Drama
·         Sports and Physical Education (all located at Ringerike videregående skole)
·         Service and transport  (located at Ringerike videregående skole, specialization second year in ICT Service and Transport and logistics located at Hønefoss videregående skole)

The county authorities also run Arbeidsinstituttet Ringerike, which provides work, training and motivation courses for those who leave school or who do not want to start.

Follow-up service

The muncipality has a legal obligation to establish a follow-up service for young people who have a statutory right to education, but who are not in training or employed. The follow-up service for Ringerike is situated in the park of Hønefoss videregående skole.