Norges Toppidrettsgymnas Bærum AS, Bekkestua

The Norwegian College of Elite Sport (Norges Toppidrettsgymnas/NTG) is a non-profit private foundation, which owns six schools organized as non-profit Ltd's. NTG was founded in 1981 and started with only 12 pupils. Today NTG has a total number of 870 students at six schools. These are located in Bærum (near Oslo), Kongsvinger (close to the swedish border), Tromsø in the north and two schools are situated in the mountain resorts of Geilo and Lillehammer for the benefit of winter sports. The school is funded by a combination of state grants, school fees, and sponsor revenue. The school offers its students a rigorous, carefully planned and individually adapted training schedule each year, combined with a three-year course of upper secondary education. NTG has the athlete at the centre of attention. The NTG Foundation also established a lower secondary school in 2004 based on the same principles as for the initial students of upper secondary education. The younger students belong to a department called NTG-U, which is associated with the upper secondary school in Bærum. NTG-U offers preparatory basic sports training for 180 pupils.