Many parents choose to put their children into an international school when moving countries.

This may be done for a number of reasons, such as wanting their child to obtain internationally recognised qualifications, feel more comfortable with the language taught in, or wanting their offspring to be surrounded by students from an international and multicultural environment.

However, these schools aren’t always within the reach of everyone. In cities such as New York, Beijing, and Shanghai, the median cost of one of these schools can range between 34,000 to 43,000 US dollars.

Norway has a reputation for being expensive. Still, many parents may be shocked to find out that international school in the Norwegian capital of Oslo could cost roughly ten percent of the figures above.

There are a handful of schools to choose from and prices are typically between 40,000 to 50,000 kroner for the year – which is probably affordably for a dual-income household earning around the average wage in Norway.

There are exceptions to this rule, however. The most expensive international school in Oslo is Oslo International School. This school is also the most well-known international school in Oslo, and parents pay tuition of 264,200 kroner per year for students to attend.

READ MORE: The international school options for parents in Oslo

At the time of writing, there are also two international schools which do not charge parents because they are, in fact, state schools. These are Blindern Videregående Skole and Manglerud School. In the case of the latter, the international classes were a trial that was extended to 2024.

What’s the reason?

Norway has an act on private schools, which keeps the majority of international schools in the country somewhat affordable.

Essentially, parents and pupils in Norway are entitled to a choice of education. This choice comes in the form of private and public education. However, if private education is out of the reach of most people, then the choice doesn’t really exist.

Therefore, a large number of private and international schools in Norway receive government funding. This funding keeps tuition fees low and allows the schools to exist.

In return for the funding, schools’ curriculums are more regulated, and there are caps on how much these schools can charge in tuition.

Government grants subsidies and funding makes up around 85 percent of international schools budgets. Fees are capped to only allow schools to make up the remaining costs. Therefore, fees only make up the remaining 15 percent of a schools budget.

However, not all international schools receive government funding. Those who do not have this funding, therefore, have higher tuition to make up for the lack of funding.