More than one in ten Swedish school pupils fall below minimum standards for entering high school, according to new statistics from the Swedish Board of Education.
Mathematics has once again proved to be the major stumbling block, with In 8.5 percent of pupils unable able to achieve a passing grade in the subject, although a higher proportion of those that did pass achieved distinctions.
The new statistics show minor changes on the corresponding figures for 2008 with 88.8 percent of school pupils achieving the passing grades required for high school (gymnasium) entry in the core subjects of Maths, Swedish and English.
"The figure, over 11 percent, would appear high but has largely remained the same for the past decade," Helena Svensson at the board told The Local on Wednesday.
"Over the longer term there has been some decline. Before it was little under ten percent, now it is a little over."
In English 7.1 percent of pupils did not make the grade while in Swedish the figure was 4.1 percent. In Swedish as a second language the figure was 27.5 percent.
The new report is based on preliminary statistics compiled from estimates produced by Statistics Sweden (SCB). Final grades will be published in November.
The board writes that the national statistics hide significant variations between and among school and local municipalities.
"Schools and municipalities are supposed to ensure that pupils are given the support that they need. They get this support, but may be it is not always the right kind of support," Helena Svensson explained.
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Friday, 7 August 2009
Swedes benefiting from tougher hockey at home
Peter Forsberg was one of 11 Swedes selected in the NHL draft. This year, the draft was nothing short of a Swedish invasion.
Seven Swedes were drafted in the first round, for a total of 25. Only Canada and the United States had more players taken.
"It's a record," Forsberg said. "I would never have guessed there would be seven Swedes in the first round."
Experts credit a revolution at the grass roots of Swedish hockey. They say an emphasis on making players mentally tougher has created a new generation of Swedes better prepared to make the leap across the Atlantic.
"The biggest change is the attitude improvement," said Hakan Andersson, a Red Wings scout based in Sweden for the past 20 years. "Swedes have always been skilled, but they used to be more timid."
Things started changing in 2002 when the Swedish Ice Hockey Association launched an initiative to improve the performance of its juniors after five years of mediocre results in international youth competitions. An "ABC of hockey" curriculum was written by the association for the first time and was distributed to 400 clubs throughout the country. Twelve chief coaches were hired to mentor the clubs and coaches in their areas. Competitive practices emphasizing winning were designed to create a stronger mentality.
Tommy Boustedt, Sweden's head of hockey development, said it used to be acceptable for Swedish junior teams to finish in the top four in international competitions. "Now the only thing the players are going for is gold," he said. Sweden's under-20 team won silver medals at the past two world junior hockey championships, losing both finals to Canada. They finished eighth in 2003, and their results have improved steadily since.
And each year since 2005, Sweden has had more players enter the NHL draft than any other European nation.
Seven Swedes were drafted in the first round, for a total of 25. Only Canada and the United States had more players taken.
"It's a record," Forsberg said. "I would never have guessed there would be seven Swedes in the first round."
Experts credit a revolution at the grass roots of Swedish hockey. They say an emphasis on making players mentally tougher has created a new generation of Swedes better prepared to make the leap across the Atlantic.
"The biggest change is the attitude improvement," said Hakan Andersson, a Red Wings scout based in Sweden for the past 20 years. "Swedes have always been skilled, but they used to be more timid."
Things started changing in 2002 when the Swedish Ice Hockey Association launched an initiative to improve the performance of its juniors after five years of mediocre results in international youth competitions. An "ABC of hockey" curriculum was written by the association for the first time and was distributed to 400 clubs throughout the country. Twelve chief coaches were hired to mentor the clubs and coaches in their areas. Competitive practices emphasizing winning were designed to create a stronger mentality.
Tommy Boustedt, Sweden's head of hockey development, said it used to be acceptable for Swedish junior teams to finish in the top four in international competitions. "Now the only thing the players are going for is gold," he said. Sweden's under-20 team won silver medals at the past two world junior hockey championships, losing both finals to Canada. They finished eighth in 2003, and their results have improved steadily since.
And each year since 2005, Sweden has had more players enter the NHL draft than any other European nation.
Monday, 3 August 2009
Why the pirates are on the rise in Sweden
It is estimated - but nobody really knows - that at least one in 10 Swedes swap music illegally via BitTorrent file-sharing websites like Sweden's notorious Pirate Bay, and it is thought that in 2008, some 15m films were illegally downloaded by Swedish internet users.
Such internet activity as propelled the country into the biggest political debate for 20 years. At its heart is a controversial law passed in parliament last year. Known as the FRA Law, in honour of the Swedish electronic intelligence agency, it permits the monitoring of international phone calls, e-mail and internet traffic.
Some of the world's most powerful computers will scan all cross-border e-traffic in real time for a quarter of a million trigger words and phrases that the security services believe warrant further investigation.
While Finland has Nokia, Sweden gave us Ericsson. Swedes enjoy some of the highest - and fastest - rates of connectivity in the world, a development that has been spurred by necessity because of the country's sparsely populated geography, and a key factor in driving the discussion around the new law. Cultural differences also play a part, for example Sweden's liberal culture, part of which is the principle of Allemansratten.
Allemansratten means everyone's right to roam and it's an important part of Swedish culture and identity and a major factor dividing people for and against the new law.
Such internet activity as propelled the country into the biggest political debate for 20 years. At its heart is a controversial law passed in parliament last year. Known as the FRA Law, in honour of the Swedish electronic intelligence agency, it permits the monitoring of international phone calls, e-mail and internet traffic.
Some of the world's most powerful computers will scan all cross-border e-traffic in real time for a quarter of a million trigger words and phrases that the security services believe warrant further investigation.
While Finland has Nokia, Sweden gave us Ericsson. Swedes enjoy some of the highest - and fastest - rates of connectivity in the world, a development that has been spurred by necessity because of the country's sparsely populated geography, and a key factor in driving the discussion around the new law. Cultural differences also play a part, for example Sweden's liberal culture, part of which is the principle of Allemansratten.
Allemansratten means everyone's right to roam and it's an important part of Swedish culture and identity and a major factor dividing people for and against the new law.
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