Norway · Sandsli
A west-coast day school on Sandslihaugen, 15 km from Bergen centre, not Bekkestua and not Hafrsfjord. The Board’s 2026–27 schedule prints kroner for B1, B2 and C. Tuition A is upon application. The campus stops at Grade 10.
Dieses Porträt steht noch auf Englisch. Die anderen Sprachen kommen Schule für Schule.
Curriculum laut Schule:IB Primary Years Programme · IB Middle Years Programme · Norwegian Framework Plan for Kindergartens
Unterrichtssprachen:English, Norwegian from Grade 1
The International School of Bergen is a not-for-profit on Sandslihaugen 36, 5254 Sandsli, 15 kilometres from Bergen centre. Official site: isbergen.no. Office: post@isbergen.no, +47 55 30 63 30. Closed in the holidays. Apply through OpenApply.
It is a day school. The FAQ says so. If the posting has not found a flat, this campus will not absorb the child.
Do not mix it up with Oslo International School in Bekkestua or the International School of Stavanger in Hafrsfjord. Those two run through the IB Diploma. ISB does not. The learning pages take a child from preschool age 1 and graduate them in Grade 10 at about 16, then help them on to a Diploma school or a United World College. Sandsli is west-coast Bergen: fjord weather, wet pavements, and countryside the premises page calls an extended classroom. It is not Bærum frost and it is not an oil-town campus on Treskeveien.
The history page says ISB began in 1975 as the American School — “the Little Red School House on the Fjords” — with 17 students from Kindergarten through Grade 3. By the mid-eighties it had changed its name and gone after international accreditation. That page now talks about 250 students and nearly forty nations; the “why choose” list talks about 50 nationalities and 45 languages. Treat those as the school talking about itself. Director: Peter Ledger. ECC: Alyssa Dyrdal. Lower School: Leanne Hagen. Upper School: Joe Cook.
The useful questions are Bergen questions. Can this child work in English in the year you want? Will they learn Norwegian? Which tuition letter do you sit in? And what happens after Grade 10?
The homepage purpose is an internationally accredited education serving the business and Bergen communities. The history page still talks about families brought in for expertise, and about local students who want an English-speaking school. It also says the curriculum is international rather than American. The FAQ says ISB is approved by UDIR and must deliver aspects of the Norwegian national curriculum. The ECC uses the Norwegian Framework Plan.
The 2026–27 fee page sorts the queue. Tuition A is the Guaranteed Seat Programme for companies that want a reserved place they can fill mid-year. Those seats go first. Tuition B1 is internationally mobile families in Bergen Kommune, no Norwegian passports, fewer than three years in Norway, and proof the company is not paying. Tuition B2 is anyone outside Bergen Kommune, however long they have lived in Norway. Tuition C1 is families at not-for-profit organisations, with papers. Tuition C2 is Norwegian-citizen families, or families here more than three years, with no company support. C is last when seats are tight.
The burden of proof sits on you. Two parents in different categories start on Tuition B. A B1 family can ask for C after three years; the change waits until the next school year. A B2 family cannot move to C unless they move into Bergen Kommune. Leave the kommune and a C family is sent to B2 the following year. Read that twice if an Askøy rental looked cheaper.
The FAQ says ISB does not offer scholarships. It prints a 25% sibling reduction for Tuition C. The 2026–27 schedule also prints 25% for B1, and none for B2.
Sandsli is south of the centre, not Bryggen. The premises page says the building was modernised in 2019 and holds ECC, Lower School and Upper School under one roof: classrooms, a library called Community Cove, art rooms, a science lab, a gymnasium. The ECC wing has four classrooms, an art room, a climbing-wall room and a performing-arts room. Two enclosed playgrounds, forest paths, a grill hut, bike paths, slides, swings, sandboxes and a vegetable garden.
Neighbourhood extras the school names: a swimming pool, an ice rink, the science discovery centre, museums, galleries, and “Bergen’s wonderful countryside” as an outdoor classroom. Grades 2–4 swim at Slåtthaug, on public transport. Upper School adds bike trips, skiing, canoeing, ice skating and hiking. Pack the rain kit you would have skipped in Bekkestua. Ask where Grade 3 actually goes on a wet Tuesday.
Premises hours:
After-school activities start at 15:00, or 14:00 on Wednesday. The homepage also prints 15:05–16:05. Clubs are outside providers; you sign up and pay them, term by term. The school says they hold a police certificate and sign the child-protection policy.
Think in three bands, as the learning page does.
Early Childhood Centre. A barnehage on the same site as Grades 1–10. Ages one to six: Preschool 1&2, Preschool 3&4, Kindergarten. English, inquiry, and a blend of the Norwegian Framework Plan for Kindergartens with the IB PYP. Hours 07:30–16:30, school calendar. Fees are not the Grade 1–10 tariff. Bergen Kommune sets the monthly price.
Lower School, Grades 1–5. IB PYP. Units of Inquiry, then the Grade 5 Exhibition. The 2023–24 Lower School guide dropped traditional report cards; Toddle is the running portfolio. Conferences in November and May. Grades 3–5 sit the ISA in February. Grades 1–4 get a school iPad; Grade 5 a Chromebook. Written homework is mostly not the point in Grades 1–4; daily reading is. Grade 5 adds more writing as a ramp into Grade 6.
Upper School, Grades 6–10. IB Middle Years Programme. The Director’s page says ISB was the first MYP school in the world, in 1987, with more than thirty years of students aged 11–16. Grade 6 has an Oslo cultural visit; Grade 10 organises a Service as Action / CAS trip in Europe. Those trips are extra. The Upper School page says approximate figures sit in the handbook; we are not inventing them. Erasmus+ in 2024–2025 went to and from Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Liechtenstein. The school’s printed point is a taste of travel, then Diploma or UWC applications.
The joining page prints the age table. Grade 1 is 6–7. Grade 10 is 15–16. British Year 2 maps to Grade 1; British Year 11 to Grade 10. The school places the child.
The “why choose” page prints a 1:7 teaching ratio and classes of 15–22. The FAQ says the Grade 1–10 average is 18. ECC staffing follows Bergen Kommune ratios; no number is printed.
Instruction is in English. The FAQ says a child who does not speak it can still apply. The Learning and Wellbeing team is the published support.
Norwegian is mandatory from Grade 1. The Lower School guide prints three hours a week, plus culture. Language A follows the national curriculum with the PYP phases. Language B is for arrivals with little or no Norwegian, taught separately, aimed at everyday function in town. Test that on a tour if you want a child who can live in Sandsli, not only commute through it. Ask how sets are made, and what a January B student is doing by June.
National tests in reading, numeracy and English run in Grades 5, 8 and 9. ISB students are exempt from the English papers, which are written for Norwegian-medium schools. Language A sits the Grade 5 reading test in November; Language B may sit it if a parent asks. Grade 3 has diagnostic tests in reading and mathematics in Norwegian; the school can excuse Language B. The tests page is proud of the scores. Treat that as the school talking about itself.
ELS can be in-class, pull-out, an alternative English programme, or a mix. There is no published CEFR gate of the kind Oslo International School prints. Ask what this arrival gets in week three.
ISA runs in Grades 3, 5, 7 and 9. The school says results compare well with other international schools. Treat that as the school talking about itself.
Applications run all year. Three steps: application, placement, welcome.
Application. ECC families complete the ISB form and the Bergen Kommune barnehage form. The office will help if the kommune form is only in Norwegian. Grades 1–10 complete the ISB form and, if they exist, two complete years of records, including any IEP.
Placement. The school chooses the grade from learning, social development and age. Bring work samples. Say how long you expect to stay. Send scores if you have them. For Grades 2–10, a form goes to the previous school through OpenApply. A formal offer can follow once steps 1 and 2 check out.
Welcome. The teacher is told. A buddy is appointed.
Leaving needs one month’s notice on the termination form. The nurse forwards records to the next school. For dates and what you still owe, the form points you back to the tuition schedule.
New Grade 1–10 students accepting a place for 2026–27 or later pay a 2,500 NOK admission fee, or 5,000 NOK if two or more children are admitted at once. One-off, charged on accept, non-refundable. It does not apply if you already have a child at ISB. The 2026–27 page also says an Early Deposit is non-refundable and does not print that deposit in kroner. The joining page mentions an enrolment fee without a figure. Ask the office for the live invoice.
Mid-year entry is possible if a seat exists. Join Grade 1–10 after the year has started and you pay the whole month you arrive in. No refund for a leftover week. Same rule on ECC and paid supervision.
The schedule on isbergen.no/joining-isb/tuition-policy-2026-2027 is the document. It is effective for 2026–2027. The Board sets the next year when it adopts the budget. The page says each application is treated individually and fees can be adjusted when the offer is confirmed. Confirm the live page before you resign a flat.
ECC, in line with Bergen Kommune, and able to move in January if the national budget says so:
| Fee | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| ECC, 5 days, annual | 13,200 NOK |
| ECC, invoiced monthly 15 August 2026–15 June 2027 | 1,200 NOK |
The August-settlement column for ECC is the same 13,200 — no 2.5% rebate on this row. The ECC page repeats 1,200 NOK a month, 15th from August to June. More than one sibling in the ECC gets the Bergen Kommune sibling discount, refunded in January and June. Preschool and Kindergarten supervision is free: 07:30–09:00 and 15:00–16:30.
Admission, new Grade 1–10, 2026–27 or later:
| Fee | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| One new student | 2,500 NOK |
| Two or more new students at once | 5,000 NOK |
Grade 1–10 tuition, kroner as printed. Pay the year by 15 August 2026 and Grades 1–10 get a 2.5% rebate. Or pay monthly on the 15th, August 2026 through June 2027.
| Category | Who, in the school’s words | Annual | By 15 Aug 2026 | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | In Bergen Kommune; no Norwegian passports; under three years in Norway; not company-sponsored | 149,044 | 145,418 | 13,550 |
| B1 sibling, 25% | Second child, Grades 1–10 | 111,783 | 108,988 | 10,163 |
| B2 | Lives outside Bergen Kommune | 202,700 | 197,633 | 18,428 |
| B2 sibling | None | — | — | — |
| C1 / C2, Grades 1–7 | C1: not-for-profit employer. C2: Norwegian citizenship or more than three years in Norway, no company support | 84,857 | 82,736 | 7,715 |
| C sibling, Grades 1–7 | 25% | 63,643 | 62,052 | 5,786 |
| C1 / C2, Grades 8–10 | Same C rules | 95,935 | 93,537 | 8,722 |
| C sibling, Grades 8–10 | 25% | 71,951 | 70,152 | 6,541 |
Tuition A — Guaranteed Seat Programme — is upon application. We are not inventing a company rate.
A first-year Grade 6 on B1 is not “about 149,000.” It is 2,500 admission plus 149,044 if you pay across the year — 151,544 NOK before supervision, the Oslo trip, or a club. Same child on B2 is 2,500 + 202,700. On C2, if the papers fit, 2,500 + 84,857. Get the category in writing.
Supervision, Grades 1–4 only, billed separately, 07:30–08:45 and 15:00–16:30, “day care only,” no educational claim:
| Option | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Morning and afternoon | 20,267 NOK | 1,843 NOK |
| Morning only | 12,156 NOK | 1,106 NOK |
| Afternoon only | 12,156 NOK | 1,106 NOK |
Join supervision mid-month and you pay the month. After-school clubs and some trips are extra. The “what tuition covers” page lists the curriculum, the three sections, Lower School devices, Norwegian from Grade 1, counsellors, ELS, learning support, the nurse, the library, swimming, ice skating and gymnasiums. Some trips and ASAs are not in the fee.
The Learning and Wellbeing team is the counsellor, the IENS coordinator and the ELS coordinator, with the nurse. The counsellor also helps with upper-secondary applications — the years this campus does not teach. IENS works with staff and PPT Bergen. The Lower School guide draws the line: Grades 1–10 do not have the facilities or resources for severe physical or learning disabilities, including low cognitive functioning or conduct disabilities. Say the need on day one. Ask, in the room, whether this year’s team can hold this child.
Ask which tuition letter you are, in writing. Ask whether a B1 clock toward C has started. Ask how many seats in this grade are left after Tuition A. Ask to see Norwegian A and B, and what a January arrival actually gets. Ask whether ELS is in class or down the hall, and whether IENS has capacity this year. Ask what last year’s Grade 10s did for the Diploma or UWC. Ask for the live Grade 6 and Grade 10 trip letters. Ask what happens if the posting ends in October (one month’s notice; check the schedule for what is still due). Ask to stand on the playground in the rain.
If you were comparing Bekkestua or Hafrsfjord on a spreadsheet, ask one more: after Grade 10, where does this child sit in August. ISB is a west-coast school that stops at sixteen.
We are not saying ISB is the best school in Vestland. We are not guessing a waitlist. We are not printing a Tuition A figure, an Early Deposit, an enrolment fee, or a 2027–28 tariff. We are not pricing the Oslo week or the Grade 10 trip.
Read the current 2026–27 fee schedule and write to admissions before you resign a flat. This is a map. The school still has to be the right Tuesday.
Offizielle Seiten und Dokumente, die wir gelesen haben. Wenn eine Zahl für Budget oder Bewerbung zählt, öffnet den Link und prüft, ob er noch gilt.
Freundliche Orientierung, kein Antrag. Termine, Gebühren und Programme ändern sich. Alles bei der Schule prüfen.
Bergen is not a suburb of Bekkestua. The portrait we have is a PYP and MYP house in Sandsli that stops at Grade 10. Time the 15 km, not Oslo’s dark Tuesday.
16 minDie Buchstaben auf dem Abschlusszeugnis zählen. Sie sind nicht das ganze Kind. So unterscheidet ihr sie ohne Kopfschmerz — und ohne so zu tun, als bliebe jede Tür offen.
16 minIhr braucht keinen perfekten Algorithmus. Nur ein paar wahre Dinge über euer Kind, eine langweilige Liste am Kühlschrank — und den Mut, einen schönen Campus zu ignorieren, der nicht passt.
15 minDas Schulgeld ist die Zahl auf der Startseite. Das PDF ist die Zahl, die im März kommt. Hier steht, wie ihr die zweite lest, ohne einen Euro, eine Krone oder eine Frist zu erfinden.