A teenage pupil at a Christian school in Norway is seriously ill in hospital after being stabbed by another pupil.

According to local press and TV reports, the 17-year-old girl was stabbed on Monday morning by a fellow pupil at KVS-Bygland.

The school is a Christian boarding school, owned by Indremisjonsforbundet, an Evangelical Lutheran revivalist movement. 

It is set in idyllic countryside in Setesdalen, southern Norway and offers an outdoor education to 61 sixth formers who wish to develop their passion for horses, hunting, fishing and walks in the woods.

The girl is not fatally injured. She was taken to hospital by air ambulance which arrived six minutes after emergency services were called to find her still conscious. A suspect is under arrest.

The principal, Steffen Røykenes, said the stabbing took place in a dormitory, just before the start of the school day. "Currently, we know little about what has happened but there has been a stabbing between two students inside the dormitory.

"The incident occurred just before the start of school. There are now quite a few police officers here who have started their work. We are taking care of our students as well as we can and the municipal crisis team is involved."

Police spokesman Petter Sandell said: "She is seriously injured but stable and confirmed to be out of critical condition." 

Both the injured girl and the suspect, who is male, were born in 1999.

A number of witnesses saw the stabbing.