Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket

Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL) is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day students between the 7th and 12th grades. Located in Sigtuna, Sweden, it is considered as one of the most prestigious secondary institutions in Europe. Highly noted for its emphasis of Swedish education with international characteristics, it has educated generations of the Swedish elite as well as children of Swedes living abroad. International students around the world and local families in Sigtuna or nearby suburbs with children performing at an exceptional level have also been enrolled to SSHL.

Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL)
Address
Manfred Björkquist allé 8

Sigtuna
,
Stockholm County
,
193 28

Sweden
Information
School typePrivate, day & boarding
Established1925 as SHL and 1927 as Sigtunaskolan. Merged in 1980
FoundersManfred Björkquist, Harry Cullberg and Arvid Bruno
ChairpersonMarie von Satzger[1]
DirectorCarina Nilsson[2]
Number of students~ 700
Average class size24[3]
LanguageSwedish and English[3]
Houses8[3]
Colour(s)Dark blue, Red and White
              
Song"Time is Here"
AthleticsRoyals
Team nameRoyals
NewspaperSUUM CUIQUE - Vi & Vårt
Websitewww.sshl.se

As a non-profit private boarding school, management of the SSHL's financial and physical resources is jointly overseen by Sigtuna Skolstiftelse (Sigtuna School Foundation), the Sigtunastiftelsen (National Sigtuna Foundation) and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, all are trustees drawn from citizens of Sigtuna and the school alumni. Day-to-day operations are headed by a school director and a principal, who is appointed by the trustees.

Many of SSHL's alumni go on to attend prestigious Swedish or foreign universities. Among the alumni of SSHL include the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf and Olof Palme, the former Prime Minister of Sweden. Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket is a member of the global G20 Schools group.

History
Graduation of Carl XVI Gustaf

Dating back to the mid-1920s, there existed two elite boarding schools within the town of Sigtuna. Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk, which the current campus is now positioned on was founded by bishop Manfred Björkquist, and Sigtunaskolan, the other boarding school was founded by Theologican Harry Cullberg.

The two schools merged in 1980 to form Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket on where Sigtunastiftelsens Humanistiska Läroverk used to stand, a hill on the western side of Sigtuna.


Education

Classes at SSHL are held Monday through Friday. Boarding students are often offered to attend lectures and educational interventions on specific Sundays, known at the school as "Academic Sunday." Emphasizing on the school's primary principle of offering a Swedish educational experience with international characteristics, the school offers programs both in Swedish as well as English.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

As one of the first schools in Sweden to offer the IB Diploma Programme, SSHL offer students from 7th to 10th grade to attend the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) and final year students to undertake the highly rigorous two year Diploma program. The school offer a variety of subjects to cater to the diverse body of students taking the program at SSHL and offer support CAS (Creativity, activity, service), a central emphasis of the iB program by organizing service trips to Laos, Nepal and Kenya. Students at SSHL studying the iB achieve a point average of 31.

Business Management and Economics (Ekonomiprogramet)

Offered in both Swedish and English, this three-year course is available for those wanting a career in business, finance, marketing, leadership and management. Established in 2011 at SSHL, the course provides a modern and good theoretical basis for further business studies in Sweden or abroad.

The course centers on the following topics; entrepreneurship and business economics, private law, modern languages, psychological business, entrepreneurship and business development, and business economics.

Social Science Programme (Samhällsvetenskapsprogrammet)

One of the signature courses at SSHL, the Social Science Program is only available in Swedish and is a three-year program that cater to students who has yet been able to formulate a clear path in what they want to become in the future by offering an experience similar to liberal art colleges, however, with an emphasis on social sciences such as politics and history.

Swedish middle school (Grundskolan)

Offering education similar to schools around Sweden with an international emphasis, this course is the alternative to the iB Middle Years Programme for students who wish to partake in a more Swedish educational experience. Starting in 7th grade and ending in 9th grade, the Grundskolan is a compulsory course for students not doing the MYP.

Campus facilities

Academic facilities
  • Instan is the main school building, located conveniently in the center of the school. The building is separated in two distinct halves; the older half housing the science labs and the Mathematics classrooms, while the modern half house classrooms designed for the study of social sciences and languages. Utis, the school's shop and the Study Center is also located inside Instan.
  • Gymnasie Byggnaden is the old school building, located on top of the school hill. The building is from the 1920s and contains the library, teacher's offices, as well as classrooms.
  • The Aula is the school auditorium, where performances and assemblies are organized. Situated next to the sport facilities, the school gym and visual art classrooms are also located in the lower floor of the Aula.

Boarding houses

Each of the six high school boarding houses can house up to 30 boarding students every school year, and possess house traditions in a manner that can be related to traditions found in fraternities and sororities in American universities.

Boys
  • Midgården , founded in 1927, is the oldest boarding house in the school and is situated on top of the hill that SSHL encompasses. It houses both the boarding house for boys and the school cafe, Café Humlan.
  • Sandvreten, was formed in 1980 following the merge of two old boarding houses in SSHL. It is situated right next to the main road that goes along Lake Malaren and through Sigtuna.
  • Backa is situated on a different hilltop within the premises of SSHL. It was formed as a merge between and after Tallåsen closed in 2016.
  • Kvarnbranten (converted to Student Welfare Center)
  • Tallåsen (closed)
  • Ängsbacken (closed)

Girls
  • Berga is situated on the same hilltop as Backa/Tallåsen is, and features an identical mirrored design of the Backa building.
  • Skoga is a boarding house for girls situated at the north side of SSHL. Following the closure of Björka in 2016, Skoga now houses both new boarding students as well as former students who had boarded in Björka before its closure
  • Haga is a boarding house for girls connected with Sandvreten by being all together in the same but separated housing facility.
  • Backa (converted to boys home)
  • Björka (closed)

Coeducational
  • Herrgården is one of the oldest houses at SSHL and was originally a boys' home where King Gustaf had attended during his time at SSHL. It has now been converted to a co-ed boarding house for younger students (grades 7-9).

Student life
Midgården

Students who go to SSHL are required to wear the school uniform on Wednesdays, which is a suit for boys and a blazer & blouse for girls. For the rest of the week, there is no formal dress code and students can dress the way they see fit if it is appropriate.

One of the main aspects of social life at SSHL is the variety of school sports. The school organizes an annual sports competition, the Hemseries, between boarding homes, where boarders compete in different sports across different events. The competition runs from September to May of the following year and continues to remain essential to maintaining Sigtunan traditions. SSHL is also a member of NECIS, the Northwest European Council of International Schools, where it takes part in sports competitions held between eleven international schools in Northern Europe.

SSHL has over 20 active student organizations for students to participate in throughout their time at school. Examples include SRK (Sista Rings Kommitte), which organizes formal parties for last-year students; ARCU, which organizes themed events throughout the year and the annual ARCU-Galan; or the Kenya Project, which organize annual charity trips to Kenya to support local students.

Every boarding home has a Hemråd, a House Committee that consists of a Prefect, a Vice Prefect, a Sports Advisor and a Home Advisor. Positions in the Hemråd are decided through a campaigning and election process within the home and the term length of each Hemråd spans one school year. Each home continues to maintain its distinct secret traditions and rules as observed by the Hemråd.

The school has some 550 to 600 students. Day students make up the majority of the population in middle school, while the reverse is true for grades 10 to 12, the equivalent of high school. Overall, half of the student population are boarders.

Alumni

Famous alumni include:

See also

References
  1. "THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES". Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  2. "MANAGEMENT TEAM". Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  3. "FAQ". Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket. Retrieved 19 April 2016.


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