Location tendencies for new secondary schools and arguments put forward for city centre location

Abstract

There is a growing tendency in Norway to build new secondary schools in the city centre. Collected information about the location of the most recent school facilities, and school facilities that are going to be built, confirms this. In this article, I ask why the city centre is a preferred choice of location, and I analyse the arguments put forward for city centre location. When it comes to students’ choice of secondary schools, it shows that they prefer city schools. “The Education Association” in Oslo has requested pedagogical reasons why several secondary schools are now being located in the city centre. It should be expected that a learning perspective or educational perspectives would be emphasised in arguments for the centre location of new school facilities. However, it seems that some of the arguments are based on the needs of external users, or that different stakeholders value the potential synergies. Some driving forces claim that secondary schools must be located in the city centre to strengthen the trade activity and café business. The article discusses challenges related to the point that schools, which primarily should be good learning contexts for students, apparently are so much more than just schools.