LONGYEARBYEN (Norway): Nestled between an Arctic fjord and snowy mountains, the world’s northernmost school teaches students avalanche survival, how to fend off a hungry polar bear and how to skin a reindeer.

The 230 students at the Longyearbyen primary and secondary school, located in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago just 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole, follow a regular school curriculum, albeit adapted to the local way of life.

“Whether there’s an Arctic deep freeze or just a chill in the air, even in the event of a blizzard the school stays open,” says Priitta Poeyhtaeri Troen, a biology teacher at the school.

Skis lean against the facade of the building and reindeer graze freely in the schoolyard, while inside, snowmobile helmets are lined up on top of the cupboard.

Here in this modern establishment, where students remove their shoes and boots at the entrance, pupils don’t have to skip school to experience the great outdoors.

In the cafeteria, a stuffed polar bear and her cub stand guard while boisterous students bustle past. In a large display case, clay miniatures of bears and seals are on show, a class project conducted by first graders.

Unlike most other schools, this one has its own hunting quota. Every September, teachers and senior students track reindeer for a day.

Several animals are killed and studied together with the students.

Siren Lindeth, a bubbly 18-year-old girl, was one of those who skinned and dismembered a reindeer in the wild last year.

“You have to puncture its throat, skin the animal and eviscerate it. Preferably barehanded. It’s so nice to plunge your freezing hands into the still warm intestines,” says Lindeth, a hunting fan who at the age of three was already taking part in hunts with her father, bundled up on a sled.

In a town of just 1,800 people where residents stay on average for only three and a half years due to the harsh living conditions the school sees a large rotation of students walking through its doors.—AFP