It was with great sadness we received the news that Arne Ophaug had passed away after a period with cancer treatment. Many colleagues took a last farewell in the funeral at Fedje last Friday, the place where he grew up and where he and Maria now had a holiday residence. Arne had been in charge of our kitchen since we started in 1995 and from 1999 took over as Head of Services. Outside of term time, Arne was responsible for the operation of our Red Cross Summer camps for many years.  For his long and faithful service, he received a special invitation from Queen Sonja to a reception in the Palace gardens in 2016. He retired in the summer of 2017. Arne fed more than 2000 students and countless visitors. Colleagues remember him fondly for his humour and for leading by example. You could always count on Arne. Our thoughts go to Maria and the rest of the family.

UWC Leirskule offers participants a chance to meet people from all over the world, join exciting outdoor activities and practice their English speaking skills. Each week a group of school children (age 11-14) from our region, comes for a week of activities. They get fully immersed in campus life, eat all meals in the kantina and stay on campus in the UWC Connect buildings. In the morning sessions, the outdoor staff lead activities such as canoeing, boat trips and outdoor kitchen. During the afternoon sessions, participants do activities like kayaking, climbing, Haugland adventure, low ropes, bush craft and archery. These sessions are led by UWC RCN students, supervised by staff members. In the evenings guests are able to use the pool facilities at Haugland. They are also treated to an evening of international activities and a party on the Thursday night to round off the week. At the end of the season; a huge thank you to all students and staff that facilitate Leirskule activities, this program could not run without you.