Kvennaskólinn, usually just called ‘Kvennó’, is one of the oldest schools in Iceland. It was established in 1874 by Þóra and Páll Melsteð. At first it was only a school for girls, as the name indicates, meaning “the women’s school”. In 1977 the first boy started there and now they are about one third of the school population. It has been a high school since 1979 and the first students graduated in 1982. From beginning there have been 7 female headmasters and only one male!
The school has three buildings and there are around 650 students and 60 teachers. Each class takes 60 minutes and 10 minutes are given in between to walk from one building to the other. The lunch time is 40 minutes where students can buy food at the cafeteria. The students are divided into classes of 20 people or so, that stay together throughout their years in school. The studies take 3 years, but if student wish they can take another half or whole year in addition an the studies will not be as intense. To get in to Kvennó you have to graduate with a minimum grade of 6,0 in math, Icelandic and English from primary school.
Kvennó has to offer three main lines of study that each student can choose from. The first one focuses on natural science, math, chemistry and physics. The second one focuses on sociology and the third one focuses on history and languages. Kvennó also offers one another line of study for students that didn’t get 6 in grade for one or two courses from elementary school. This line of study prepares the students for their next three years in the school. There they have a chance to finish those courses they need in order to start the first year at Kvennó.
The school is famous for its traditions; one of them is Epladagurinn or apple day. That day has a long history. The school is decorated with all kinds of apples and every student gets an apple as a gift. There are also all kinds of competitions and games as well as a dance in the evening. Another tradition is to have students in their second year dance traditional Icelandic dances in the national costume for a day. That day is called Peysufatadagurinn. The students go around Reykajvík and visit many places and dance there for people to watch.
by Ísold Jakobsdóttir
Kvennaskólinn í Reykjavík v s Sintermeertencollege