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ACADEMEDIA
Expansion – but never at
the expense of quality
AcadeMedia runs preschools, primary schools, secondary schools and adult
education. The pandemic was a difficult test – and the Group managed it
well thanks to its well-developed digital tools and, not least, the efforts of
dedicated teachers and educators. Its aim is set on growth.
There are some well-known names in the sector such as
Pysslingen, Vittra, Procivitas and Eductus, which run Komvux
[adult education] and SFI [Swedish for Immigrants] on behalf of
local authorities. The Group had a total of 188,000 preschool children,
students and adult participants in the last financial year.
“We’ve never educated more people than we do today. This
demonstrates that we’re living up to the trust people place in us.
Our outstanding quality, our 20,000 dedicated staff and our clear
educational profiles are the key to attracting more people to our
schools and programmes.”
ACTIVE IN A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES
AcadeMedia has 273 preschools accommodating 22,000 children in
total. These can be found all over Sweden, as well as in Norway and
Germany. Eleven new units have opened over the last year, nine of
them in Germany. The pandemic has presented a major challenge to
preschool activities as these are based on attendance. That said, the
fact that development discussions and parent meetings have been
held online has resulted in greater engagement. More parents have
taken part when they were able to communicate online rather than
having to travel to the preschool in person. Both parents participating
has also become more common.
“Preschool activities in many countries aren’t regulated in the
same way as primary and lower secondary schools. This provides
opportunities for further expansion going forward, including new
countries. But we’re looking at internationalisation at primary and
lower secondary level, too. We can see opportunities in a number of
countries.”
EMPHASIS ON DIGITAL TEACHING
AcadeMedia has primary and lower secondary schools only in Sweden
to date, with 116 units and more than 26,000 students. Three new
brands have been launched – Noblaskolan, Innovitaskolan and
Montessori Mondial – totalling 49 units. These used to be Pysslingen
schools. Name changes have come about in order to clarify the schools’
profiles. It’s vital for parents and students to know what they’re getting
when they select a school, and for their expectations to be met. The
pandemic had a profound impact on primary and lower secondary
school activities, but well-developed digital teaching ment that
schools were able to cope with the transition to temporary remote
learning.
“Digital teaching was absolutely vital to upper secondary schools
during the year. The 148 units accommodating almost 40,000 students
were forced to teach lessons remotely for most of last year. Digital
teaching and learning is continuing to be developed in partnership
with Microsoft, the RISE research institute and others.
Efforts are also underway to bring a number of upper secondary
schools together under one roof on physical campuses. This will give
more schools the opportunity to grow in pleasant locations. Campus
Södermalm and Campus Vasastan in Stockholm will be completed
this year. Campus Online, a digital platform where students can access
all school resources such as study information, recorded lectures and
timetables, is also being developed.”
GREATER DEMAND FOR ADULT EDUCATION
Adult education is AcadeMedia’s smallest field in terms of turnover,
but one that engages the most participants. No fewer than 100,000
people attend vocational college, Komvux or labour market services
every year. Demand for adult education skyrocketed in the wake of
the pandemic outbreak in 2020 and has remained strong in 2021.
Teaching has had to be provided online to a great extent, and this has
been managed well thanks to experienced teachers providing remote
learning and useful digital learning platforms developed over periods
of many years.
“We’ve faced a lot of demanding challenges, but at the same time
we’ve been able to develop our quality and expand with more schools
and preschools. I’m really proud of that. The private school sector is in
constant flux, but it’s clear that this is the first time so many people in
Sweden have chosen independent schools. We’re aiming for continued
growth both organically and through acquisitions, in Sweden and
abroad. But we must never grow so rapidly as to compromise the
quality of the education we offer. Quality is our raison d’être, and we
must never place that in jeopardy.”
CEO Marcus Strömberg
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