Verkmenntaskólinn rents part of former primary school

It is just over two years since the state, municipalities in Eyjafjörður and Verkmenntaskólinn á Akureyri (Akureyri Comprehensive College) signed an agreement on a 1,500-square-metre extension to the school premises in Akureyri. Construction has not yet begun and this autumn VMA had to rent premises from Akureyrarbær (Akureyri municipality). “It simply wasn't possible to accommodate that number of students. We had a very large intake of new students this year, so we approached Akureyrarbær. They responded very positively and in the end we arrived at this solution,” says Benedikt Barðason, head of Verkmenntaskólinn á Akureyri. A total of 270 new students began studying at VMA this autumn and the school's existing premises have long been at full capacity. Accommodating all the students attending the school has been a major challenge, with around 1,300 students in total. Second- to fourth-year students on a specialised study programme will use the former Barnaskólinn in Akureyri, now called Rósenborg, every Friday. “First and foremost, it is perhaps just a different kind of space. There is a kitchen there, for example, so home economics can be taught, and information technology can al