The Christian folk high schools are built on Christian values. They are owned by, or associated with, Christian organizations or denominations. They encourage students with different interests and beliefs to apply.
Food: Vegetarian
Most schools will accommodate food allergies and other dietary needs. If you have questions, please contact the school directly.
Environmental certification:
Fairtrade
Location: Birkenes Kommune
Study tour for the course: Optional trip: Ecuador & the Galápagos Island, Rwanda og Uganda 🇷🇼🇺🇬, Kenya og Zanzibar 🇰🇪🇹🇿
Study tour for the school: Havglimt, School trip to Denmark
Bli med på et år hvor du får oppleve hva Sørlandet og Verden har å by på. Vi gjør oss klar for reiser til Øst-Afrika og Sør-Amerika. To reiser for livet. Et nyttig år for fremtidige reiser.
Øst-Afrika
Rwanda 🇷🇼, Uganda 🇺🇬, Kenya 🇰🇪 og Tanzania 🇹🇿. Krydret med safari og hvite strender. Vi møter tidsvitner etter folkemordet i Rwanda. Lærer om forsoning og tilgivelse. Vi møter og blir godt kjent med lokalbefolkninen og deltar i deres hverdagsliv. Kenya byr på inspirasjon i møte med mennesker som jobber blant de som har minst. Safari. Avslutter det hele med et opphold på krydderøya Zanzibar. Sol, delfiner, strender og snorkling.
Læreren har selv bodd og jobbet i Uganda innenfor turisme. Han kjenner mange rundt om i Øst-Afrika og har god kjennskap til lokale forhold. Han har tilbakelagt over 25 reiser til Øst-Afrika.
Sør-Amerika
Bli med på en eksklusiv reise i vakre Ecuador 🇪🇨! Vi besøker Andesfjellene, Amazonasjungelen og Galápagosøyene i Stillehavet. Møte med apekatter og papegøyer, svømme med hai, iguaner og kjempeskilpadder. På denne turen vil du oppleve unike møter med lokale mennesker og se deler av en verden det er vanskelig å besøke.
Både i Øst-Afrika og Sør-Amerika samarbeider vi med lokale guider vi kjenner godt.
Europa
Med tillegg i prisen kan du være med linja "Experience: Reise, Trene, Mat" på deres reise til Italia 🇮🇹, hvor italienske mattradisjoner og kulturlandskapet i Toscana står sentralt.
Rwanda & Uganda
Mandatory: Yes
Price: Included in course price
Duration: 2 uker
Meals included per day: 3
The Land of a Thousand Hills
Rwanda is a beautiful and lush country with a tragic history. In 1994, between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people were killed in 100 days.
We do not travel to Rwanda because of the genocide, but because of the forgiveness and reconciliation process that has taken place afterward. We meet people from both sides of the conflict. Witnesses who tell both how they survived and those who tell how they killed. They share their stories about the journey to where they are today, arm in arm as best friends. These are meetings for reflection, inspiration, and hope for the future. Today, Rwanda is a leading country with low crime and a strong environmental focus.
The Pearl of Africa
In Uganda, it is about human encounters. We live with children and youth associated with a project (KASA) run by local enthusiasts and participate in their daily lives. You will get to know many of the children and youth well. KASA was started by two sisters, Kedrace and Shallon. And we gain good insight into how the organization works with vulnerable families and children who fall outside the systems.
Kenya
Mandatory: Yes
Price: Included in course price
Duration: 2 uker
Meals included per day: 3
We are traveling to the country that inspired The Lion King. Kenya has over 54 million people and is 50% larger than Norway. The equator runs through the country. It stretches from the Indian Ocean in the east to Lake Victoria in the west. The country is known for its savannas with rich wildlife and mountain peaks like Mount Kenya. Here, you will find modern cities, with Nairobi as the capital. It has the world’s highest-paid parliamentarians and vast slum areas.
Inspiration Days
In Nairobi, our guide Martin will take us into the world he grew up in. Martin is a Kenyan living just outside Nairobi. He attended a folk high school in Norway and is familiar with our culture and language. Martin grew up in the Mathare slum and still volunteers for projects in the slum. We will meet the people he knows well and cares deeply about, gaining a unique insight into a different culture and life situation. There are many inspiring people here, individuals with a burning passion for those who have the least.
We will also experience the tourist life in Nairobi. This includes feeding giraffes, visiting markets, an elephant orphanage, and enjoying African food and scents.
Safari and Coast
The African savanna with the animals from The Lion King. Starry skies, lion roars, elephants, giraffes, zebras, hyenas. We will also travel to Lamu archipelago with its unique culture, food traditions, beaches, sailing boats, donkeys, and snorkeling.
Optional trip: Ecuador & the Galápagos Island
Mandatory: Yes
Price: Included in course price
Duration: ca 12 dager
Meals included per day: 3
This is one of the 3 trips you can choose from. The decision you make after arrival at the school.
Join us on an exclusive journey in beautiful Ecuador! A trip of a lifetime. High mountains, jungle, and lush nature on the mainland, before flying 100 km out into the Pacific Ocean to the world’s most exotic place: the Galápagos Islands. On this trip, you will experience unique encounters with local people and see parts of the world that are difficult to visit.
Do you want to experience being 4000 meters above sea level? Meet people who live in the Amazon? Meet monkeys and wild animals? From high mountains, to jungle, rivers, and an incredible coast.
Here is a bit of what you will experience if you choose to join the trip to Ecuador:
The Andes - the world’s longest and South America’s highest mountain range
The Amazon jungle - a walk in the forest to see insects and plants is something entirely different here
The Galápagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean - here there will be sun, sea, and snorkeling
Swimming with sharks, iguanas, and giant tortoises
Wonderful people
Great contrasts
The beautiful city of Cuenca
Rafting and cycling in Baños
Jogging at 4000 meters altitude
The magical coast of Ecuador
The big city of Guayaquil
Beautiful architecture
Indian market
Different, lush nature
Ecuador is a fantastic and varied country! It just has to be experienced!
We have ourown guide and bus driver whowilltakeusaroundthe country. We will travel a lot and get many impressions!
We have three different kind of trips:
Linjeturer: Trips with your class. Mandatory, and is included in the price you pay.
Fellestur: Trips with the whole school. Mandatory, and is included in the price you pay.
Valgbar skoletur: You chose between three trips. The choice is made in the beginning of the year. The students joining the trips are mixed from all classes.
Copenhagen. Is included in the price
England. Additional cost.
Ecuador and Galapagos. Additional cost.
Price and destination for school trip is opt for change before the school begins.
Havglimt
Mandatory: Yes
Price: Included in course price
Duration: 2 dager x2
Meals included per day: 3
We travel to the archipelago of Southern Norway for overnight stays and fellowship twice a year. The first time is at the beginning of the school year to get to know each other better, and the second time is at the end of the school year to reminisce and enjoy good times together.
School trip to Denmark
Mandatory: Yes
Price: Included in course price
Meals included per day: 3
The first overseas trip of the year is a group excursion where friendships are forged, laying the foundation for an amazing year ahead!
At the beginning of the school year, we travel to Rønbjerg Holiday Center in Denmark. There, we mainly stay in cabins grouped by our respective classes, but much of the program is communal and cross-line. As part of the mandatory activities, you can choose from an activity menu based on your own interests and preferences.
During the four days of this getting-to-know-you trip, we bond together. In many ways, we lay the groundwork for a safe and strong community, which in turn contributes to making the year at Folkehøgskolen Sørlandet great!
We are a comprehensive school. We are proud of that.
By comprehensive school, we mean:
A wide variety of course offerings
A wide variety of staff expertise and backgrounds
A wide variety of facilities, and thus opportunities for leisure activities
A diversity of courses attracts a diversity of students
A diversity of expertise allows for a variety of elective subjects
We have a well-maintained school. We are proud of that too.
Even though the school started in 1912, we have a well-maintained school that has been well-run for many years.
By well-maintained, we mean:
We have two skilled caretakers who constantly maintain and refurbish rooms and buildings
The student rooms are of high standard, with showers and toilets attached to the rooms. In the dormitory, there are common rooms and kitchens
We have a well-equipped gym, a large new sports hall, and our own swimming pool with a sauna
In addition to wireless and wired internet in the dormitory, we have our own LAN room for connecting with your own computer
We have our own café, car workshop, football room, billiards, table tennis, garage, arts and crafts room, barbecue hut, and large common room. Everything is set up for a fulfilling school year and varied leisure time!
The school is centrally located in Birkenes center. Here, it is a short distance to shops and eateries, a lighted trail, an artificial turf field, and hiking trails in the nearby nature. Public transport is our nearest neighbor. Buses go to Kristiansand and Lillesand from here. From Kristiansand, there are trains and buses to Stavanger and Oslo. Only 20 kilometers away is Kjevik airport.
The Christian folk high schools are built on Christian values. They are owned by, or associated with, Christian organizations or denominations. They encourage students with different interests and beliefs to apply.
