The city of Karlstad, in a rural region of mid-western Sweden, has a longstanding tradition of systematic and strategic work to produce and foster an attractive and inclusive city, capitalising on local cultural assets.  Staff from the University of Karlstad attended the 13^th PASCAL Conference in Glasgow where they shared the Municipality and University’s vision for enhancing work environments and the wellbeing among employees, students and city members.  School education has a valuable contribution to make to this vision.  The Municipality are keen to ensure that educational experiences are inclusive and meet the needs of all learners. 

Dr Margaret Sutherland was one of a panel of experts that attended the first pedagogical conference related to high ability that was held in Karlstad on Friday 19^th August.  Together with colleagues from Germany and Sweden she worked with 275 teachers as they sought to better understand how to develop and provide appropriate learning opportunities for highly able pupils.  The panel started the day by meeting teachers who presented the work they have been doing in conjunction with Elisabet Mellroth as part of a research project. 

The experts were then asked to comment and critique the approaches adopted in the classroom.  Following this, presentations were made by each of the experts to the larger audience.  The event generated a great deal of interest - Margaret was interviewed on local radio and an article about the conference was published in the regional newspaper (http://www.vf.se/nyheter/karlstad/med-fokus-pa-sarskild-begavning ) as well as on the Municipality website (http://karlstad.se/Nyheter/2016/augusti/konferens-om-sarskilt-begavade-b...).

Margaret said “it was a real privilege to meet and work with the Swedish teachers and colleagues from across Europe.  It was great to share the work we are doing here in the University of Glasgow (www.ablepupils.com) to ensure quality, lifelong education for all”.