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Akureyri Junior College (Icelandic: Menntaskólinn á Akureyri) (Latin: Schola Akureyrensis) is an Icelandic gymnasium (secondary school). It is one of the oldest educational institutions in Iceland. It has one of the best science departments in the country.
It is located in Akureyri, "the Capital of the North", and traces its origin back to the school in Möðruvellir in the valley of Hörgárdalur, which was founded in 1880. Some want to go further back to the ancient school in Hólar in Hjaltadalur valley, founded in the beginning of Jón Ögmundsson's episcopacy in 1130.
Today the Junior College is attended by about 700 pupils every year, and on the national day of Iceland, 17th of June, approximately 120 students graduate yearly. The Junior College's headmaster is Jón Már Héðinsson. Tryggvi Gíslason (born June 11, 1938) was headmaster of Akureyri Junior College from 1973-2003. Tryggvi graduated with a mag. art. degree and taught Icelandic at the University of Bergen in Norway.
Notable pupils include Ingi Steinn Gunnarsson, Atli Geir Hallgrímsson, Hlynur Örn Sigmundsson, Kári Einarsson and Elín Rún Birgisdóttir.
The College is based on tradition. A few of these are:
- Singing (a few times each semester students gather outside the headmaster's office to sing for him. If they sing well enough he grants the students permission to skip the next class and gather in the auditorium to sing)
- No alcohol (All gatherings in the name of the school are alcohol free. Almost all students respect this and consider it something that distinguishes their school from others in Iceland.)
- Different school year (As in other schools in Iceland this one has 2 terms, An autumn term and a spring term, but this school has its Autumn exams after Christmas while most other schools have the exams before Christmas)
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