English

Welcome to the homepage of Kopavogur College

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The School

Kopavogur College is an upper secondary school offering both academic and vocational education. The school’s defined role is to provide education towards university matriculation (stúdentspróf) and vocational education (sveinspróf) in the hospitality and culinary field. Furthermore, the school offers education in the field of tourism, both in its day an evening school programmes.

The school’s education programmes are varied they all have the shared aim of ensuring that students are well equipped to meet the demands of modern society. The school provides a learning environment which enables students to make educational choices in line with their interests and talents as well as preparing them for the job market or further study.

The core values of Kopavogur College are: knowledge – maturity – development - participation

History

Kopavogur Senior Grammar School was founded on 22 September 1973. The initial number of students was 125 and the school’s primary role was to prepare students for university matriculation. In 1987 a department of tourism was established and the Iceland Tourist Guide School joined Kopavogur Grammar School. In 1996 an extension containing state-of-the art facilities for the teaching of a range of hospitality, food production and restaurant service subjects was opened and the Hospitality and Culinary School of Iceland formally moved to Kopavogur. In 1999 a special department for autistic students was opened. Today, the average number of students is around one thousand.

The first principal of the upper secondary school of Kópavogur was Mr Ingólfur Þorkelsson (1973-1993). He was succeeded by Ms Margrét Friðriksdóttir who retired in 2019. The present principal is Ms Guðríður Eldey Arnardóttir. A detailed account of the school’s history can be found here.

Course Programmes

Kopavogur College has a modular system of instruction. This is a course-based system of instruction which allows students more freedom in choosing their courses and more flexibility in constructing timetables than the traditional class-based system. A detailed account of each study programme can be found under the “Courses” tab on the MK homepage.

Academic Programmes:
Sports
Social Sciences
Open Track
Science
Business Studies
Upper Secondary Studies

Vocational Programmes:
Baking
Restaurant & Bar Service
Meat Processing
Culinary Arts
Food Service and Tourism: Foundation Course

Adult Education Programmes:
Canteen Cooking / Ship’s Cook Certificate
Food Technician
Master’s Certificate for the Hospitality Sector

Iceland School of Tourism
Iceland Tourist Guide School

ISO9001 and HACCP

Kopavogur College is an ISO9001 certified institution. The means that regular evaluations on the school’s performance are carried out and documented. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe. This system is crucial for Kopavogur College where the teaching of academic and vocational subjects takes place within the same building throughout the day.