School Director Margret Benedikz writes…

I was in London a couple of week’s ago along with Eddy Johansson (principal) as we were hosting a Friends of SSHL reception, together with the SSHL Alumni Association for alumni and parents living in the UK. The reception was held at Aquavit restaurant with the generous support of Coralie & Philip Hamilton. Many thanks to Marika Wäreborn for organising the event together with Caroline Lindahl.

Close to thirty people attended the reception, and Eddy and I had a chance to give everyone an update on the exciting things that are happening at SSHL. The school is continually developing and it’s important for us to keep our community up-to-date. Meeting up with friends of SSHL is not just a wonderful social occasion; it is also a great way of letting everyone know about the work that’s being done at SSHL. Parents and alumni play an important part in helping to spread the word about our school which in turn helps attract new students.

It was tremendous to meet so many friends and feel the strong support for the school and our community. We look forward to returning to London next year!

Germany, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and lots of interest in SSHL

Eddy Johansson was in Munich last week talking about SSHL whilst two house parents, Johanna Flink and Ola Olsson, are currently in Dubai. Many thanks to everyone who made this possible. We’re very grateful to the help and support we get from expat Swedish communities around the world. This, along with the marketing work we do, is really helping us to get the word out about education in Sweden and this in turn helps attract more potential students. We find that offering the opportunity to try boarding (“provbo”) is a great way for young people to see whether boarding at SSHL is the right option for them.

This year we’ve had to introduce an extra (4th!) weekend to accommodate the considerable interest in the school. The next group of potential students arrive March 23 and we look forward to welcoming them to the school. I am sure everyone at SSHL will make them most welcome.

Heading to Singapore & Japan

I will be speaking in Singapore and Japan before Easter about bilingualism. As I meet Swedish families around the world, it’s striking just how international both SSHL and Sweden is becoming. More and more of our students have strong ties to countries outside of Sweden, and as Sweden and the world changes, and with many of us embracing internationalism, it strengthens my belief in the work we are doing at the school. Our ethos, our status as an IB World School, as well as international school status within the Swedish education system, reflects the way in which SSHL is very much a school with an eye to what is happening globally in education. We are preparing our young people to not only prosper as they follow their chosen paths, but also go out and make a difference in the world. In the time that I have been at SSHL I have seen more and more interest in our international programmes. Clearly, no matter what is happening in the world, our young people are embracing the freedom of working within a global economy.

School Inspection

We were very pleased to welcome inspectors from the National Agency for Education in Sweden – Skolverket – to SSHL this week. They’ve been meeting with students and teachers, watching lessons and getting a real sense of what we’re doing here. The inspection is in line with the National Agency’s commitment to ensuring the quality of education at SSHL, just as other schools.

Parents Day

Saturday will see us welcoming parents to the spring term Parents Day on. It’s a wonderful chance for you as parents to meet with your children’s teachers and keep up with what is happening at the school. I hope to see as many of you as possible, whether during the day itself or at the Parents Association Dinner at Sigtuna Stiftelsen in the evening. Remember, there are two performances of this year’s drama production on in the afternoon. I hope you will make time to come and see the work the students have put in. Your support is greatly appreciated. You will find a full overview of the day’s programme here.

Very best wishes,
Margret Benedikz, Director

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