By request here is some information about the Swedish school system and the qualifications gained at different levels.
The Swedish schooling systems differs greatly from the UK system in many ways and drawing parallels is very difficult. Here I try to give you an overview of the schooling system on a "What you should know" basis and I will try to draw parallels to the UK system where I can – for anyone from other countries I am sure you can work out the equivalents for yourself from the information.
Generally the Swedish school year is split into two terms the first running from mid/late August to mid December and the second from mid January to early/mid June.
Ages 1-6 - Förskola / Förskoleklass
All children aged 1-5 are guarenteed a place in daycare (Förskola or Dagis), in recent years however due to high demand the place you are allocated may not necessarily be particularly local to you. Attendence of day care is of course not compulsory. All 6 year olds have the opportunity to attend a pre-school class run by the schooling system. Again this is not compulsory but is the norm.
Ages 7-16 – Grundskola
Compulsory education is from the age of 7-16 and depending on the school can happen in one or two stages. Grades 1-6 are invariably conducted in one school with another catering for 7-9 but some schools run straight through from 1-9. This is the equivalant of primary school and high school in the UK (up to year 11). Here students follow a set curriculum up until the age of 13 (occasionally 12) where more choice becomes available to the student. Between the ages of 12-15 students MUST study English, Swedish, Sciences (including physics, checmistry, biology and technology), Humanities (including social studies, history, religion and geography), Physical Education, Art, Music, Carpentry or Sewing and Home Economics. It varies from school to school but usually at this stage students can choose to follow harder courses in – maths, chemistry, physics, biology, art and music depending on abilities.
The grading system in school goes likes this –
MVG (Mycket väl godkänd) – Highest grade available and is generally considered to be a Pass with Special Distiction. Let’s keep it simple and say this is an equivalent to A.
VG (Väl godkänd) – A pass with disctinction or here a B.
G (Godkänd) – Pass, or a C grade.
IG (Icke godkänd) – is an unoffical fail grade.
When students finish 9th grade they receive "Slutbetyg FrÃ¥n Grundskola" which is a certificate to say they have gradutated from 9th grade. It is pretty much the same level qualification as a bunch of GCSE’s if looking for a UK equivalent.
Ok, so you are with me so far?! Now it starts to get a little more complex.
The assessed work and national standardised exams in the core subjects English, Swedish and Mathematics along with 13 other subjects make up the students total score allowing them entry into further education (a bit like turning your A level grades into UCAS points but at GCSE level). Basically over grades 8 and 9 the final grades for each subject studied can be taken into account for the final score to be taken forward. The scores for each grade are as follows – G = 10, VG = 15 and MVG = 20, thus there being a maximum of 320 points available.
There are usuauly 17 overall grade for them to pick their 16 from as most students these days choose to study an additonal language such as Spanish, French or German. This final score will determine what the student is able to go on and study next as different courses require different points levels.
Age 16-19 – Gymnasieskola
This is non compulsory but pretty much the norm among 16 year olds in Sweden as qualifications gained here provide the basic qualifications when job seeking or studying to a higher level. There are two categories of programmes that one can choose to study – Preparatory and Vocational. With either category of qualification one can apply for further education but the preparatory category is more focused towards preparing the student for further study and is generally more “academic” focused. The Vocational courses invariably qualify the student for a specific type of work immediately upon completion – for example if you want to drive trucks or work with heavy machinery there is a specific course which will provide a work placement and provide the qualifications required for you to be considered for such positions. Some courses are 4 year courses depending on the level of education required and complexity of the material studied.
From here you receive your "Slutbetyg Från Gymnasieskola" certificate which is required to enter further education or to apply for most jobs. The grades achieved throughout the course, especially on the preparatory courses, are then turned into points much like from Grundskola, to form the entry requirements for University etc.
The UK equivalent of this qualification is a tricky one. It is pretty much A level or NVQ level qualifications depending on what you study and the category in which you study.
Study post gymnasium is of course non-compulsory and can be undertaken at any age assuming the correct qualifications are in place. Should a person miss out of getting their Grundskol or Gymnasieskola qualifications at the normal time they can go back to study them through a Municipal Adult School called Komvux.
Högskola
This is where people study for undergradute degrees, like the University system in the UK. Courses can take between 2 and 5 years and are as far reaching as in any other country. Here you can study -
Kandidatexamen – Undergraduate degree taking 3 years.
Magisterexamen – Masters degree which is an additonal one or two years on top of an undergraduate degree and includes thesis submission.
Yrkesexamina – Professional Degree taking 5 years. This would include medicine etc.
Högskola som har vetenskapsområde
This is a University establishment who is entitled to conduct recognised research in a particular field. Confusing enough for you?! Basically if you want to do research in a particular field, be it religion, philosophy, physics etc and gain a PhD qualification doing so you need to attend one of these universities and study for on average 4 years conduscting your own research projects.
So I think that is the basics of the Swedish Education System covered!
International Schools
The Internationella Engelska Skolan (IES) is a chain of 14 schools throughout Sweden consisting of two primary schools, 11 junior high schools, and 1 high school. They are “Independent” schools are publically funded and operate strictly on a first come first serve basis. According to wikipedia there is a junior high or Grundskola in UmeÃ¥ – IESU but not according to the IES website where the furthest one up North is Sundsvall.
Depending on age I am sure most children will find fitting into a Swedish speaking school easy. Don’t forget the high standard of English spoken by nearly everyone will mean there is plenty of help for children to fit in. If you are an adult wishing to study in Sweden then the best thing to do would be brush up your language skills and approach the establishments that provide the courses you are interested in directly to enquire about admissions but generally a few years of studying Swedish will stand you in good stead.
I hope this article has been of use and interest and cleared up some of the complication and confusion that is the Swedish system. I have compiled this information using research and experience. If you have any information to add please leave me a comment or email me at umea@hillsideweb.co.uk.
