Compulsory education starts at seven and ends at sixteen, although parents now have a right to ask for their child to start at six if they wish them to (see pre-school section above). Compulsory education also applies to those with physical or mental disabilities. The vast majority of physically disabled pupils – including those with hearing or sight problems – will attend standard schools. For those with severe learning difficulties or physical handicaps, special schools exist. The government also provides special school for Sami children for the first six years of schooling.

The majority of children attend a school run by their local municipality – there is comparatively very little private education at the compulsory level. Parents or students are not normally charged for teaching material, school meals, health services or transport, in fact it is stipulated that only nominal costs are permissible, even for school excursions. There is a free choice of school, you are not limited to choosing one within your municipality, but where a school is oversubscribed priority is given to local children. Private schools are covered in a separate section below.

How the schools are divided depends on where you live and how many pupils there are. In city locations, your child will probably change schools half way through their time in grundskolan (probably after year 5) to an ‘upper level’ school. In populous areas, there are also likely to be several classes in each age group. In more rural areas, the children will probably stay at the same school for their entire compulsory schooling. In very small schools, several age groups may be combined into one class.