The rector puts his foot down against expensive student caps

According to several voices, wearing a student cap, and how it looks, has now become a class issue.
Part of the problem is that the companies come to the schools and market themselves, says Alf Solander, principal at Tumba high school.
– We refuse to let any company come in and exploit our students during school hours.

Spending thousands of kroner to graduate high school – that is reality for many young people today. Alf Solander is the principal at Tumba high school and has noticed how the problem with student caps has increased.

– I have been principal at the same school on and off for twenty years, so I have noticed how this has changed, especially perhaps in the last ten years, says Alf Solander.

How much it costs per student can be anything from SEK 5,000 for a household according to Swedish Trade, to SEK 17,000 according to the website Studentmottagningen, which then includes clothes, shoes, student cap and food for the reception afterwards.

“You have to show it off”

Hannah Söderberg is herself a high school student and will graduate shortly. According to her, a lot of the celebration revolves around which hat the classmates chose.

– You have to show it off, you are very proud of it and there are so many options so people are curious to see what everyone has chosen, she says.

Around the country, companies come to secondary schools to show the range of student hats and for students to measure their head sizes.

– Then many choose the simple choice of just taking the company that has come there, says Hannah Söderberg.

At Tumba high school, they have taken action against the companies that sell student caps.

– We refuse to let a single company come in and exploit our students during school hours. This is how I think all schools should act. It is not a public place, says Alf Solander, the school’s principal.

Responding to criticism

Jesper Knutsson is press officer at the ABC group, which is one of the largest players in the market for student caps. He responds to the criticism as follows:

“I do not consider that our product would be part of a class issue. However, it is rather a question of priorities, where we see that students today prioritize the student cap and the student has developed into a very strong tradition and a new type of celebration, where the students are not willing to renounce their demands for parties, clothes, design , material choice, availability, etc., which also drives and affects the total final price.”