FAQ · Education 11

Sandgerdi School in Sudurnesjabaer published its calendar for the 2026-2027 school year on 20 March 2026 after the school council and the education council approved it, so the dates belong to that school rather than to a national calendar. Under the collective agreement between the municipalities and the Icelandic Teachers Union, pupil days number 180 between 20 August and 10 June. Blue days are the autumn break on 23 and 26 October, the Christmas break from 21 to 30 December, the winter break on 22 and 23 February, and the Easter break from 22 to 24 March. Purple marks five teacher preparation days during the pupil term and eight outside it, and Skolasel and Skyid stay closed on both purple days and blue days. Yellow marks shortened pupil days, orange marks the festival for grades 7 to 10 on 18 March, and green marks non-traditional activities while the school day still starts and ends at the usual times. The school year is one period and ends with a report at the closing ceremony on 8 June.

The University of Iceland offers a Korean Studies diploma that takes one year of full-time study worth 60 ECTS, or two years part-time, and the teaching is on campus. Admission requires an Icelandic studentsprof or an equivalent qualification, and the programme belongs to the School of Humanities in the Faculty of Languages and Cultures. Students take 50 ECTS of required courses plus 10 ECTS chosen in the autumn from another course in the School of Humanities. Autumn courses are KOR101G Korean I for 10 ECTS and KOR102G Conversational Korean I for 10 ECTS, together with the 10 ECTS elective, while spring courses are KOR201G Korean II, KOR202G Conversational Korean II and KOR204G Korean Society and Culture, each for 10 ECTS. Korean I is a beginners course with no prior knowledge and is taught in English and Korean, while Conversational Korean I is taught in Korean and students are strongly advised to take it with Korean I because some knowledge of the writing system is needed. A path toward a BA calls for a 120 ECTS major and a 60 ECTS minor, and the posted timetable is only a guide because autumn hours may change in August or September and spring hours in December or January.

School meals in Reykjavik primary schools are free this year, and the page describes that city rather than a duty placed on every school in Iceland. Schools still need to track information about allergies and intolerances and to limit food waste. Students must register for the school lunch programme as before. Schools handle meals differently depending on whether they have their own kitchen or use an outside food service, and each school website sets out the local arrangement. Schools serve healthy food, menus can be viewed on each school website, and the meals are based on the healthy food guidelines issued by the Directorate of Health.

Municipalities run compulsory schools under the Compulsory School Act 91/2008 and must give every child of compulsory-school age who lives in the municipality, and every foster child of foster parents who live there, schooling within a reasonable distance from home. In the 2024-2025 school year 174 compulsory schools were operating, most of them in the greater Reykjavik area, and approximately 50 percent of schools outside the capital area serve fewer than 100 pupils. Municipalities provide free transport for pupils who live far from the nearest school. In remote areas, flexible school hours and distance-learning arrangements may be used. The number of schools with fewer than 25 pupils fell from 19 in 2004 to 10 in 2024, and parents register a child, who starts in the calendar year of turning six, with the municipality where the family lives.

The Directorate of Health publishes canteen guidelines for preschools and for primary and upper-secondary schools, and those guidelines include cooking instructions for students with a food allergy or intolerance. A school should get a clear account from parents of what the child needs and what must be avoided, and it should always receive ingredient lists for ordered food because a producer can change a recipe. Allergies in children can change from year to year, so the school and the parents or guardians should review the arrangements regularly. Most schools in Iceland have children with an allergy or intolerance, and those children should have the same access to meals as other students. Meal staff are encouraged to receive training on special diets, and every staff member should know which students need a special diet and should follow the set procedure. Primary and upper-secondary schools check how many students are registered for regular meals, and every school level checks satisfaction among students, parents and staff, while a parent survey may record an allergy or intolerance as a reason for not registering.

A school directory updated on 20 August 2026 lists 3 international schools in Iceland and states an average annual fee of 252,692 Icelandic kronur, with a fee range of 65,000 to 580,512 kronur. It lists the IB programme at Menntaskolinn vid Hamrahlid, for ages 16 to 18, at 65,000 to 95,000 kronur, and the international department of Landakotsskoli at 270,257 to 580,512 kronur, while the International School of Iceland has no fee on the list. The page says these schools are few and almost all sit in the greater Reykjavik area, and that they most often teach in English while also offering Icelandic or a bilingual stream. It adds that fees are substantial beside free municipal schools but vary by school, residency and age, and that some schools publish monthly figures while others publish annual ones. Municipalities commonly offer partial subsidies or reduced resident rates, and places are limited, so families are told to contact schools early.

Compulsory schools in Iceland run for a minimum of nine months, and the year typically begins in late August, between 21 August and 1 September, and ends in early June, between 31 May and 10 June. The year is generally split into an autumn semester from August or September to December and a spring semester from January to May or June. Schools close for a Christmas break of about two weeks in December or January, and they also close for an Easter break. Most schools also take a short winter break of several days in February or March. Teacher planning days are set at the beginning and the end of the school year.

A student from an EEA or EFTA country who stays at the University of Iceland for one semester must show proof of their own health insurance, and a European Health Insurance Card from a public insurer is enough. A student staying a full academic year or longer must register as legally resident and bring that card together with form E-104 or S-41. An application to Icelandic Health Insurance can be sent only after legal residence is registered. If that step is missed, the student has no health insurance for the first six months of residence. The page sets the minimum means of support for a single person aged 18 or older at 239,895 Icelandic kronur a month, and it says Registers Iceland may take a couple of weeks to process the residence registration.

The University of Iceland does not arrange or guarantee accommodation, and student housing in Reykjavik is limited, so many students use the private rental market. A general guide on the university housing page puts monthly accommodation, including utilities, at 130,000 to 180,000 Icelandic kronur, though the real cost depends on type, location and size. Rent or a deposit should not be paid before a lease is signed, except when renting through the Student Housing Office. That office offers a limited number of on-campus places called Studentagardar, applications stay open all year, and the university recommends applying after the study application is sent. The Students Building Association rents housing across the capital area from 120,000 kronur a month, and the page also names 101 House for apartments and rooms in central Reykjavik. Students are told to view a property before paying, to transfer money only to an Icelandic bank account after that viewing, and not to use a payment service that cannot be traced.

A University of Iceland news item dated 1 November 2023 says a King Sejong Institute was formally opened that summer, after Korean studies began at the Faculty of Languages and Cultures in the autumn of 2022. The institute is meant to support Korean language and culture teaching at every level of education and also for the public, and it began on a trial basis. Somyeong Im, who had taught Korean at the university since the previous autumn, was placed in charge. Beginners courses are offered by the Korean Department in that faculty, and an open workshop for intermediate speakers was planned for that November. Students who complete courses offered with the institute also receive a Korean government certificate of language proficiency. The university offers a 60 ECTS diploma in Korean studies that can be taken as a minor beside other studies or as a separate diploma.

The University Centre of the Westfjords lists Icelandic summer courses for 2027 in Isafjordur, with course material included in the fee and accommodation not included. A beginners course from the evening of 25 July to 6 August costs 80,000 Icelandic kronur, as do intermediate courses from 28 June to 9 July and from the evening of 25 July to 6 August. Advanced courses from 12 to 16 July and from 19 to 23 July each cost 60,000 kronur, and a voluntary exam on the last teaching day costs 7500 kronur. The fee is due no later than 30 days after the confirmation letter, and payment is taken only after the student has been accepted. A cancellation more than 30 days before the start is refunded at 90 percent, a later cancellation before the start is refunded at 50 percent, and no refund is given once teaching has begun. A group needs at least 4 students, learners are expected to be 18 or over, and a younger student must give notice so a parent can consent.