A controversial question is about the significance of principals ethos in connection with school success. Does it matter at all? In this paper the concept ethos is qualified with starting point in classical rhetoric. It is noted that the nature of concept is relational, which here imply that its meaning only can be described in a given context. The concept is adapted to both school situations and the cut between school culture and school structure. Several empirical indicators are developed. A number of schools, two from each municipality, from all over the country are chosen. At each school a number of individuals are interviewed: students, teachers, principals, vice-principals. From the school board of the municipality at least the chair of the board and the superintendent are interviewed. The interviewees answers are first analyzed according to what is most important for both principals and teachers as well as the correspondence between the principals and teachers statements and the teachers awareness of the principals conceptions. A number of other characteristics of principal ethos as predictability, comprehensive school knowledge, trustworthy are also analyzed.