The home of Swedish education in Britain
About us
We are a private, not-for-profit school providing first-rate Swedish education from pre-school through to sixth form.
While we follow the Swedish curriculum and use London as a second classroom to add an international dimension to our teaching. Our small class sizes, dedicated teachers and friendly community atmosphere all combine to help pupils and students realise their full academic and personal potential.
The school is registered as a charity in England and Wales and a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital. Membership of the Charity is open to the parents or guardians of children being educated by the Charity, and the governors are elected by the members at the Annual General Meeting. The Governors as Charity Trustees have control of the Charity and its property and funds.
Our history
The Swedish School opened in 1907, with our first classrooms located in Harcourt Street in central London. In 1976, our lower school moved to its present location in Barnes, on the south bank of the Thames in West London.
In the 100+ years, we have been in operation, our school has been about more than the education we provide. As the only Swedish school in all of the United Kingdom, it has served as a community focus for Swedish families living in London, and a way to live abroad while maintaining close contact with home.
We recognise public festivals and events in the UK and coupled with the monthly activities of our parents’ association these help to keep our community spirit alive today.
School management
The Swedish School in London’s legacy of excellence and achievement is just a part of the picture of who we are and what we aspire to. Together with our staff, we aim to develop each student’s self-reliance, determination, responsibility, compassion and boldness, as well as respect for others. We seek to ensure that every pupil and student who passes through our school is empowered and supported in becoming ambitious, confident, articulate and socially adept, enabling them to participate fully in our friendly, stimulating community. As management we strive to create a school for the future.
Our outstanding ranking
As we are registered as an English school, we are supervised and inspected by The Office for Standards in Education in the UK (OFSTED). The school has been awarded Outstanding in its latest Ofsted inspection, which took place on 6-8 June 2023. This is the fourth consecutive Outstanding result achieved by the School and the highest level awarded by Ofsted. The School has therefore been recognised as Outstanding for the last 13 years. The latest report be downloaded and read below.
Link to the Ofsted report from the inspection on 6-8 June 2023
Board of Governors
The governors of the board come from a wide variety of professional backgrounds and share the common goal of ensuring that this extraordinary school continues to thrive as an essential part of the Swedish community in London, embracing both Swedish and British traditions and values. The school benefits from outstanding teachers and management, all with a strong sense of the school’s rich legacy, as well as a keen eye on the future. The board is privileged to support this work and the continued ability of the school, and by extension its pupils, to adapt to an ever-changing world.
Klaus Bassler
Chair of the Board
chair@swedishschool.org.uk
Klaus is an Executive in the Fashion Industry, where he spent his whole career. He worked internationally in various publicly listed and privately owned companies, where he held senior commercial roles. Originally from Germany, Klaus moved to London in 2005, where he met his Swedish wife. He has two daughters at the school. Klaus has the privilege to serve as the Chair of the board.
Lotta Edström
Vice Chair of the Board & Treasurer
ledstrom@swedishschool.org.uk
With a passion for driving business transformation in an ever-changing world, Lotta brings global marketing and commercial experience from the Healthcare/Pharma and FMCG industries. Lotta has a son who started at the Swedish school aged four and is now in secondary school.
Anna Jägberg
Secretary & Link Governor for Safeguarding
ajagberg@swedishschool.org.uk
Anna has over 20 years of experience in education, both as a teacher and headteacher. She is a Director of Education at The Swedish National Agency for Education in Stockholm. Between 2011 and 2015, Anna was the Headteacher of The Swedish School in London. She has three grown-up children, two of whom attended the Swedish School in London.
Tania Tandon
Responsibility for legal questions
ttandon@swedishschool.org.uk
Tania is a lawyer at and co-founder of TandonHilderband with over 20 years of experience advising clients across sectors, including charities and education. Tania’s expertise is in all areas of employment law, with a particular interest in navigating employee relations issues by applying extensive experience of differences in approach due to cultural and background differences. Originally born and raised in Sweden with Indian and English parents, Tania moved to London, where she qualified as a lawyer and has remained and is raising her family.
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Charlotte Gustavsson
Representative for the Swedish National Agency for Education
cgustavsson@swedishschool.org.uk
Charlotte is a sixth-form teacher in Swedish and a former member of SSL when her two children attended the school. She held other managerial and educational-oriented career positions as a Manager and teacher and worked as a self-employed consultant with experience in business and career coaching.
Christina Brattwall
Marketing & Fundraising
cbrattwall@swedishschool.org.uk
Christina has lived and worked in London since 2003 and has over 20 years of professional experience in marketing. She started her career in advertising agencies but has recently switched to working client-side within the financial services and technology sectors. Christina, married to a Brit, has two boys attending the school. She is excited to reconnect with her Swedish roots and heritage through the school.
Henrik Gustavsson
Marketing & Fundraising
hgustavsson@swedishschool.org.uk
Henrik is a Danish citizen and has lived in the UK for 10 years. He has worked primarily within international sales and marketing management and has been involved in several company and division start-ups. Both of his grown-up children attended and graduated from the Swedish School. Since leaving the school, they have successfully completed their studies at different English and international universities.
Edward Pennock
Marketing & Fundraising
Edward had worked for over 20 years in the international insurance industry, managing teams in London and Europe. He brings with him strong skills in relationship management, strategy and leadership. He is English, married to a Swedish wife, and has two boys at the school. Edward hopes to bring his perspective and experience as a Brit in the Swedish system and encourage others to support this great school.
School ethos
- The most prominent representative of Swedish education abroad
- A place where each student’s identity and self-perception are strengthened
- A school where each student’s learning is based on their individual abilities, thus enabling them to realise their academic and creative potential
- A learning environment that offers dedicated and skilled teaching
- An international environment
- A safe workplace for adults and children, where the atmosphere is characterised by creativity, flexibility, willingness to change, respect and tolerance
- A good and sound academic preparation for further studies in Sweden or other countries
Aims
The Swedish School in London (SSL) provides high quality and high tempo education that challenges and motivates students to take an active role in their own learning. By fostering an atmosphere of respect, clarity and dedication, we prepare students to become good citizens of the community and understand the world in which we live.
At SSL, every individual has the right to enjoy a safe and healthy environment, where teachers can teach and students can learn.
SSL has high ambitions for each student. We work to build sound and strong learning foundations so that they can excel in their future education. We believe that each child and student has the capacity to further develop intellectually, personally and morally.