Norway calls time as school-leavers Russ bus partying gets out of hand

Traditions have changed over the years and now teenagers are spending fortunes on hiring party buses.

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The sight of school-leavers, known here as russ, walking around in colourful overalls is something of a coming-of-age tradition that brightens up the weeks before Norway's national day on 17 May.

That marks the day the russ can finally relax after their exams and have one final party. But for increasing numbers of young Norwegians, the parties have been starting weeks earlier, well before their exams have finished.

And there is one side to the celebrations that has increasingly alarmed parents and politicians alike - the russebuss.

"It's a party bus! We go out every night for a month, we get drunk, we're partying with our friends and it's just fun!" says 19-year-old Edvard Aanestad, who is finishing school on the west side of Oslo.