Hartvig Nissens Upper Secondary School

Hartvig Nissen School Hartvig Nissens skole
Hartvig Nissens School
Address
Niels Juels gate 56, Oslo Oslo Norway
Information
School type	Public secondary school
Motto	59°55′07″N 10°43′00″E / 59.918613°N 10.716729°E / 59.918613; 10.716729Coordinates: 59°55′07″N 10°43′00″E / 59.918613°N 10.716729°E / 59.918613; 10.716729
Founded	1849
Principal	Eva Blomfeldt
Grades	11–13
Age range	16–19
Classes offered	General education
Language	Norwegian
Campus	Urban
Website	http://www.hartvig-nissen.vgs.no/

The Hartvig Nissen School (Norwegian: Hartvig Nissens skole), informally referred to as Nissen, is a gymnasium in Oslo, Norway. It is located in the neighborhood Uranienborg in the affluent West End borough of Frogner. It is the second oldest gymnasium in Oslo and is widely considered one of the country's most prestigious; its alumni include many famous individuals and two members of the Norwegian royal family.

Originally named Nissen's Girls' School, it was founded by Hartvig Nissen and was originally a private girls' school which was owned by its headmasters and which served the higher bourgeoisie. The school formerly also had its own teachers college. The school and its teachers college have the distinction of being both the first gymnasium and the first higher education institution in Norway which admitted females, and the school and its owners played a key role in promoting female education during the 19th and early 20th century.

The school was located at the address Rosenkrantz' Gade 7 from 1849 to 1860 and at the address Øvere Voldgade 15 from 1860 to 1899. Then-owner-headmaster Bernhard Pauss moved the school to its current address, Niels Juels gate 56, and commissioned the construction of the current school building which was completed in 1899. In 1991 the school also acquired the building of its former neighbours Frogner School and Haagaas School at Niels Juels gate 52.

Although Hartvig Nissen School was already very well known in Norway, it became well known internationally through the TV series Skam which is centered on the school.

It was established in 1849 by Hartvig Nissen and was originally a private girls' school, named Nissen's Girls' School (Nissens Pigeskole, later changed to the modern spelling Nissens Pikeskole). The school was privately owned, usually by its headmasters, until it was sold to Christiania Municipality in 1918. Nissen's Girls' School was the first institution in Norway to offer examen artium—the university entrance exam—for women. Then-owner Bernhard Cathrinus Pauss also established the first tertiary education for women in Norway, a women's teacher's college named Nissen's Teachers' College (Nissens Lærerinneskole).