Before the World Cup, there was a schoolyard.

The story of two friends, two very different careers, and the thing school gave them that no one ever graded.

By Dr. Claudia Rademaker, Co-founder Dugga Assessment

When we talk about school, the conversation often gets stuck on results. Scores. Performance. Outcomes. But anyone who has ever walked through a schoolyard knows that something far more important is happening there. Every single day.

School is where life begins to take shape. It’s where identities are formed, confidence is built, and perhaps most importantly, where friendships are born. Because long after the grades are forgotten, it’s the people you remember. The ones who made you laugh, who stood by you, who helped shape who you became.

Two kids in a schoolyard

Take William Nilsson, today Account Manager at Dugga Assessment, and his best friend Alexander Isak, today an internationally recognized football player. Their story didn’t begin in a stadium or under bright lights. It started in the most ordinary of places: a schoolyard, somewhere between classes and carefree afternoons.

They met as kids, somewhere between lessons, laughter, and the unstructured magic of recess. What began as a simple friendship, playing football, joking, growing up side-by-side, became something much more enduring. Through primary school, through high school, and into adulthood, they stayed close.

Different paths, same friendship

Different paths didn’t pull them apart. They strengthened what they already had. Today, their day-to-day lives look very different on the surface. One works in edtech, helping shape the future of learning. The other performs on the world’s biggest football stage where performance is measured constantly and the stakes are always high. But each time they meet, like they did during the World Cup 2026 in the US, captured in a relaxed moment of genuine joy, it’s clear that nothing essential has changed.

They are still just William and Alex. Still best friends. Still grounded in something that started at school.

The invisible curriculum – more than knowledge

This is what education often overlooks but should never underestimate: the human connections formed along the way. The friend who sits next to you in class. The one you share lunch with. The one who understands you before you fully understand yourself. These relationships build resilience. They create belonging. They shape who we become.

Because while school equips us with knowledge, it also gives us something less measurable, but just as important. A sense of belonging. People who see us early on, before titles, before careers, before the world defines success for us.

“Every student deserves that same chance”

For William, working in education today, that perspective stays close.

“Looking back, it’s clear that what we gained in school wasn’t just knowledge, it was confidence, belonging, and friendships that stayed with us,” he says. “That’s something I carry with me in my work every day. Every student deserves that same chance, not just to learn, but to feel included and supported along the way.”

For both William and Alex, in very different careers shaped by different kinds of expectations, the same idea keeps returning. It’s a reminder that behind every result, there are often less visible factors, support, and the feeling of being included early on, that help shape what comes next.

As adults, their lives may look different on the surface, but when they meet it’s simple. Familiar. Real.

Measuring what matters

At Dugga Assessment, we believe education should reflect the full reality of what school means. Yes, knowledge matters. Yes, progress matters. But so does connection. So does wellbeing. So does the social framework that makes learning possible in the first place. Because a great education is not just about what you achieve. It’s about who you become, and who you bring with you along the way.

School is so much more than just grades. Sometimes, it’s the beginning of a friendship that lasts a lifetime.

/CR