Swedish left-wing party demands closure of elite boarding school after abuse allegations

Sweden’s Left Party has called for the immediate shutdown of Lundsberg boarding school following a documentary by public broadcaster SVT that exposed allegations of racism, hazing, and violence at the elite institution.

Isabell Mixter, the party’s education policy spokesperson, described the accounts from students as “horrifying experiences no child should endure,” in comments to regional broadcaster P4 Värmland.

The Social Democrats also weighed in, with education spokesperson Anders Ygeman stating that “no school failing to provide safety and security for its students should be allowed to operate in Sweden.”

The demands follow the release of the final episode of SVT’s three-part documentary The Heirs, in which current and former students, staff, and parents detailed systemic abuse at the Värmland-based school. Past inspections by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate have previously uncovered degrading initiation rituals and assaults, including a 2013 incident where two students were burned with an iron during hazing. The school temporarily closed as a result.

Lundsberg has filed a complaint with Sweden’s Broadcasting Authority, accusing SVT of violating impartiality standards. Critics of the documentary claim it presented a one-sided portrayal, including unchallenged testimony from a family whose son—himself convicted of assault at the school—defended its culture.