More information on the school-system in Iceland and the Akranes College
In
Iceland the school-system basically sees 3 - 4 years in kindergarten (ages
2 - 3), 10 years of primary school (ages 6 - 16) and four years of secondary
schooling with school leaving age being at 18 - 20 years. This
may then lead on to studies at university level. Education in various
trades or for some special jobs can be finished at secondary school level.
The
comprehensive school-system
The picture shows different lines of study at the Akranes College. Blue is for trades, red is for the entrance exam to universities ("stúdentspróf"), green is for busisness class and semi-skilled hospital and kindergarten staff, and yellow is for general education. |
Since
every subject is built up of modules there are no classes of students.
Each student gets his or her own individual schedule according to the modules
that the student takes each term. The making of all these schedules is
very complicated. The essential tool for making the schedules is special
computer programmes. Thus information technology is a necessity
for this kind of school.
Each subject is built up of modules. English, Icelandic, Danish and Mathematics are organized the way this diagram shows. The last digit represents the credits that this particular module carries. Each module is taught for approx. 14 weeks, 6 x 40 minutes a week. It depends on the grades from the primary school which course of modules within a subejct one takes. Those who have good grades (above 7.0 out of 10.0) take the "ordinary course". Those who didn't score high but were above the minimum take a bit more time in collecting the credits. Those who are below the minimum (5.0) take general modules and most often leave school after that. |
The Akranes College
At
the Akranes College there are approximately 600 students. Almost 50 of
them attend school in two small villages in the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
The main school is in the town of Akranes. Almost half of the students
at the main school study for the entrance exam to universities or special
colleges. 110 students learn some trade and approximately 160 students
are going to finish either the general line of study or education for special
jobs. A small group of students
with special needs form their own department at the school. Our students
come mostly from the south-western and western parts of Iceland. Also the
Akranes College plays an important role in the
adult education of this area and is the base for distance education
at a university level.