Strong character development

In order to create a positive atmosphere in the school, we expect each individual pupil and adult to contribute by being polite and respectful towards each other – children and adults alike. In our schools, we therefore conduct daily activities based on our core values and our watchwords of honesty, compassion, courage and enterprise. We also make use of our excellent role model, Raoul Wallenberg, as a source of inspiration for children and young people of all ages – something to aim for!

We make it very clear that parents have the primary responsibility for their own child’s upbringing and character development, regardless of the age of the child. Our mission as a school is to contribute to the development of strong character. To succeed in our main mission – the children’s learning and knowledge development – we need to work closely and establish a relationship of mutual trust with each individual family.

To succeed in life, it is important to develop some basic character traits such as being honest and straightforward, showing compassion for and understanding other people, being brave and daring to do what others don’t, and then getting things done efficiently. Other very important character traits are fighting spirit, guts, drive, passion and perseverance – all summed up in the word “grit”.

This is what Professor Torkel Klingberg writes in one of his books: “There are many who have sought the key to successful learning. In my research group, we had been trying for years to understand the role of motivation in exercise and were close to giving up. But then we found something extra: grit.”

Torkel Klingberg continues: “The results were crystal clear: grit explained how much the children improved during training, both in terms of maths and memory. Grit was also correlated to how much they improved on the tests given before and after training. For the first time, after years of searching, we had found a factor that could explain training success.”

Based on this research, we train our staff and our pupils to develop this fundamental secret of success in life – grit, fighting spirit and perseverance. When we succeed, we see that the learning outcomes are very good. Some pupils learn quickly and others a little more slowly, but it is the persistent ones – those with grit and perseverance – who achieve the very best results.