69% pass Year 6 Swedish as a second language

Nearly a third of Year 6 pupils taking Swedish as a second language did not achieve a passing grade this spring, new national figures show. The pass rate was 69 per cent, the lowest of any subject.

The Skolverket statistics, published on 21 October, concern pupils taking that subject, rather than all pupils with a foreign background. Mathematics also had a comparatively low pass rate, at 86 per cent.

Across all subjects they studied, 70.8 per cent of Year 6 pupils passed. That was a small improvement on 2025 but nearly seven percentage points below 2017.

Skolverket also highlighted a longer-term warning: more than half of pupils who previously received an F in Year 6 mathematics also received an F in their final Year 9 grade.

The agency’s Alba Stjärnkvist said the pattern shows why pupils need support early. Girls had higher pass rates in most subjects; boys did better in mathematics and physical education. The largest gaps between girls and boys were in Swedish and Swedish as a second language.

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