Queen Sonja’s school prize for 2021 has been awarded to Sandnessjøen upper secondary school in the region of Nordland.
The announcement came on September 30th 2021 during an audience with the jury at the Royal Palace in Oslo. During the audience, Queen Sonja praised the teachers’ efforts during the pandemic. The prize will be awarded on the December 2nd this year. Queen Sonja’s school prize is awarded for the 15th time. During the audience, Norway’s Minister of Education, Guri Melby, also briefed the Queen on how schools have coped with the challenges created by the pandemic.
Her Majesty the Queen issued the following statement: “Congratulations to Sandnessjøen upper secondary school. I look forward to handing out the award to the school later this year. A total of 19 schools from all over the country were nominated for this year’s award. It shows that a lot of positive things are going on in today’s schools. I am impressed with how teachers across the country have handled a demanding and acute change that the pandemic led to. It was nice to see the great effort that the teachers put in for the students and not least the many creative solutions that were put in place in a short time. Everything so that the follow-up of each individual student would be the best possible”.
The county-administrators had nominated 19 schools for the school award this year. In its work to choose a winner, the jury emphasized that a winning school is a positive driving force in the local community and collaborates with local businesses to secure apprenticeships for their students.
Inga Bostad, who is the leader of the jury for Queen Sonja’s school prize for equality and inclusion, informed about the jury’s unanimous choice of Sandnessjøen upper secondary school as the winner of this year’s school prize. She says: “Sandnessjøen upper secondary school is a worthy winner. The school excels with its long-term work with inclusion and a good learning environment, where they see the individual student and go to great lengths to ensure that the students have a community and a safe school”.
Sandessjøen upper secondary has 450 students and 110 teachers and is located on the Helgeland coast in the northern region of Nordland. Many of the students live in dormitories, and the school arranges several evening activities for all students at the school. The school has taken great responsibility for inclusion and integration in society, and focuses on Norwegian language.
