It is crazy to think that we have just completed our fifth year here in Sweden and with that comes the annual Swedish skolavslutning, which loosely translated means school graduation.

What I really love about the skolavslutning are the numerous cultural traditions that are embedded in this end of year celebration that are so uniquely Swedish and yet have become a core part of our end of year routine.

This post is a way to highlight and record those unique traditions:

1. Cleaning Day

In England and Japan I found that the end of year clear up was often left for the teacher. The students would clear out their trays and their peg or locker but taking down displays, sorting out equipment, changing labels were all left for the teacher after the students had gone. What I found very different but also quite nice is how my school in Sweden dedicates an entire half day just to cleaning where the students work together to empty their desks, their lockers and to clear away the classroom. It is a time where we all work together to finish the year in a clear space and reinforce the responsibility for our learning space.

2. Avslutning Dag / Graduation Day

The last day of school is very short… often only a couple of hours. Teachers and students will often dress up in nice clothes and the day is started with an assembly. In this assembly we give out awards for things such as the ‘Most Improved Student’, “Class Role Model” and “Best Academic”. This is often followed by some student performances and even a surprise teacher performance when teachers are willing. We will then return back to the classroom where we will share fika, give gifts and say goodbye for the final time that academic year. It is nice as a teacher to not have to worry about any planning or organising this day, but simply enjoy your student’s company one last time before the break.

3. Klassen utmärkelser / Class Awards

Each year since I started at my school it is a tradition to do class awards. This particular tradition is often written by the students themselves or can be written by the teachers themselves, as we did this year because our students were a bit younger.

Each student is given a paper plate tied with ribbon so you can wear them around your neck like a medal. On the front of the plate is the name given to the student such as ‘Klassens Comedian’ and on the back is an explanation for the name. It is often common for the teachers to get one too and this was my very first one from way back in 2020:

4. Student Gifts

This one is not unique to Sweden per say as it is common across the world to give teachers ‘Thank You’ gifts at the end of the school year but I have received some pretty unique gifts here in Sweden. Now I need to provide a little background before I get into this; anyone who knows me knows I LOVE potato in any form. Fries, crisps, mash potato, baked potato, etc.. and each year if I ever get asked the question, “What chocolate do you like?” I usually reply with, “I’m not a huge fan of chocolate but I love salt and vinegar crisps.” But every year I get chocolate because chocolates are fancier than crisps.

Now in Sweden the students not only listened but went all in! I have received multiple bags of crisps, but they even got me multiple bags of potatoes and one year I even got a potato hamper with a potato peeler, crisps, a small bag of potatoes and some potato cleaning gloves!

This selection was a couple of years a go and I loved it!

One year I even had a parent deliver a MAX (the top Swedish fast food chain that rivals McDonalds) because a student knew how much I loved fries.

5. Studenten

Now ‘Studenten’ is not something that directly affects me as this is the students’ final graduation at 18 years old but it is impossible to miss as a resident in Sweden.

On the day of the graduation you will see students dressed smartly with a white sailor style hat all over town. Parents will congregate outside of their child’s school with huge placards displaying a picture from when they were young and their camera’s ready for when they run out at the end of the ceremony.

Once the students have graduated, it is common for the students to parade around town in some sort of vehicle beeping horns and playing loud music. You often find those students who like to party hire a large truck which drives them around whilst they dance, drink and sing all night long in the back.

Those students from more conservative families tend to drive around town in open top cars or hanging out of the windows of family cars with their home country’s flag waving proudly. Either way it brings a huge sense of joint celebration to the town and marks the beginning of the summer.

So another academic year has finished and this is the first time in seven years where I didn’t say goodbye for good to my classes knowing I will be seeing them again after the summer. But for now, the summer has arrived and we have a lot to do…

Until our next adventure.

SP x