Flekke and Fjaler: schools, travel and UWC Red Cross Nordic

Flekke is a village in Fjaler municipality, in the Sunnfjord area of Vestland county on Norway’s west coast. The municipal centre is Dale i Sunnfjord, about 10 km away. According to the Norwegian encyclopedia, Fjaler has about 2,900 inhabitants and uses Nynorsk as its official written standard.

That scale shapes the school question. For most families, Flekke means one thing: a son or daughter aged 16 to 19 boarding at UWC Red Cross Nordic. For the rare family moving here to live, schooling is Norwegian, local and in Nynorsk.

Getting here

UWC Red Cross Nordic’s travel page places the college about 150 km north of Bergen and 50 km west of Førde. It lists two main routes:

• Via Førde. Fly from Oslo to Førde Airport with Widerøe, take the airport bus into Førde, then a local bus to Flekke.
• Via Bergen. Travel by road, or by bus and ferry. The college also links to the timetable for boats to and from Bergen.

A local taxi covers the last 2.5 km from Flekke village to the college. For a boarding student flying in from abroad, the real planning is around the start and end of term: connecting flights, a possible overnight stop in Bergen or Oslo, and who meets the student. Ask the college and the national committee how arrival days are organised.

How the local system works

In Norway, ten years of schooling is compulsory. Children start in the calendar year they turn six, with primary school to Year 7 and lower secondary to Year 10. Upper secondary (vidaregåande) follows, and young people who complete lower secondary have a legal right to attend.

Local schools in Fjaler teach in Norwegian, using Nynorsk as the written standard. Fjaler’s public upper secondary school is Dale vidaregåande skule, in Dale. A child who arrives without Norwegian will need language support, so ask the municipality what it provides before you move.

We do not profile any English-medium day school in or near Fjaler. Families who need one for younger children should be looking at Bergen, not Flekke.

The school in Flekke

UWC Red Cross Nordic is a two-year International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma college for students aged about 16 to 19, most of whom board. It suits a student who wants an intensive residential IB experience in a remote setting with strong outdoor and service elements. It does not help younger siblings, and it is not a convenient day school for a family that happens to live nearby. The profile explains the national-committee, full-fee and Vestland application routes, and the costs.

Alternatives to compare

• International School of Bergen teaches children through Grade 10, but not the IB Diploma.
• Bergen Katedralskole is a public upper secondary school in Bergen with an English-taught IB route for Vestland residents. The Bergen guide compares both.
• For international schools in the capital, see the Oslo school search.

Choose Flekke when a 16-year-old has been selected for UWC Red Cross Nordic and wants that residential model. Look elsewhere if the family is relocating with younger children who need English-medium schooling; Bergen offers more choice. The Norway guide explains the wider system.

Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.