Bergen katedralskole

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Bergen Katedralskole
The current main building.
Ex sapientia libertas
Location
Kong Oscarsgt. 36
5017 Bergen
NOR
Coordinates 60°23′35″N 5°19′52″E / 60.393134, 5.331212
Information
School district Hordaland county municipality
Head of school Hans Peder Vibe
Staff 60
Students 465
Type Upper secondary school
Grades VG1 - VG3
Campus Urban
Established 1153
Homepage http://bks.hfk.no

Bergen katedralskole (English: Bergen Cathedral School, Latin: Schola Cathedralis Bergensis, formerly known as Bergens lærdeskole and Bergen latinskole and colloquially known as Katten) is an upper secondary school in Bergen, Norway. Located in the city centre, next to Bergen Cathedral, the school has about 465 students,[1] 55 full-time teachers,[2] and 5 administration personnel,[3] including the headmaster, Hans Peder Vibe.

The school is thought to have been founded in 1153 by Nicholas Breakspear (later Pope Adrian IV), making the school the second oldest in Norway together with Oslo katedralskole and Hamar katedralskole, which were founded the same year, one year after the founding of Trondheim katedralskole.

Contents

[edit] History

Although the earliest written records documenting the school's existence date back to 1288, Bergen katedralskole is believed to have been founded in 1153 by Nicholas Breakspear, who became Pope Adrian IV in 1154. It was founded as a theological school for the education of priests. Pupils would start attending the school around the age of seven. Until the school reform in 1806, the school was tied to the church.

This was the school building of Bergen katedralskole, then known as Bergen latinskole, until 1840.
This was the school building of Bergen katedralskole, then known as Bergen latinskole, until 1840.

The school moved to its present location in 1840. The original building is still in use as the offices for the administration, as well as some classrooms. This building also houses the school library. In 1869 the school's gyms were built, and the same year the school changed its name from "Bergen Latinskole" to its present "Bergen katedralskole".

The school was independent until 1896, but has been administred by the government since. In 1972, the school was made a regular upper secondary school administered by the county government.

[edit] Buildings

A classrooms only building was built in 1957. Another building, containing science laboratories, computer rooms and a cafeteria was built in 1992.

In July 2007, large amounts of mold were discovered in the building from 1840. This led to the building getting closed, resulting in a shortage of teacher offices.[4] The building contains several old classrooms, an auditorium and the school library, which is the oldest library known in Norway. For a while, the school administration considered delaying the start of the term,[4] but this never happened as the teachers and the day-time adult education classes ended up moving into temporary barracks in the schoolyards of Bergen katedralskole and Tanks videregående skole.[5] In February 2008, it was decided that the building will be renovated at a price of 6 million NOK as a temporary solution that will last until at least 2014.[6]

[edit] Academics

Of the mainline courses offered in Norwegian upper secondary schools, only the generalist line, studiespesialisering, is offered by Bergen katedralskole. The school offers the only IB Diploma Programme classes in Bergen, from which about twenty students graduate per year.

According to a survey released in October 2007, the students Bergen katedralskole at have the third best grades in Western Norway, beat only by the students at Tanks videregående skole, also located in Bergen, and Sandane videregående skole.[7] The students in Hordaland, the county in which the school is located, receive the second best grades in the country, after the ones in Sogn og Fjordane.[7] The school has a reputation as a prestigeous school, caused by its history and high grade requirements.[8] In 2007, however, the private school Akademiet had a higher grade point average (GPA) requirement than any other school in Bergen.[8]

[edit] Notable alumni

Ludvig Holberg is among the more prominent alumni who have been awarded a plaque. This one states that he was a student at the school from 1692 to 1702.
Ludvig Holberg is among the more prominent alumni who have been awarded a plaque. This one states that he was a student at the school from 1692 to 1702.

A number of the most famous alumni in the history of the school are engraved in a plaque in the old 1840 building. Among the names are:

Other alumni with Wikipedia articles about them include:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Hartvedt, Gunnar Hagen (1994). Bergen Byleksikon. Kunnskapsforlaget. ISBN 82-573-0485-9. 
  • Kurt Seim (2003). Katten jubileer (Norwegian). Bergens Tidende. Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
  • Lysne, David W. (1993). Bergen Katedralskole gjennom 840 år. Et kort streiftog gjennom en lang skolehistorie. 
  • Gjesdal, Carl O. Gram (1978). Omkring kunnskapens kastanjetre : en mannsalder med Bergen katedralskole. 
  1. ^ vilbli.no (2007). Bergen katedralskole (Norwegian). Utdanning.no. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  2. ^ Lærerpersonalet (Norwegian). Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
  3. ^ Administrasjon (Norwegian). Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
  4. ^ a b Christian Lura (2007). Stenger Katten (Norwegian). bt.no. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  5. ^ Gudrun Sylte (2007). Husløse tre uker før skolestart (Norwegian). bt.no. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  6. ^ Stanley Hauge (2008). Mellombels utbetring ved Bergen katedralskole - Hordaland Fylkeskommune (Norwegian). Hordaland Fylkeskommune. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
  7. ^ a b Øyvind Lefdal Eidsvik (2007). Vest best i skoletest (Norwegian). bt.no. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  8. ^ a b Krister Clausen Hoaas (2007). Katten og BHG ned fra tronen (Norwegian). bt.no. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
  9. ^ a b c d Gunnar Hagen Hartvedt (1994). "Bergen katedralskole". Bergen Byleksikon: 89–90. 
  10. ^ Holmås, Heikki (1972-) Sosialistisk Venstreparti (Norwegian). Stortinget. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
  11. ^ Katrine Lunde, Audun Eskeland (2007). En date med Gunnar Staalesen (Norwegian). Bergensbladet. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 60°23′36.09″N, 5°19′51.76″E