Kungsholmens gymnasium

Kungsholmens gymnasium
Location
Stockholm, Sweden
Coordinates 59°19′48″N 18°02′01″E / 59.3301°N 18.0337°ECoordinates: 59°19′48″N 18°02′01″E / 59.3301°N 18.0337°E
Information
Type Upper secondary school
Public
Established 1902[1]
Rector Annica Tengbom Ödéna[2]
Lesley Brunnmanb[3]
Ove Sköldc[4]

aSwedish Section
bInternational Section
cSwedish Choir Section

Kungsholmens gymnasium (Kungsholmen Upper Secondary School in English) is a high school located on the island of Kungsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden. The school is divided into a Swedish Section, an English-speaking International Section, and a Music Section which uses the name Stockholms Musikgymnasium. Kungsholmens Gymnasium is a popular school in Stockholm with high application rates and some of the highest entry requirements within the Stockholm County.[5]

History

The newly completed school building in 1907.
King Gustav V inaugurates the school building in 1908.

The original school, associated with Kungsholmens Church, was first mentioned in records from 1672. This church school had twenty students. The church remained responsible for the schooling of youth in Kungsholmen until the end of the nineteenth century when the state took over responsibility for education. The school still graduates its students from the church, but this is the only remaining tie between the school and church.

Stockholm's population growth in the 1890s strained the city's existing school facilities, which were no longer able to accommodate the number of qualified applicants.[1] Part of the solution to this problem was the establishment of the "Kungsholmens Allmänna Läroverk" in 1902.[1] The school used hired accommodation on S:t Eriksgatan (St. Erik's Street) temporarily, moving into a new building on Hantverkargatan in 1908.[1] The school has remained in that building ever since. In 1984, Stockholms Musikgymnasium (Stockholm Music School) moved into the same building, maintaining a certain level of autonomy as a separate section of the school but within the same building. In 1987, the International Section moved out of Norra Real, another upper-secondary school in Stockholm, and joined Kungsholmens Gymnasium.

Building

The main entrance portal of the building. The writing reads "General Secondary School" in Swedish.
The building expansion to the east, with underground parking spaces below.

The current school building was built between 1904 and 1907, based on blueprints by architect Georg Ringström.[6] The facade was probably designed by Axel Anderberg.[6] The building is distinct in style from other school buildings of the time which featured predominantly red brickwork (like that found in the building of Södra Latin). The building's facade has an alternating light red brick and white plaster design. The main entrance portal is inspired by fellow architect Ferdinand Boberg. The building features big corridor and stairwell spaces, as well as a two storey aula.

The building has been renovated several times. During the latest renovation (1993-1994), the old paintwork on the ceiling of the school's aula was restored. Simultaneously the building was expanded towards the east, and underground parking spaces built under the school replacing the old bomb shelters.

Study programmes

Kungsholmens Gymnasium offers several different programs through its different sections. The International Section offers three programmes of study: the Social Science programme (samhällsvetenskapliga programmet), the Natural Science programme (naturvetenskapliga programmet), and the International Baccalaureate programme. The Swedish Section includes the Social and Natural Science programmes. The admission to Kungsholmens Gymnasium is consistently one of the toughest in Sweden. In 2012, the admission points to the Natural Science programme in the International section was 315 out of 320, one of the highest admission points requirement in Stockholm, and 310 points in the Natural Science programme in the Swedish section. The school is known for its students who have been admitted to top universities around the world, including Ivy league universities in the US, Oxford and Cambridge in the UK and Swedish universities such as KTH and Karolinska Institutet. The school also has a musical section which offers modified programmes of the Natural and Social Science programmes to include choral courses.

Gender imbalance

Like many of the inner-city schools in Stockholm, Kungsholmens Gymnasium has an imbalance between male and female students. As of 2005, the school had a female to male ratio of over 60:40. This divide is particularly marked in the music section, where the social science classes sometimes have an imbalance in excess of 75:25.

Student democracy

One of the goals of the school is to strive to impress upon students the importance of democracy, along with its advantages and disadvantages. As part of this effort, the school has a Student Union (Elevkåren) which, despite the schools administration's veto power, still carries a degree of influence.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Kungsholmens Gymnasium" (PDF) (in Swedish). Patrick Lönnberg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-09.
  2. ↑ "Annica Tengbom Ödén" (in Swedish). Kungsholmens Gymnasium. Archived from the original on 2015-03-10.
  3. ↑ "Lesley Brunnman" (in Swedish). Kungsholmens Gymnasium. Archived from the original on 2015-03-10.
  4. ↑ "Ove Sköld" (in Swedish). Kungsholmens Gymnasium. Archived from the original on 2015-03-10.
  5. ↑ "Kungsholmen – ett drömgymnasium" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. Archived from the original on 2015-03-09.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Kungsholmen Västra: Byggnadsinventering Stockholms Stadsmuseum 1991" (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm City Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-03-10.

External links