Kungsbacka Municipality has announced that it would welcome Internationella Engelska Skolan to open a new school for between 600 and 960 students from August 2021.

Jörgen Stenquist, Vice CEO of Internationella Engelska Skolan, said: “We have had very positive discussions with Kungsbacka Municipality and are delighted by the enthusiastic welcome that we have received from politicians, families and the local business community.

(The following text is presented in Swedish as it is a response which has been formulated in Swedish to reporting in the Swedish press.)

Svenska Dagbladet har under den senaste veckan publicerat en serie artiklar av sin skolreporter Karin Thurfjell riktade mot Internationella Engelska Skolan. Artiklarna har byggt på vanliga, dåligt underbyggda, påståenden om friskolor i allmänhet och Internationella Engelska Skolan i synnerhet. I ett svar till tidningen bemöter Barbara Bergström, skolans grundare, kritiken. Hon påminner också om det omdöme som SvD:s chefredaktör gav om Internationella Engelska Skolan så sent som i maj i år, när hon fick pris av tidningen. IES har, skrev chefredaktören då, "med högsta betyg i utförandet lyckats skapa studiero för eleverna, nytta för samhället och bidragit till att Sverige står bättre rustat för framtiden."

SvD har vägrat publicera Barbara Bergströms inlägg. Men här finns det i sin helhet:

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We pride ourselves on high academic quality as one of our core values. Grades from Internationella Engelska Skolan, including national tests and final grades, are carefully controlled so they give an accurate picture of students’ achievements and we can assess quality in our schools.

Now IES is calling for improvements for all schools throughout Sweden, whether municipal or free, including a more accurate grading system and national tests in all subjects.

Mr Damian Brunker, head of academics for IES, uses grade tracking systems to monitor IES’ results. He and two school managers (skolchefer) go through all data with each school during yearly quality talks focussed on ensuring that grading is correct. Teachers receive ongoing feedback to help them grade correctly.

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On October 1 information was printed by Svenska Dagbladet implying that IES has a low percentage of qualified teachers.  This was due to the fact that our well-qualified teachers from outside Sweden were not counted in the statistics they used.

We handpick outstanding qualified teachers from the around the world.

This year (2018/2019) 85 per cent of Internationella Engelska Skolan's teachers are qualified. 38 per cent have a qualification from a Swedish teaching education programme and 47 per cent from an English-speaking country.

IES schools provide up to half the lessons in English. Under Swedish school law our qualified teachers from English-speaking countries are qualified to teach in Sweden.