Celebrities defend Lundsberg boarding school amid racism and abuse allegations

Swedish author Camilla Läckberg and television personality Bathina Philipson have come out in defence of Lundsberg, an elite boarding school facing serious allegations of racism and violence, as SVT reports.

The school is under scrutiny following the first episode of SVT’s documentary series “Arvtagarna” (The Heirs), in which entrepreneur Gunilla von Platen describes how her son was subjected to near-daily racist abuse during his time at Lundsberg. According to von Platen and her husband Alfred, their son was called slurs including “disgusting ape,” “bloody Arab,” and “Syrian devil.” She also showed documentary makers racist videos of her son that had been circulated among students. Her son was himself later convicted of assault and criminal trespass at the school.

The second episode of the documentary series is released on Wednesday. Reaction to the first episode has been sharp: a secondary school in Karlstad cancelled planned visits to Lundsberg, and the editorial board of tabloid Aftonbladet called for the school to be shut down permanently.

Prominent parents push back

Despite the criticism, several high-profile parents have spoken in the school’s defence. Bathina Philipson, whose child currently attends Lundsberg, told SVT that the coverage was one-sided. “The school is being thrown under the bus. From a public service perspective, it is important to highlight both sides, because this is not black and white,” she said. She also rejected claims that the school has a particular culture of silence around misconduct.

Author Camilla Läckberg, whose son attended Lundsberg for one year, told Swedish Radio’s P4 Extra that her experience had been positive. “The year we have had at this school, I have been incredibly impressed by how the school is run,” she said, adding that the school leadership appeared to have “genuinely managed to address any problems in a very good way.”

Board member dismisses documentary

Andreas Ohlson, a deputy board member of the Lundsberg School Foundation, went further on social media, calling the documentary “a pure commissioned hit job” and writing that “no one at the school experiences the racism that is alleged to exist,” and that the school scores highly on safety assessments, a claim he said the Swedish Schools Inspectorate had confirmed. Ohlson declined to elaborate when contacted by SVT.