Ever since the introduction of the Elementary School (Folkskolan) in 1842 there has been a long tradition of private schools in the Swedish school system. This was schools not publicly funded but financed through tuition fees.Many of these private schools were boarding schools where the students were accommodated during semesters.Most well-known of the Swedish boarding schools are Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk and Sigtunaskolan (now-days merged into Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket), Lundsbergs Skola and Solbacka Läroverk.In addition to these there were in larger cities other private schools such as Göteborgs Högre Samskola.Private schools are non-governmental, privately funded, and not administered by local, regional or national governments; parents of kids who attend private schools choose to have their child be in a school where kids are accordingly selected based on either their family income, or simply based on their academics. Private schools retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition, rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public (government) funding.
Example of Private Schools in Sweden
Ahlströmska Skolan
Ahlströmska skolan (Nya Elementarskolan för flickor) was a private elementary girls’ school and a secondary school (Gymnasiet) in Stockholm founded in 1902 by Anna Ahlström. The school was initially located on Kommendörsgatan 29 but was in 1926 relocated to a newly built school building on Kommendörsgatan 31. Ahlströmska skolan was disestablished in 1983. Today an independent school, Carlssons skola, is located in the same premises on Kommendörsgatan 31.The real name of Ahlströmska skolan was “Nya Elementarskolan för flickor” (The New Elementary School for Girls) but was generally called Ahlströmska skolan after its founder Anna Ahlström (1863-1943).The image to the right shows Ahlströmska Skolan on Kommendörsgatan 31, Stockholm. Free image Wikipedia.
Beskowska Skolan
Beskowska skolan was an elementary and a secondary private school, located from 1887 on Engelbrektsgatan by Humlegården (a park), Stockholm. The school was founded in 1867 by theologian and politician Gustaf Emanuel Beskow.The school was for many years a boys’ school with pupils mainly from the upper social class. Girls wasn’t allowed to enter the school until 1968. The school was disestablished in 1976.The image to the right shows Beskowska skolan on Engelbrektsgatan 9–11, Stockholm. Free image Wikipedia.
Whitlockska Samskolan
Whitlockska Skolan in Stockholm was a co-educational private school in business between 1878 and 1978. Initially is was a secondary school but later also an elementary school. The school was founded in 1878 as a girls’ school by Anna Whitlock and her associate Ellen Key. In 1893 the school was consolidated with the then newly founded Stockholms Nya Samskola (The New Stockholm Co-educational School) with Anna Whitlock as director. In 1905 the school was renamed to Whitlockska Samskolan. The school was municipalized in1976 and disestablished in 1978.The image to the right shows Whitlockska Samskolan on Eriksbergsgatan 8A, Stockholm. Free image Wikipedia.
Lundsbergs skola (Lundsberg Boarding School)
Lundsbergs Skola is a private boarding school and was previously one of Sweden’s national boarding schools (riksinternatskola). The school is located north of Kristinehamn town, Värmland. The name of the place is Lundsberg, Storfors Municipality. The boarding school was founded in 1896 by businessman William Olsson inspired by the classical boys’ boarding schools in the UK. The idea was, like in the English boarding schools, to teach the nation’s future persons of power by religious upbringing in a spartan rural environment. The school is a secondary school.The boarding school had in the school-year 2012/2013 about 220 students. The annual tuition fee is circa 250,000 SEK (about 30,000 USD).The image to the right shows Lundsbergs Skola, Storfors, Värmland. Free image Wikipedia.
Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk (SHL)
Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk (SHL) was a private boarding school in Sigtuna for secondary education equivalent to junior and senior high school in the US. Present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf and Late Prime Minister Olof Palme both attended this school.SHL was founded in 1926 by Manfred Björkquist, Harry Cullberg and Arvid Bruno. In 1980 the school was merged with Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, see below.The image to the right shows Humanistiska Läroverket in Sigtuna. Free image Wikipedia.
Sigtunaskolan (SS)
Sigtunaskolan was a private secondary school in Sigtuna. It was founded in 1924 by theologian Harry Cullberg.In 1980 the school was merged with Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, see below.
Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL)
In 1980 Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk and Sigtunaskolan was merged and the new school was named Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL). SSHL is located on the western hill in Sigtuna, at the same location of the former SHL.
Solbacka Läroverk
Solbacka Läroverk was a private boarding school located near Stjärnhov, Södermanland. The school, founded in 1901 and disestablished in 1973, was a secondary school with accommodation on the premises for boys and off the premises for girls. From the end of the 1940s also girls were accommodated at the school as boarding students.Solbacka was founded by Anders Jeurling. The school was later acquired by Principal Jean Berglund and his wife Louise, nee Kuylenstierna, and former wife of Anders Jeurling. After the death of Jean Berglund his widow Louise Berglund sold Solbacka to Principal Folke Goding. When the government in 1970 instituted the new boarding school system, National Boarding Schools, Solbacka wasn’t one of the selected boarding schools. This boarding school reform made it possible for private boarding schools to receive public funding. Thereby Solbacka School couldn’t compete with the national boarding schools which due to the public funding could keep lower tuition fees. Solbacka was disestablished in 1973, only a few years after the boarding school reform was in introduced.
Grennaskolan
Grennaskolan in Gränna, Småland, is a boarding school and one of the private boarding schools selected as a national boarding school in 1970. The Central Building, Borgmästargården from1797, is located by the main square in Gränna town surrounded by large garden/park facing Grennaberget. The greater part of the school buildings and dormitories is located on Bergsgatan. Stockholm University founded Grennaskolan in 1963.Grennaskolan has about 300 students, half of whom are boarding school students and half of whom are international students. The boarding students are accommodated at 6 dormitories. The high school offers both Swedish and English programs.The image to the right shows Grennaskolan, Gränna. Free image Wikipedia.
Göteborgs Högre Samskola (Gothenburg Co-educational High School)
The school was officially opened on September 16, 1901, in Gothenburg, as a private co-educational school for boys and girls, with a non-confessional religious instruction which was unusual at the time. The school practiced then new pedagogical ideas. The school was founded on initiative of Senior Master Teacher (Lektor) P. G. Laurin. The school was financed both with public funds as well as tuition fees up until the Independent School Reform 1992 (Friskolereformen).The image to the right shows Göteborgs Högre Samskola. Free image Wikipedia.
Riksinternatskolor - National Boarding Schools
In 1970 the Swedish national government introduced Riksinternatskolor (National Boarding Schools). This reform made it possible for private elite boarding schools to receive public funding. Thereby theses boarding schools were able to lower their tuition fees and get a sounder economy.The national boarding schools were intended for pupils in one of three categories:1.Pupils with Swedish parents living abroad 2.Pupils in need of a changed environment3.Pupils from sparsely populated areas The national Boarding Schools were submitted to special regulation in the School Act (Skollagen).Initially there were many candidate schools for the new national boarding school system. However, at the end only four elite boarding schools were appointed national boarding schools.In 1980 there were three:1.Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket 2.Grennaskolan3.Lundsbergs skolaPrivate boarding schools not selected as national boarding schools didn’t receive any public funding. Thereby they weren’t able to compete with the national boarding schools which due to the public funding could keep lower tuition fees. Many of the the boarding schools with no public funding were therefore forced to shut down due to economic reasons.On July 31, 2014, the government decided to abolish the system of national boarding schools. All boarding schools were now reorganized and submitted to the same regulations and funding as the so-called Independent Schools (Friskola) introduced in 1992. See below.
Friskolor - Independent Schools
A Friskola, Independent School, is a school with government funding and regulation but not administered by local, regional or national governments. This is the major difference between private schools which are not publicly funded, and independent schools. A friskola can have different types of owners, for example foundations, profit-making enterprises or non-profit-making organizations.In Sweden, pupils are free to choose an independent school (friskola) and the independent school gets paid the same amount as municipal schools. Over 10% of Swedish pupils were enrolled in independent schools in 2008. Sweden is internationally known for this innovative school voucher model (Skolpeng) that provides Swedish pupils with the opportunity to choose the school they prefer. For instance, the biggest school chain, Kunskapsskolan (“The Knowledge School”), offers 30 schools and a web-based environment, has 700 employees and teaches nearly 10,000 pupils.The Friskola reform of 1992 opened up for independent schools in Sweden. The municipals were then ordered by the government to pay independent schools at least 85% of the cost of having a pupil in a municipal school (i.e. a fixed amount per pupil). This opened up for independent schools and many have been established since 1992.There are Friskolor running the nine-year compulsary school (grundskola) as well as secondary schools (Gymnasiet). To establish a new friskola the principal organizer of a school has to file an application with the Swedish Schools Inspectorate(Skolinspektionen), a government agency. If the application is approved the new independent school can open up and will receive funding from the municipally where the school is established.The Swedish Schools Inspectorate scrutinizes schools and assesses applications to run an independent school. It is the principal organizer of a school, that is, a municipality or the operator of an independent school, which is responsible for its quality and results. The role of the Swedish Schools Inspectorate is to monitor and scrutinize. Anyone, for example parents and students, may report grievances to the Swedish Schools Inspectorate.Independent schools must, as of 2011, use the same national curriculum (läroplan) as the municipal schools. However, friskolor at elementary level can use some of the time in their school schedule for special profile subjects, for example as Christianity, Judaism or Islam.Swedish independent schools (Friskola) are public funded and are not allowed to use tuition fees. However, they can accept donations.In the USA independent schools are known as charter schools. They are primary or secondary education institutions that do not charge fees to pupils who take state-mandated exams. These charter schools are subject to fewer rules, regulations, and statutes than traditional state schools, but receive less public funding than public schools, typically a fixed amount per pupil. There are both non-profit and for-profit charter schools, and only non-profit charters can receive donations from private sources
About Private Schools in Other Countries
UK
In the UK, private schools generally prefer to be called independent schools, because of their freedom to operate outside government and local government control. Some of these are also known as public schools.
USA
In the United States, the term "private school" can be correctly applied to any school for which the facilities and funding are not provided by the federal, state or local government; as opposed to a "public school", which is operated by the government or in the case of charter schools, independently with government funding and regulation. The majority of private schools in the United States are operated by religious institutions and organizations.Private schools are generally exempt from most educational regulations at the Federal level but are highly regulated at the state level.
Ever since the introduction of the Elementary School (Folkskolan) in 1842 there has been a long tradition of private schools in the Swedish school system. This was schools not publicly funded but financed through tuition fees.Many of these private schools were boarding schools where the students were accommodated during semesters.Most well-known of the Swedish boarding schools are Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk and Sigtunaskolan (now-days merged into Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket), Lundsbergs Skola and Solbacka Läroverk.In addition to these there were in larger cities other private schools such as Göteborgs Högre Samskola.Private schools are non-governmental, privately funded, and not administered by local, regional or national governments; parents of kids who attend private schools choose to have their child be in a school where kids are accordingly selected based on either their family income, or simply based on their academics. Private schools retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition, rather than relying on mandatory taxation through public (government) funding.
Example of Private Schools in
Sweden
Ahlströmska Skolan
Ahlströmska skolan (Nya Elementarskolan för flickor) was a private elementary girls’ school and a secondary school (Gymnasiet) in Stockholm founded in 1902 by Anna Ahlström. The school was initially located on Kommendörsgatan 29 but was in 1926 relocated to a newly built school building on Kommendörsgatan 31. Ahlströmska skolan was disestablished in 1983. Today an independent school, Carlssons skola, is located in the same premises on Kommendörsgatan 31.The real name of Ahlströmska skolan was “Nya Elementarskolan för flickor” (The New Elementary School for Girls) but was generally called Ahlströmska skolan after its founder Anna Ahlström (1863-1943).The image to the right shows Ahlströmska Skolan on Kommendörsgatan 31, Stockholm. Free image Wikipedia.
Beskowska Skolan
Beskowska skolan was an elementary and a secondary private school, located from 1887 on Engelbrektsgatan by Humlegården (a park), Stockholm. The school was founded in 1867 by theologian and politician Gustaf Emanuel Beskow.The school was for many years a boys’ school with pupils mainly from the upper social class. Girls wasn’t allowed to enter the school until 1968. The school was disestablished in 1976.The image to the right shows Beskowska skolan on Engelbrektsgatan 9–11, Stockholm. Free image Wikipedia.
Whitlockska Samskolan
Whitlockska Skolan in Stockholm was a co-educational private school in business between 1878 and 1978. Initially is was a secondary school but later also an elementary school. The school was founded in 1878 as a girls’ school by Anna Whitlock and her associate Ellen Key. In 1893 the school was consolidated with the then newly founded Stockholms Nya Samskola (The New Stockholm Co-educational School) with Anna Whitlock as director. In 1905 the school was renamed to Whitlockska Samskolan. The school was municipalized in1976 and disestablished in 1978.The image to the right shows Whitlockska Samskolan on Eriksbergsgatan 8A, Stockholm. Free image Wikipedia.
Lundsbergs skola (Lundsberg Boarding
School)
Lundsbergs Skola is a private boarding school and was previously one of Sweden’s national boarding schools (riksinternatskola). The school is located north of Kristinehamn town, Värmland. The name of the place is Lundsberg, Storfors Municipality. The boarding school was founded in 1896 by businessman William Olsson inspired by the classical boys’ boarding schools in the UK. The idea was, like in the English boarding schools, to teach the nation’s future persons of power by religious upbringing in a spartan rural environment. The school is a secondary school.The boarding school had in the school-year 2012/2013 about 220 students. The annual tuition fee is circa 250,000 SEK (about 30,000 USD).The image to the right shows Lundsbergs Skola, Storfors, Värmland. Free image Wikipedia.
Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk
(SHL)
Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk (SHL) was a private boarding school in Sigtuna for secondary education equivalent to junior and senior high school in the US. Present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf and Late Prime Minister Olof Palme both attended this school.SHL was founded in 1926 by Manfred Björkquist, Harry Cullberg and Arvid Bruno. In 1980 the school was merged with Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, see below.The image to the right shows Humanistiska Läroverket in Sigtuna. Free image Wikipedia.
Sigtunaskolan (SS)
Sigtunaskolan was a private secondary school in Sigtuna. It was founded in 1924 by theologian Harry Cullberg.In 1980 the school was merged with Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket, see below.
Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket
(SSHL)
In 1980 Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk and Sigtunaskolan was merged and the new school was named Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket(SSHL). SSHL is located on the western hill in Sigtuna, at the same location of the former SHL.
Solbacka Läroverk
Solbacka Läroverk was a private boarding school located near Stjärnhov, Södermanland. The school, founded in 1901 and disestablished in 1973, was a secondary school with accommodation on the premises for boys and off the premises for girls. From the end of the 1940s also girls were accommodated at the school as boarding students.Solbacka was founded by Anders Jeurling. The school was later acquired by Principal Jean Berglund and his wife Louise, nee Kuylenstierna, and former wife of Anders Jeurling. After the death of Jean Berglund his widow Louise Berglund sold Solbacka to Principal Folke Goding. When the government in 1970 instituted the new boarding school system, National Boarding Schools, Solbacka wasn’t one of the selected boarding schools. This boarding school reform made it possible for private boarding schools to receive public funding. Thereby Solbacka School couldn’t compete with the national boarding schools which due to the public funding could keep lower tuition fees. Solbacka was disestablished in 1973, only a few years after the boarding school reform was in introduced.
Grennaskolan
Grennaskolan in Gränna, Småland, is a boarding school and one of the private boarding schools selected as a national boarding school in 1970. The Central Building, Borgmästargården from1797, is located by the main square in Gränna town surrounded by large garden/park facing Grennaberget. The greater part of the school buildings and dormitories is located on Bergsgatan. Stockholm University founded Grennaskolan in 1963.Grennaskolan has about 300 students, half of whom are boarding school students and half of whom are international students. The boarding students are accommodated at 6 dormitories. The high school offers both Swedish and English programs.The image to the right shows Grennaskolan, Gränna. Free image Wikipedia.
Göteborgs Högre Samskola (Gothenburg Co-
educational High School)
The school was officially opened on September 16, 1901, in Gothenburg, as a private co-educational school for boys and girls, with a non-confessional religious instruction which was unusual at the time. The school practiced then new pedagogical ideas. The school was founded on initiative of Senior Master Teacher (Lektor) P. G. Laurin. The school was financed both with public funds as well as tuition fees up until the Independent School Reform 1992 (Friskolereformen).The image to the right shows Göteborgs Högre Samskola. Free image Wikipedia.
Riksinternatskolor - National
Boarding Schools
In 1970 the Swedish national government introduced Riksinternatskolor (National Boarding Schools). This reform made it possible for private elite boarding schools to receive public funding. Thereby theses boarding schools were able to lower their tuition fees and get a sounder economy.The national boarding schools were intended for pupils in one of three categories:1.Pupils with Swedish parents living abroad 2.Pupils in need of a changed environment3.Pupils from sparsely populated areas The national Boarding Schools were submitted to special regulation in the School Act (Skollagen).Initially there were many candidate schools for the new national boarding school system. However, at the end only four elite boarding schools were appointed national boarding schools.In 1980 there were three:1.Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket 2.Grennaskolan3.Lundsbergs skolaPrivate boarding schools not selected as national boarding schools didn’t receive any public funding. Thereby they weren’t able to compete with the national boarding schools which due to the public funding could keep lower tuition fees. Many of the the boarding schools with no public funding were therefore forced to shut down due to economic reasons.On July 31, 2014, the government decided to abolish the system of national boarding schools. All boarding schools were now reorganized and submitted to the same regulations and funding as the so-called Independent Schools (Friskola) introduced in 1992. See below.
Friskolor - Independent Schools
A Friskola, Independent School, is a school with government funding and regulation but not administered by local, regional or national governments. This is the major difference between private schools which are not publicly funded, and independent schools. A friskola can have different types of owners, for example foundations, profit-making enterprises or non-profit-making organizations.In Sweden, pupils are free to choose an independent school (friskola) and the independent school gets paid the same amount as municipal schools. Over 10% of Swedish pupils were enrolled in independent schools in 2008. Sweden is internationally known for this innovative school voucher model (Skolpeng) that provides Swedish pupils with the opportunity to choose the school they prefer. For instance, the biggest school chain, Kunskapsskolan (“The Knowledge School”), offers 30 schools and a web-based environment, has 700 employees and teaches nearly 10,000 pupils.The Friskola reform of 1992 opened up for independent schools in Sweden. The municipals were then ordered by the government to pay independent schools at least 85% of the cost of having a pupil in a municipal school (i.e. a fixed amount per pupil). This opened up for independent schools and many have been established since 1992.There are Friskolor running the nine-year compulsary school (grundskola) as well as secondary schools (Gymnasiet). To establish a new friskola the principal organizer of a school has to file an application with the Swedish Schools Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen), a government agency. If the application is approved the new independent school can open up and will receive funding from the municipally where the school is established.The Swedish Schools Inspectorate scrutinizes schools and assesses applications to run an independent school. It is the principal organizer of a school, that is, a municipality or the operator of an independent school, which is responsible for its quality and results. The role of the Swedish Schools Inspectorate is to monitor and scrutinize. Anyone, for example parents and students, may report grievances to the Swedish Schools Inspectorate.Independent schools must, as of 2011, use the same national curriculum (läroplan) as the municipal schools. However, friskolor at elementary level can use some of the time in their school schedule for special profile subjects, for example as Christianity, Judaism or Islam.Swedish independent schools (Friskola) are public funded and are not allowed to use tuition fees. However, they can accept donations.In the USA independent schools are known as charter schools. They are primary or secondary education institutions that do not charge fees to pupils who take state-mandated exams. These charter schools are subject to fewer rules, regulations, and statutes than traditional state schools, but receive less public funding than public schools, typically a fixed amount per pupil. There are both non-profit and for-profit charter schools, and only non-profit charters can receive donations from private sources
About Private Schools in Other
Countries
UK
In the UK, private schools generally prefer to be called independent schools, because of their freedom to operate outside government and local government control. Some of these are also known as public schools.
USA
In the United States, the term "private school" can be correctly applied to any school for which the facilities and funding are not provided by the federal, state or local government; as opposed to a "public school", which is operated by the government or in the case of charter schools, independently with government funding and regulation. The majority of private schools in the United States are operated by religious institutions and organizations.Private schools are generally exempt from most educational regulations at the Federal level but are highly regulated at the state level.
