Sundsvalls gymnasium is a municipal upper secondary school of Sundsvall municipality operating on two main sites: Västermalms skola (about 1100 students) and Hedbergska skolan (about 1000 students). The school calls itself 'skolan med flest möjligheter' (the school with the most opportunities): almost all national programmes, both university-preparatory and vocational, an adapted upper secondary school, introductory programmes, the TE4 technical fourth year and sports programmes for future elite athletes, which the school has run since 1980. The IB Diploma programme is at Västermalms skola: a preparatory first year and two years of the Diploma Programme, taught in English except Swedish and modern languages ('Alla kurser med undantag för svenska och moderna språk kommer att ges på engelska'). The school states that the IB suits those who 'har gått ett annat skolsystem och saknar svenska i betyget' (have attended another school system and have no Swedish grade) and former exchange students. Each programme has its own student health team.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Swedish, English
Students
about 2100 (Västermalm about 1100, Hedbergska about 1000)
About the fees Tuition is free: this is a municipal upper secondary school of Sundsvall municipality, and the school's pages mention no tuition fees anywhere.
Admissions Applicants apply to the IB the same way as to the national programmes, through the common upper secondary admissions; passing grades in English and mathematics and in 9 more subjects, 12 in total, are required; an interest in English, mathematics and internationalisation is recommended. The school says the programme suits those who want to study in English or abroad, have attended another school system and have no Swedish grade, want to switch after a first year on another university-preparatory programme, or have been exchange students. The IB can be combined with the local sports programme LIU; late applications are accepted by email, and if there are more applicants than places, selection is by compulsory school grade average (meritvärde). Prospective students can spend a day at the school by booking with the careers adviser.
Stages and year groups Grades 10-12 (gymnasieskola, årskurs 1-3). Three-year gymnasieskola leading to the gymnasieexamen. Västermalms skola: Naturvetenskapsprogrammet, Teknikprogrammet (plus the TE4 fourth year), International Baccalaureate, Bygg- och anläggningsprogrammet, El- och energiprogrammet, Fordons- och transportprogrammet, Industritekniska programmet (with apprenticeships), Barn- och fritidsprogrammet, Vård- och omsorgsprogrammet, introductory programmes and anpassad gymnasieskola. Hedbergska skolan: Estetiska programmet, Restaurang- och livsmedelsprogrammet, Försäljnings- och serviceprogrammet, Samhällsvetenskapsprogrammet, Ekonomiprogrammet. IB: a preparatory first year (English, Swedish or Swedish as a second language, mathematics 1c and 2c, biology, chemistry, physics, a modern language, psychology, physical education, an introduction to the IB Diploma and CAS), with all courses except Swedish and modern languages in English; then two years of the Diploma Programme: English A and Swedish A, a school-supported self-taught Language A, English B, Swedish B, Spanish B, economics, global politics, psychology, biology, physics, chemistry, two mathematics courses, theatre, plus TOK, CAS and the Extended Essay. The school mentions no other IB programmes.
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 poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Clubs and activities: LIU Basket (basketball) · LIU Fotboll (football) · LIU Innebandy (floorball) · LIU Ishockey (ice hockey)
Teaching staff
The school publishes neither the number of its teachers nor their qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Each programme has its own student health team: counsellors, school nurses and school doctors specialised in children, adolescents and public health, special needs educators and careers advisers. Students take part in class councils and programme forums, where safety and respect are also discussed.
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 data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data70 "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
Sundsvall, Sweden · State