«Jeg synes nettskole er en god løsning»

The online school is a county municipal initiative where students in public upper secondary schools can take one or more subjects online at their upper secondary school. The online school has grown in scope over a decade and now has a significant proportion of registered students in the country’s county municipalities. This type of flexible education has so far received little attention from politicians and researchers, and in teacher education in Norway. In this study, we explore the online school from a student perspective. Based on a questionnaire, interview and observation of online education in a large county in Norway, we used thematic analysis to investigate how students experience teaching and learning in the online school in upper secondary school. Key findings in the study indicate that students were largely satisfied with the online school. At the same time, there was a gap between students who embraced and would recommend online subject offerings, and those who experienced subjects in the online school as disproportionately demanding. The online school appears to be a good alternative to on-site education for students who have strong academic aspirations, can develop independence in their individual work, and utilise the opportunities for interaction in the scheduled meetings with teachers and fellow students. In this way, the online school contributes to variety and flexibility in upper secondary school.