- Oslo Cathedral School
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Oslo Cathedral School 
Oslo katedralskole Location Norway Information Type Upper secondary school Established 1153 Head of school Bjørn Croff Grades VG1 - VG3 
Current building of the Oslo Cathedral School
Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian as Oslo katedralskole (Oslo Cathedral School) and more commonly as "Katta"[1] is an upper secondary school located in Oslo, Norway. The school offers the college preparatory studiespesialisering (literally: specialization for studies) of the Norwegian school system. Oslo Cathedral School is one of four schools in Norway which can trace its origins directly to the Middle Ages and is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious schools in Norway. It celebrated its 850-year anniversary in 2003.[2].
The school's motto is the Latin phrase Non scholae, sed vitae discimus (We do not learn for the sake of the school, but for the sake of life),[1] in contrast to the former motto; Non vitae, sed scholae discimus (We do not learn for the sake of life, but for the sake of the school).
Contents
History
According to tradition, the school was founded in 1153 by papal delegate Cardinal Nicholas Breakspeare, and administered by the Cathedral of Saint Hallvard.[3] From its foundation and until the 18th century the school was primarily a school for educating priests. Thus, the school's teaching traditions was from the start that of the Roman Catholic Church. As with most of Europe at the time, lessons were based on an educational curriculum known as the Liberal arts. This curriculum consisted of seven different subjects the students were required to learn, and they were ordered in two groups: Trivium and Quadrivium. The Trivium (Latin for three ways) comprising the three subjects that were taught first, grammar, logic, and rhetoric. After Trivium followed the Quadrivium (Latin for four ways), being geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy. The language used was Latin and remained so until the 18th century. Unlike most other Norwegian public schools, Latin is still being taught at the school today.
The 17th century is in known as "Det lærde århundre"[3] (literally the learned century), due to the fact that some of the school's teachers were some of the most educated scholars at the time. After a great fire destroyed much of Oslo in 1624, the city was relocated and reconstructed, forcing the school to change location. After a new gymnasium was opened in Christiania (Oslo's name until 1878), students were offered lessons in extracurricular subjects, including astronomy, philosophy, physics and metaphysics.
Oslo Cathedral School in 1902During the end of the 18th century, several reforms were implemented in Norwegian Latin-schools. The students' mother tongue was finally given room in the lessons, Natural science was given more priority and school libraries were established. Disciplinary punishment was only to be used if it could not be avoided and ideas from the contemporary Age of Enlightenment were also implemented, one of them being the encouragement of students to do their best[3]
The tradition of Latin being mandatory was abolished in 1869 and students were given the opportunity between a three year long school run with either Latin or natural sciences.
During World War II, parts of the school building were employed by the German occupants, though teaching continued as usual. Several of the teachers were however involved in resistance activities against the Germans. One of the central figures of this resistance was caught while escaping to Sweden and subsequently committed suicide in prison to avoid being coerced into revealing the resistance's activities.
Bjørn Croff has been headmaster since 2010.
Notable alumni of international interest
- Caspar Wessel (1745-1818), Mathematician
- Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829), Mathematician
- Henrik Wergeland (1808-1845), Poet
- Johan Sverdrup (1816-1892), Prime Minister of Norway
- Johannes Irgens (1869 - 1939), Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Otto Bahr Halvorsen (1872-1923), Prime Minister of Norway
- Edvard Munch (1863-1944), Painter
- Otto Ruge (1882-1961), General, Commander-in-chief of Norwegian Armed Forces 1940
- Trygve Haavelmo (1911-1999), Professor in Economics, recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Economics
- Astrid Nøklebye Heiberg (1936-), Former Minister of Minister of Administration and Consumer Affairs, former President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- Harald V (1937-), King of Norway
- Johan Jørgen Holst (1937 - 1994), Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense
- Jon Elster (1940-), Philosopher and social scientist, professor at Columbia University and Collège de France
- Arne Treholt (1942-), Diplomat and traitor, convicted of espionage in 1985
- Mads Gilbert (1947-), Doctor and controversial humanitarian worker
- Jostein Gaarder (1952-), Author
- Erik Solheim (1955-), Norway's Minister of the Environment and International Development
- Jens Stoltenberg (1959-), Prime Minister of Norway
- Espen Barth Eide (1964-), Norway's Minister of Defense
- Arne Sunde (1883-1972), President of the United Nations Security Council 1949 and 1950
See also
References
External links
Coordinates: 59°55′15.74″N 10°44′29.70″E / 59.9210389°N 10.741583°E
Categories:- Secondary schools in Norway
- Education in Oslo
- 1153 establishments
- Educational institutions established in the 12th century
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