A menntaskóli () is an Icelandic equivalent to a gymnasium (

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, or

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

), although it works differently from other countries. In

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

grade school (grunnskóli) starts in 1st grade at the age of 6 and ends in 10th grade at the age of 16, which are the only

mandatory Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also r ...

school years in

. After graduation from grade school, students choose what High Schools/College they wish to go to (this is similar to choosing a

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

). It is all based on what students wish to learn. It is a 3-year term; roughly the equivalent of the last three years of high school and the first year of university in the United States. A completion of menntaskóli usually provides the student with stúdentspróf (upper secondary certificate) which is required for entry to most university programs in Iceland. Stúdentspróf is somewhat equivalent to a JR college diploma in the US.

List of Icelandic Secondary Schools

* Borgarholtsskóli (Borgó) (

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

) * Fjölbrautaskóli Vesturlands á Akranesi (FVA) (

Akranes Akranes () is a port town and municipality on the west coast of Iceland, around north of the capital Reykjavík. The area where Akranes is located was settled in the 9th century; however, it did not receive a municipal charter until 1942. His ...

) * Fjölbrautaskóli Norðurlands Vestra (FNV) (

Sauðárkrókur Sauðárkrókur () is a Localities of Iceland, town on the Skagafjörður in northern Iceland. It is the seat of both the Skagafjörður (municipality), Sveitarfélagið Skagafjörður ('Municipality of Skagafjörður') and the Northwestern Re ...

) * Fjölbrautaskóli Snæfellinga (FSN) ( Grundarfjörður) * Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurlands (FSu) ( Selfoss) * Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja (FS) ( Reykjanesbær) * Fjölbrautaskólinn í Breiðholti (FB) (

) * Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabæ (FG) (

Garðabær Garðabær () is a town and municipality in the Capital Region of Iceland. History Garðabær is a growing town in the Capital Region. It is the fifth largest municipality in Iceland with a population of 20,116 (1 January 2025). The site of Gar ...

) * Fjölbrautaskólinn við Ármúla (FÁ) (Reykjavík) * Flensborgarskóli (

Hafnarfjörður Hafnarfjörður, officially Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður, is a port town and municipality in Iceland, located about south of Reykjavík. The municipality consists of two non-contiguous areas in the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region, on the s ...

) * Framhaldsskólinn á Húsavík (FSH) (

Húsavík Húsavík () is a town in Norðurþing municipality on the northeast coast of Iceland on the shores of Skjálfandi bay with 2,485 inhabitants. The most famous landmark of the town is the wooden church Húsavíkurkirkja, built in 1907. Húsav� ...

) * Framhaldsskólinn á Laugum ( Laugar) * Framhaldsskólinn í Austur-Skaftafellssýslu (FAS) ( Höfn) * Framhaldsskólinn í Mosfellsbæ (FMOS) (

Mosfellsbær Mosfellsbær (, colloquially Mosó) is a town in south-west Iceland, east of the country's capital, Reykjavík. The coat of arms of the municipality is a tightly-knotted triquetra, a symbol often used in Celtic knotwork and strongly associated ...

) * Framhaldsskólinn í Vestmannaeyjum (FÍV) (

Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyja ...

) * Kvennaskóli Íslands (Kvennó) (Reykjavík) * Menntaskólinn á Akureyri (MA) (

Akureyri Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...

) *

Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð (, and usually referred to as MH) is a state school, public Gymnasium (school), gymnasium located in Hlíðahverfi, Reykjavík, Iceland. The school was founded in 1966 by the Ministry of Education, Science and Cult ...

(MH) (Reykjavík) * Menntaskólinn við Sund (MS) (Reykjavík) * Menntaskóli Borgarfjarðar (MB) ( Borgarnes) * Menntaskólinn á Ásbrú (MÁ) ( Reykjanesbær) * Menntaskólinn á Ísafirði (MÍ) (

Ísafjörður Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ice fjord'', literally ''fjord of ices'') is a town in the northwest of Iceland. The oldest part of Ísafjörður with the town centre is located on a spit of sand, or ''eyri'', in Skutulsfjörður, a fjord ...

) * Menntaskólinn á Egilsstöðum (ME) (

Egilsstaðir Egilsstaðir () is a town in east Iceland on the banks of the Lagarfljót river. It is part of the municipality of Múlaþing and the largest settlement of the Eastern Region (Iceland), Eastern Region with, as of 2024, a population of 2,632 inha ...

) * Menntaskólinn á Tröllaskaga (MTR) (

Ólafsfjörður Ólafsfjörður () is a town in the northeast of Iceland located at the mouth of the fjord Eyjafjörður. The town is connected to Dalvík on Eyjafjörður by the 3.5 km one-lane Múli tunnel (the ''Múlagöng'') and to Siglufjörður by the ...

) *

Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR; official name in English: Reykjavik College) is collegein Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík. The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains one of the oldest ...

(MR) (Reykjavík) * Menntaskólinn að Laugarvatni (ML) ( Laugarvatn) * Menntaskólinn í Kópavogi (MK) (

Kópavogur Kópavogur () is a town in Iceland that is the country's second-largest municipality by population. It lies immediately south of Reykjavík and is part of the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital Region. The name literally means ''seal pup inlet''. ...

) *

Tækniskólinn Tækniskólinn ( Technical College) is an upper secondary school in Reykjavík, Iceland, providing both Vocational education, vocational and Education in Iceland#Upper secondary, specialized programmes. It was formed in 2008 through the merger of ...

(Reykjavík) * Verkmenntaskóli Austurlands (VA) (

Neskaupstaður Neskaupstaður () is a town located on the fjord Norðfjörður on the eastern side of Iceland, against the Norwegian Sea. It is part of the municipality of Fjarðabyggð and, as of 2016, it has a population of 1,481. Neskaupstaður is the second ...

) * Verkmenntaskólinn á Akureyri (VMA) (

) * Verzlunarskóli Íslands (Verzló), (Reykjavík) School types Schools in Iceland {{Iceland-school-stub