The Akureyri Junior College ( is, Menntaskólinn á Akureyri , regionally also ; la, Schola Akureyrensis) is an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic gymnasium (academic secondary school). It is one of the oldest educational institutions in Iceland. The Menntaskólinn á Akureyri traces its roots to the ancient school in

Hólar Hólar (; also Hólar í Hjaltadal ) is a small community in the Skagafjörður district of northern Iceland. Location Hólar is in the Hjaltadalur valley, some from the national capital of Reykjavík. It has a population of around 100. It is th ...

in Hjaltadalur valley, founded in the beginning of Jón Ögmundsson's

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in 1130. Operation of that school was discontinued in 1802 but a campaign to reopen the school of the 'Northland' was soon launched. Success came in 1880 when a 'learned school' was opened at Möðruvellir in the valley of

Hörgárdalur Hörgárdalur () is a valley in north Iceland, the valley of the river Hörgá. It is long and extends southwest from Eyjafjörður, which it meets inland. It is now part of the municipality of Hörgársveit. The valley is wide and fertile at i ...

. The building in Möðruvellir burnt down in 1902 and the school was moved to

Akureyri Akureyri (, locally ) is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's fifth-largest municipality, after Reykjavík, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær and Kópavogur, and the largest town outside Iceland's more populated southwest corner. Nicknamed ...

, where it is currently located. Today the Junior College is attended by about 700 pupils every year, and on the national day of Iceland, 17 June, approximately 120 students graduate yearly. The Junior College's headmaster is Jón Már Héðinsson. Tryggvi Gíslason (born 11 June 1938) was headmaster of Akureyri Junior College from 1973 to 2003. Tryggvi graduated with a mag. art. degree and taught Icelandic at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

in Norway. The College is based on tradition. A few of these are: * Singing: A few times each semester, students gather outside the headmaster's office to sing for him. If they sing well enough, he grants the students permission to skip the next class and gather in the auditorium to sing. ( en, singing in the auditorium) * No alcohol: All gatherings in the name of the school are alcohol free. Almost all students respect this and consider it something that distinguishes their school from others in Iceland. * Different school year: As in other schools in Iceland this one has two terms, an autumn term and a spring term; but this school has its autumn exams after Christmas, while most other schools have the exams before Christmas.

Notable faculty members

Björgvin Guðmundsson Björgvin Guðmundsson (16 April 1891 – 4 January 1961) was an Icelandic composer. He was born at Rjúpnafell, Vopnafjörður, Iceland, where he grew up. In Vopnafjörður he showed inclination for music, and in his twenties Björgvin moved wit ...

, composer *

Páll Skúlason Páll Skúlason (4 June 1945 – 22 April 2015) was a professor of philosophy and former Rector of the University of Iceland. Born and raised in Akureyri, in northern Iceland, Páll Skúlason graduated from highschool in 1965. He studied phi ...

, philosopher *

Steingrímur J. Sigfússon Steingrímur Jóhann Sigfússon (born 4 August 1955) is an Icelandic politician. He has been a member of the Althing (Icelandic parliament) since 1983 and was the founding chairman of the Left-Green Movement (''Vinstri hreyfingin – grænt fram ...

, politician *

Tómas Ingi Olrich Tómas Ingi Olrich (born 13 February 1943) is an Icelandic politician and former Minister (government), minister and ambassador. Early life and education Tómas was born in Akureyri and educated at the University of Iceland, where he studied ...

, later member of

Alþingi The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

, Minister of Education, and ambassador to France * Tryggvi Gíslason, headmaster from 1973 to 2003

Graduates

* Ari Brynjolfsson, physicist * Eysteinn Björnsson, writer * Sigurður Helgason, mathematician *

Sigurður Þórarinsson Sigurdur Thorarinsson ( Icelandic: Sigurður Þórarinsson) (January 8, 1912 – February 8, 1983) was an Icelandic geologist, volcanologist, glaciologist, professor and lyricist. He is considered a pioneer in the field of tephrochronology, and ...

, geologist

References

External links

The school's website

The school paper's website
{{Coord, 65.6765, -18.0944, type:edu_region:IS, display=title Akureyri Gymnasiums in Iceland Educational institutions established in 1880 1880 establishments in Iceland