Katedralskolan i Skara is the municipal upper secondary school of Skara with centuries of history: the school attached to Skara Cathedral has existed since the 13th century, and in 1641, by decision of Queen Christina, it became one of Sweden's first gymnasiums. Today it is a large upper secondary school with university preparatory and vocational programmes: child and recreation, building, economics, electricity and energy, arts (dance and theatre), vehicles and transport, business and service, natural science, social science, technology, health and social care and introductory programmes, as well as the IB Diploma Programme. The IB lasts three years, starting with a preparatory year, and is taught in English except for Swedish and modern language lessons. The programme has added the courses Digital Societies and Environmental Systems and Societies and a social science focus. The school is Sweden's only national elite sports upper secondary school for cycling (riksidrottsgymnasium) and offers local sports education; the IB can be combined with sport. It has its own university-level laboratory and lecturers with doctoral degrees.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Swedish, English
About the fees Katedralskolan is a municipal upper secondary school of Skara, and tuition is free, as in all Swedish municipal schools; the school has no separate fees page.
Admissions Residents of the Skaraborg municipalities apply through the Utbildning Skaraborg admissions office from the start of term in January until 1 February; a preliminary decision comes in mid-April, choices can be changed from 15 April to 15 May, the final decision comes on 1 July and the place must be accepted by 25 July. Applicants from outside Skaraborg contact the careers adviser at their school. IB applicants who rank the programme first or second are invited at the beginning of March to an Entrance criteria day: an English test (listening, reading, grammar and a short written task), a Mathematics test at year 9 level and a group interview in Swedish; if a student's spoken English is better than their Swedish, the interview can be in English. Decisions are based on the test results and the grades from year 9 or equivalent documentation, individually. The school says nothing specific about foreign students.
Stages and year groups Grades 10-12. Upper secondary school, three years (ages 16-19). National programmes in Swedish (gymnasieexamen): Barn- och fritidsprogrammet, Bygg- och anläggningsprogrammet, Ekonomiprogrammet, El- och energiprogrammet, Estetiska programmet (dance and theatre), Fordons- och transportprogrammet, Försäljnings- och serviceprogrammet, Naturvetenskapsprogrammet, Samhällsvetenskapsprogrammet, Teknikprogrammet, Vård- och omsorgsprogrammet, introductory programmes; the LIU local sports education and the national elite sports school for cycling. IB Diploma Programme: a preparatory year of Swedish upper secondary courses taught in English, then the two-year Diploma: six subjects from the groups of first language, language acquisition, social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics and one further subject, plus Theory of Knowledge, CAS and the Extended Essay; final exams are taken at the same time as all IB schools worldwide. New courses: Digital Societies and Environmental Systems and Societies.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeThe school is listed in the IB register and runs the Diploma Programme. The IB track runs inside a Swedish upper-secondary school, alongside the Swedish national programmes.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: DP (ages 16-19). DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
✓Swimming pool
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: Since 1972 the school has occupied a building one kilometre east of the centre of Skara: it houses the reception, a restaurant, a cafeteria, a sports hall and an auditorium, and there are works of art from the 17th century onwards. The science laboratory is equipped to university level, including an electron microscope and astronomical instruments; natural science and IB students do much of their practical work there. Students in the sports programme have access to a swimming pool and gym, with breakfast after training. The vehicle programme is housed in a separate building on Vallgatan. It is a day school.
Clubs and activities: Musikens Vänner (choir, since 1887) · Octo Puellae (choir, since 1977) · Elevkåren (student union) · UF - Ung företagsamhet (student enterprise) · LIU - Lokal idrottsutbildning (sports programme: handball, football, floorball, ice hockey, figure skating)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
What the listings show: including lecturers with a doctoral or licentiate degree
The school employs lecturers - teachers with a doctoral or licentiate degree; it profiles a lecturer with a doctorate in plant physiology from Uppsala University and says he is one of two lecturers. IB students describe their teachers as very committed. Sports programmes are led by experienced coaches, and the cycling school has a coach who is a former student and assistant national team coach.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
✓Access control
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The student health team: special needs teachers, special education teachers, careers advisers, the school nurse (a health visit in the first year), a school counsellor and a full-time mentor who works on attendance, safety and a calm study environment. Visitors must report to the reception at the main entrance: the premises are for students and staff only. Each programme elects student safety representatives.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)82 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data85 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data73 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country
Skara, Sweden · est. 1641 · State