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Skóla- og frístundasvið Reykjavíkurborgar
Reykjavík Department of Education and Youth
Gagnlegar upplýsingar á íslensku og ensku fyrir nemendur, foreldra og einnig kennara.
Useful information in Icelandic and English for parents, students and their teachers.
Centre for Language and Literacy
Centre for Language and Literacy
The Centre for Language and Literacy (https://mml.reykjavik.is/) is an expert team of consultants who provide information, support, counselling and training to preschools, schools and after-school centres under the Department of Education and Youth in Reykjavik City. The team is composed of educational and literacy consultants, language and cultural mediators or multilingual consultants, multicultural project managers for the city’s preschools, compulsory and after-school or public leisure programmes.
You can contact our language and cultural mediators (brúarsmiðir) if you have any inquiries about the education and after-school centres of preschool and school children in Reykjavík.
The Icelandic School System
The Icelandic School System
The Leikskólar or Preschools is considered as the first level of the educational system in Iceland. Almost all the children from 1-5 year old attend local preschools for about eight hours daily. Children learn different skills and daily through play and daily activities in this level. The city or local governments administer the preschools here in iceland.
When children turn 6-16 years of age, education is compulsory. In this level, the grading system for each student used is A B+ B C+ C D (Aðalnámskrá, page 55). There are 3 core subjects, Icelandic (either as a mother tongue or as a second language), Mathematics (taught in Icelandic), and English (as a foreign language). There are also subjects such as Danish (as a foreign language) or other Nordic languages, Science, Social Studies, Life Skills, Home Economics, Arts and Crafts, Sports, Information Technology and other electives. Unlike in many countries, the student's year of birth always determines his/her class or grade. Hence, students with the same age are together in the same class, regardless of their academic performance (Aðalnámskrá, page 31).
Compulsory schools are divided into three parts:
Grade 1-4 (Yngsta stig) - primary years
Grade 5-7 (Miðstig) - middle school
Grade 8-10 (Unglingastig) - junior highschool
When students graduate from 10th grade, they can apply for Upper Secondary Schools. Although it is no longer obligatory, most students pursue their studies in this level. Often, Upper Secondary schools require applicants to have A B+ B for their final marks in the 10th grade especially in the core subjects. Upper Secondary Schooling generally takes three years and then students can apply for their university studies.
Contact us if you have more questions about the Icelandic School System.
Grunnskólar - Compulsory Schools
Here is an introductory video about the Compulsory School system in Reykjavík, dubbed in English: https://vimeo.com/423988602
This video is also available in more languages:
íslenska https://vimeo.com/424004128
Other languages: https://menntastefna.is/tool/islenska-skolakerfid-myndbond/
Important information for parents and students at compulsory schools below:
Verkfærakista / Educational Toolbox
How to best support your child in their studies and with homework? Here you can see some practical ideas. The language and cultural mediators have created this educational toolbox to assist parents as they help their children's Icelandic language learning and homework in various subjects.
This is a resource for reception and communication when it comes to students and parents who are beginning to learn Icelandic.
The most commonly used sentences in communicating at school, for instance when talking with the school secretary, parent-teacher meetings, first days of schooling, etc. are translated to Arabic, English, Lithuanian, Polish and Spanish
Message to parents of plurilingual children in Iceland from a professor
Message to parents of plurilingual children in Iceland from a professor
Dr. Sigríður Ólafsdóttir is a professor at the University of Iceland who has researched that status of students' Icelandic literacy skills. This video is her message to parents showing results from her investigations and she also relays important message for parents of plurilingual children.
Translations are available in:
Arabic, English, Filipino, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, and Ukranian
The recreation centers administer the activities of Reykjavík City afterschool programs and youth centers for each district. They are Brúin, Miðberg, Kringlumýri, and Tjörnin. Parents can seek assistance from the recreation centers, who employ, among others, financial managers who can guide them on bills and other matters related to them.
Frístundaheimili
After-School Centers
Every primary school has an after-school center with a variety of recreational activities for children ages 6 through 9 (grades 1-4). Children can stay in the after-school center from the end of the school day until 5 pm. In summer, the after-school centers are open all day. A fee is charged for a stay in an after-school center and siblings get a discount.
Félagsmiðstöðvar
After-School Centers
Every district in the city has after school centers for 10-16 year olds (grades 5-10), which offer constructive social activities in their spare time. Efforts are being made to reach out to those adolescents in need of social support and to offer a wide range of topics. Work is carried out in clubs, specific group work, open work and temporary assignments. Details of the opening hours of the community centres are available on each of their websites.
Their services are free of of charge.
Myndlist, sund, tónlist og skíði í borginni okkar
Sports, Leisure, Culture and Arts in our city
There are swimming pools, museums, events and city festivals, awards, grands and recognirtion, sports and outdoor activities, as well as Hitt Húsið - Youth Center.
Here you can see information about Reykjavík Preschools: Leikskólar | Reykjavik
*more info to be updated
Gagnlegar upplýsingar fyrir foreldra, nemenda og kennara
Useful information for parents, students and teachers
What are the special days here in Icleand? Here are explanations of Icelandic days of celebratio and customs available in Icelandic and other languages:
Albanian, Arabic, English, Farsi, Filipino, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Information about the Christmas celebration in Iceland, yule lads, etc. available in Icelandic and other languages:
Albanian, Arabic, English, Farsi, Filipino, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Útivistartími barna - Outdoor hours for children
Children can usually play outdoors and are allowed to do so without parents or adult supervision, however there are rules about the outdoor hours for children according to the Child Protection Act. Here is the information in Icelandic with translations to English, Polish, Filipino, Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish and Ukrainian.
Multicultural and Information Centre
The Multicultural Centre can give information on many aspects of everyday life and administration in Iceland and provide support regarding moving to and from Iceland.
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