Södra Latin

Södra Latins gymnasium
Södra Latins gymnasium
	The building of Södra Latin.
Location
	Stockholm, Sweden
Information
Type	Upper secondary school; Public
Opened	1654 (Södermalms pedagogia) 1879 (current building)
Website	sodralatinsgymnasium.stockholm.se (in Swedish)

Södra Latin, officially Södra Latins gymnasium, ("Southern Latin" in Swedish) is an upper secondary school ("gymnasieskola"), situated in Södermalm, Stockholm.^[1] The current school building was inaugurated in 1891.

History

Södra Latin has a rich history, as its predecessor Södermalms Pedagogia employed its first headmaster as far back as in 1654. In 1820 it became a trivialskola and in 1879 it was merged with the southern part of Stockholms gymnasium, its new name being Stockholms högre allmänna å latinlinjen fullständiga läroverk å Södermalm. The school changed its name multiple times through the years until it decided upon its current one in 1971.

The current school building was designed by Per Emanuel Werming^[2] and opened in 1891 (its twin building Norra Real having opened a full year earlier). The structure was conceived in a way that would allow daylight to directly illuminate all rooms and corridors inside it, with 21 classrooms having been built in total. Typical of the design - in addition to the monumental orange-red brick facade - is a semicircular assembly hall placed centrally in the school's building plan. The last renovation took place in 1996.

Södra Latin was a boys-only institution until 1961.

Education

In modern times, Södra Latin is known for its high-level schooling in the arts. Between 1976 and 1978 the establishment successively replaced the music department of Statens normalskola in Östermalm, becoming consummate in 1980. In 1985 it launched one of the country's first drama programmes. Besides aesthetically and artistically oriented programmes, the school also offers education in the social sciences and natural sciences, among others.