The BÖU Archive was honoured on September 1st to 4th 2011, by the visit of three teachers from Apelrydsskolen, Baståd, Sweden. Maria Kristensson (Headmistress), Carolin Makelberge (Director of Studies) and Heléne Bergentoft (Head of Physical Training) spent three days with BÖU members and Archive staff. Everyone enjoyed their visit very much and we all learnt many things about Madame Österberg’s influence and work in Sweden and in the UK. It is exciting to discover how Madame is honoured in both countries and to know that we have now established friendships which we hope to develop in years to come.
In 1914 Martina Bergman Österberg donated her personal residence and estate in Sweden to the Fredrika Bremer Association, so that the association, which worked for women’s rights, could start a school for girls who wanted to train for a career in horticulture. In 1914 this estate was called Smarjd, but the name was later changed to Apelryd.
Today Apelrydsskolan is an upper secondary school with approximately 200 students from all over Sweden and the world, with about 60 students living in residential accommodation. The school has a beautiful location on the outskirts of Baståd, with magnificent views of the coast and the countryside.
Apelrydsskolan has four programmes of study: fashion (design and manufacture of clothes); music (dance, singing, drama); health and fitness coaching (anatomy, psychology, leadership); catering (food, drink and hospitality) and the school has an established collaboration with Borås Textile University.
All teaching at Apelrydsskolen is carried out in Swedish and students receive educational opportunities which enable them to continue their studies at university.
For more information about Apelrydsskolen, please use the following links. For those who do not understand Swedish, I recommend Google Translate