Many congratulations to second year student Elisabeth Dietz for taking first place in the Norwegian High School Philosophical Association Olympiad. Students were given a choice of five topics and had to write their essay in English, German or French – not in their native Norwegian. Elisabeth chose the question: ‘Should a totalitarian party that gets enough votes to form a government through a democratic election be allowed to rule?’ The judges said that Elisabeth’s essay, “…showed good craftsmanship and an impressive level of reflection. It was a clear winner.”

Elisabeth was invited to participate in the second, final round of the competition having won the gold medal at the Baltic Sea Philosophical Essay event in 2014. In the first round of this latest competition, 286 students took part and of this number 34 went forward to the second and final round to compete for the overall prize. Having taken the first prize Elisabeth has now been invited to represent Norway in the Philosophy Olympics in Tartu, Estonia in May where 40 countries will send hopeful representatives.

Read Elisabeth’s winning essay here.

As the final part of their course, the second-year Visual Arts students put on an exhibition of their work. It has been much enjoyed by students, staff and visitors. Teachers have been able to take their classes to the exhibition, being guided by the Visual Arts students who have happily taken the opportunity to explain their art pieces. Thank you to all concerned (especially Art Teacher Reidun Bergstrøm).

See a gallery of pictures here.