Welcome
to the English Department at Leksands Gymnasium (sixth-form college/ senior high). We hope you will enjoy the information which we will provide for you. Please feel free to send us any comments you have about our homepage. You will find our e-mail addresses on the staff page below.
Welcome to Leksand
The Municipality of Leksand has approximately 15000 inhabitants and is situated on the banks of Lake Siljan in the region of Dalecarlia (Dalarna-The Valleys) about 300 kilometres north-west of Stockholm. The region is called The heart of Sweden with its tremendous natural beauty, its culture and its handcrafts.
Typical of this area are the villages with their red-painted houses, the traditional Parish Costumes and the folk-music-especially fiddle music. Every summer more than 100,000 tourists flock to Leksand to enjoy the bathing and the many traditions which brighten up this season. From June to July you can join in as the local people raise the summer Maypoles in many of the area's 90 villages. These events are an integral part of a music and dance festival called Musik vid Siljan.
Later on in the month of July visitors come thronging to see "Himlaspelet"- the play of heaven- a timeless drama which encompasses the fascinating history and folklore of the area. Visitors come from every corner of Europe and even as far as Asia and America to experience the unique summer which Leksand can provide. However, there are many more Swedes who visit this area too to enjoy the beauty of Siljan with its excellent bathing and recreational facilities.
The history of Leksand's Sixth form College
Before 1995 Leksand's Sixth-form College was a vocational college offering courses in Mechanics, Electrical Studies, Business studies, Hotel and Catering and Office Management. In 1995 the school moved to new purpose-built buildings and with a new face.
Now the college is preparing students to meet the challenges of the IT society of the future. The college offers courses in Natural Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Technology. There are even courses available for those working with leisure science. Within the media branch there is a course covering information and advertising. There are still courses for business studies and economics but something new are the music and music courses. The Hotel and Restaurant school has a local bias tourist hotels- which is very important bearing in mind the importance of the tourist industry in this area.
With regard to vocational studies we now have a course available in creative carpentry. Handcraft and woodworking are deeply rooted in this region and it is hoped that this course with further the development of the entire area.
As for computing we have over 200 computers in the college all with access to the Internet. Every student has his or her own e-mail address. Moreover there are traditional sixth-form studies covering the humanities, social studies and economics.
To reach the levels of communication required by the New Europe the college offers courses in Swedish, English, Spanish, German, Italian and sign language. In every classroom there is a computer, video and satellite TV and for those specialising in languages there is a 16-post multimedia language laboratory called THE LINGOTEK, with access to the Internet, Satellite TV, CD-ROMs and programmes for the teaching of grammar and vocabulary in the different language. Students also have access to a well- equipped and assorted library with magazines, books and a large collection of CD-ROMs.