American High School's Extended Breaks Under Scrutiny

Want to skip school? Choose the American High School and enjoy two extra weeks of vacation.

The first American High School opened in Gothenburg in 2019. Now, there are also schools in Stockholm, Halmstad, and Uppsala.

The group markets itself with "a school year spread over three terms instead of two." The unnecessary capitalization should deter parents and students. Yet, the schools have around 2,000 students.

Perhaps they are attracted by the two-week autumn break, two-week sports break, and holidays around Christmas and Easter like everyone else, with only a slightly shorter summer break.

This should mean longer school days to meet the legally required teaching time of 2,180 hours. At least.

This hasn't been the case in Uppsala. The Schools Inspectorate checked schedules and found that final-year students missed eight school days, while second-year students missed four. Additionally, 27 hours meant for teaching were spent on national exams.

The Schools Inspectorate demands order, or there will be a fine of two million kronor.

"These are simple but serious errors that the school needs to correct. These issues will be fixed by the start of the school year," says school director Peter Heddelin to Upsala Nya Tidning.

But there are other time thieves at the American High School. A teacher reports in the newspaper that "they have theme days once a month, and everyone has to dress up." And then they photograph and post on social media. Likely, many students focus more on their outfits than their studies on these days.

The clearest indicator to avoid is high staff turnover. And that's been the case at the American in Uppsala.

Reading and learning are not easy. The American High School has a digital profile. Students have tablets. When the school inspectors visited Uppsala, they didn't see a single book, let alone any reference literature in the classrooms. Despite a law requiring printed textbooks for a year now.

Politicians from all parties promise to regulate private schools more and better. The American High School in Uppsala is not the first scandal school. There have been Praktiska Sverige, Thorengruppen, and various Islamic schools. Among others.

Until politicians pass new laws, parents and students must note warning signs before choosing a school. Some tips:

Avoid schools that write a lot of Swenglish on their websites. Spelling and grammatical errors are also a bad sign.

Boasting about being at the digital forefront often means effective traditional teaching is neglected.

If the school emphasizes that students can try different learning styles, it often means they neglect reading training.

These simple tips do not guarantee a good choice, and they should also be applied to public schools – as there is pedagogical nonsense there too.

The clearest indicator to avoid is high staff turnover. And that's been the case at the American in Uppsala. To the students' expressed disappointment.

Long vacations aren't everything.