Your Year at Fosen Folk School
What is a Norwegian Folk School?
Folk school is an alternative form of learning focused on skills and experience. It is an education free from the pressure of standardized testing and marks. It is a perfect opportunity to dive into a new culture, discover new craft techniques, and explore personal development.
In Norwegian folk schools, the school year is 9 months long, and students live in dormitories at the school.
Here at Fosen Folk School we focus on active involvement in community, outdoor life, and maintenance of traditional techniques.
Your Year at Fosen Folk School
All of our main courses are full year courses, running from the end of August to the end of May. In your application, you will be prompted to indicate which main course or ‘line’ you are interested in.
Around half of our instructional hours are devoted to our main courses. The additional lesson time is divided into elective and collective courses.
Electives
Electives can be selected once you have started at school. Examples from past course offerings include: willow weaving, outdoor life, woodworking, plant dyeing, skin tanning, and textile creation.
Collective Courses
Collective courses are instructional days that involve the whole student body. These days, which we call «fellesfag» meaning common lessons, are all about sharing experiences. Fellesfag is often a full day devoted to trips, lectures, or work parties on the farm.
We are proud to provide a wide range of learning opportunities!
Evenings After Class
Open Workshops 24/7
Our workshops are always open and full of life, especially in the evenings. We have a coal forge, wood workshop, ceramics room, boat buildery, tiny house buildery, and textiles hall available for use. We always have a small fleet of sailing boats and kayaks that you can borrow for evening trips on the lake or fjord. And, we have a forest in our backyard that is full of endless opportunity.
Teacher on duty
Even outside of the class time, we have staff on duty. The teacher on duty is available at school for your safety and comfort. They have the role of supervision, but they also arrange optional evening activities and tutorials. For example, dancing, embroidering, carving or reading aloud.
School Parties
Every line gets to throw a party for their peers and teachers. It is a great opportunity for creativity. Get ready for the festivities, inspired menu, and imaginative entertainment. We’ve had it all from Hawaiian themed common rooms to disco dances in the basement!
Dorm life
All our students live in the dorms, and most live in double rooms.
Living so closely is great, if everyone makes sure to be considerate of each other. Common areas like the living room, workshops, student kitchen and green sofa are used a lot, and if everyone leaves just a few things lying around, it gets messy.
This will be your home, so let’s make sure it is inviting and cozy for everyone by keeping common areas tidy.
Wi-Fi
We do not have wi-fi in the dorms, but in some of the common areas. This means less time on the phone and more time social face to face, whether you are doing activities or just relaxing.
If you would like to facetime your friends and family often, and want to do it in the privacy of your own room, you should consider getting a phone plan with a lot of data included.
Meals
All of our meals are served in the dining hall four times a day, at set times. If you need to eat outside of these times, or have very specific food wishes, you should expect to spend some money on food outside the school.
We have a talented kitchen staff which make healthy and hearty meals from local ingredients.
Kitchen Duty and Farm Duty
We all help in getting the food on the table, and share the workload. All students have a few weeks of kitchen duty and farm duty throughout the year.
On kitchen duty you will prepare breakfast and the evening meal (“kveldsmat”), and do the dishes after all meals.
Farm duty feeds and tends to the animals morning, afternoon and evening.
Getting up before dawn on a crisp fall morning and biking down to the farm, being met in the barn door by the warmth from the animals, tending to them, and then biking home as the sun slowly rises – that’s a pretty good start to the day.
Holidays
The dorms are closed during fall, Christmas, and Easter holidays. It is possible to arrange staying at the farm during the holidays, but you’ll be expected to earn your keep!
Our Students
International Community
Our student community is often culturally diverse. We have had students from all over the world. For example, Denmark, Sweden, England, Scotland, USA, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Estonia, Slovakia, Japan and France!
Age Requirement
Most of our students are between 18 and 28 years old. We have a minimum age requirement of 18 but no other age restrictions!
Second Year Students
Many students choose to attend our school for a second year, either as a student or as a teacher’s assistant.
Language
Classes are held in Norwegian (or Danish, which is very similar), but all our teachers speak English as a second language and will explain in English when necessary. We do, however, expect you to learn Norwegian.
We encourage all language learners to channel their excitement for the fall into practicing Norwegian as much as possible!