Stavanger Cathedral School ('' Norwegian: Stavanger katedralskole'') is an

upper secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondar ...

in the city of

Stavanger Stavanger (, , US usually , ) is a city and municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the administrative center of Rogaland county. T ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 479,892. The admin ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is spread over two areas; the traditional

Kongsgård Kongsgård (Swedish:''Kungsgård'') is a residence, estate, or farmland that has belonged or still belongs to the Scandinavian monarchs or royal families. History During the Viking Age and early Middle Ages, the nations of Scandinavia were organ ...

and the school's new building in Bjergsted. The school has 555 students and 94 staff members as of 2017.

Courses

The school specializes in music, dance and drama as well as natural and social sciences, and foreign languages, offering courses in

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, and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

Student body

The school attracts many talented students and has consistently fostered prestigious academic performances at a national level, aided by a high teacher-to-student ratio. The students at Stavanger Cathedral school are known for being highly politically active, expressing especially left wing opinions that have been traditionally over-represented, even though the school praises itself as diverse community. The school has a student-run international aide project called ''Project for International Solidarity'' that raises funds for

Palestinian refugee camps Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinia ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

Building

Its main building is among the city's most characteristic buildings. Along with

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

, Stavanger Cathedral School has been known for being one of the few elite secondary schools in Norway.

People associated with the school

Notable alumni

Alexander Kielland Alexander Lange Kielland (; 18 February 1849 – 6 April 1906) was a Norwegian realistic writer of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called "The Four Greats" of Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and ...

, writer, mayor *

Sigbjørn Obstfelder Sigbjørn Obstfelder (21 November 1866 – 29 July 1900) was a 19th-century Norwegian writer and poet. Background Obstfelder was born in Stavanger, Norway on November 21, 1866. He was the eighth child in a family of sixteen children, being o ...

, poet *

Fartein Valen Olav Fartein Valen (25 August 1887 – 14 December 1952) was a Norwegian composer, notable for his work in atonal polyphonic music. He developed a polyphony similar to Bach's counterpoint, but based on motivic working and dissonance rather t ...

, composer *

Christian Lous Lange Christian Lous Lange (17 September 1869 – 11 December 1938) was a Norwegian historian, teacher, and political scientist. He was one of the world's foremost exponents of the theory and practice of internationalism. Early life and education ...

, politician *

Jan Egeland Jan Egeland (born 12 September 1957) is a Norwegian diplomat, political scientist, humanitarian leader and former Labour Party politician who has been Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council since 2013. He served as State Secretary ...

, diplomat *

Aslak Sira Myhre Aslak Sira Myhre (born 28 May 1973 in Stavanger) is a Norwegian culture administrator. Since 2014 he is director of the National Library of Norway. Myhre has been a leftwing politician, and was for a period leader of the former party Red Electoral ...

, politician *

Laila Goody Laila Elin Goody (born 22 March 1971) is a Norwegian actress. She was born to an English father who worked in the oil industry and a Norwegian mother. She was born in Stavanger and grew up in Rosendal, Hordaland between the ages of two to ten, ...

, actress * Tore Renberg, writer *

Torstein Tvedt Solberg Torstein Tvedt Solberg (born 2 March 1985) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. Education Solberg attended Stavanger Cathedral School. He obtained a bachelor's degree at University of Rogaland a master's degr ...

, politician *

Eili Harboe Eili Harboe (born 16 August 1994) is a Norwegian actress. She was born in Stavanger. She starred in Joachim Trier's 2017 film ''Thelma'' (as the principal character Thelma). ''Thelma'' and Harboe's performance received good reviews in the Norweg ...

, actress

Notable Staff

Hartvig Sverdrup Eckhoff Hartvig Sverdrup Eckhoff (30 December 1855 – 17 February 1928) was a Norwegian architect. He took his education at the Technical University of Munich, and opened an architect's office in Stavanger in 1881. He was assigned to design several im ...

, architect and art teacher *

Arvid Knutsen Arvid Knutsen (3 March 1944 – 4 January 2009) was a Norwegian footballer and later coach. He joined Viking FK from Stavanger IF in 1961, and made his senior team debut in 1963. With Viking he won the Norwegian First Division in 1972, 1973, 1 ...

, former footballer *

Gustav Natvig-Pedersen Gustav Natvig-Pedersen (18 August 1893 – 27 May 1965) was a Norwegian philologist, educator and politician for the Labour Party. A school teacher and headmaster during his professional career, he served in Stavanger city council from 1922 to 19 ...

In popular culture

The main character of Tore Renberg's novel ''

The Man Who Loved Yngve ''The Man Who Loved Yngve'' ( no, Mannen som elsket Yngve) is a Norwegian film released on 15 February 2008. It is based on a book of the same name by Stavanger author Tore Renberg. It received critical acclaim as one of the best Norwegian movie ...

'' (2003) is a student at Stavanger Cathedral School. The school is one of the main locations in both the book and the movie.

's 1883 novel ''

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

'' is a criticism of the Norwegian education system. The Latin School, which the main characters attend, is based on the author's own experiences when he attended Stavanger Cathedral School.

References

Stavanger Education in Rogaland Buildings and structures in Rogaland Secondary schools in Norway Rogaland County Municipality 1824 establishments in Norway Educational institutions established in 1824 {{Norway-school-stub