The Faroese Education System
Primary and lower secondary education
Education is compulsory in the Faroe Islands for everyone between the ages of 6-7 and 16. It is education itself that is compulsory, not school. The compulsory education can be received in a publicly provided school or in a private school.
The Faroese Fólkaskúli consists of one year of pre-school class, nine years of primary (grade 1 to 6) and lower (grade 7-9/10) secondary education and a one-year optional 10th form.
Upper secondary education
Upper secondary education begins at the end of compulsory education and covers typically the 16-19-year-olds. Upper secondary education divides into:
General education qualifying for access to higher education and
Vocational or technical education qualifying primarily for access to the labour market
Higher education
After upper secondary education, higher education is offered at the University of the Faroe Islands (Fróðskaparsetrið). The Centre of Maritime Studies and Engineering offers four programmes: Ship’s Captain, Navigator, Ship’s Engineer, and Ship’s Mechanic. In addition, the so-called vocational academy education is offered at the vocational college.