The number of students in Skellefteå has decreased, but by less than many had feared, since the layoffs and eventual bankruptcy of Northvolt.
This week marked the start of the school year for a total of 8,583 students in Skellefteå’s primary schools. This represents a decrease of 184 students from June 2024, when there were 8,767 students in both municipal and independent schools.
This drop occurred during the same period that the municipality lost over 2,000 residents, which suggests that the number of schoolchildren would have dropped by more than the eventual figure.
– Many who moved here for Northvolt were middle-aged men, often single. That explains why it is still a relatively small decrease compared to the total, said Bolin.
He added that he had anticipated losing about 150 students from municipal schools and up to 200 when independent schools were included, so the figures were in line with expectations.
When asked how the department was affected, he replied:
– Not really that much. Some schools, such as Kågeskolan and Bureskolan, have seen a noticeable number of students leave, but when you look at the total numbers, it's not a huge loss.
Lejonströmsskolan accounts for the largest individual decrease, with student numbers falling from 748 to 666.
According to Bolin, this can be partly explained by the school’s recent decision to reduce its class sizes from three parallels to two to alleviate overcrowding and accommodate the adapted primary school.
– Lejonströmsskolan is still one of the schools with the highest application pressure, he said.
During the same period, Norrhammarskolan has grown from 499 to 531 students, which Bolin suggests may be due to many applying there after not finding a place at Lejonströmsskolan.
The International English School, the municipality’s largest independent school, lost just 13 students, bringing its total to 442 this year, down from 455 in June 2024.