Basic education (Perusopetus)
Basic education lasts for 9 years and it is for all youngsters between 7 and 15 years. Pre-primary education starts one year before basic education at the age of 6. Basic education is provided in a single-structure system. It includes grades 1-9. Municipalities are responsible for arranging education for all 6 – 18 years old living in a municipality.
Basic education in English: In basic education in English, also known as English-medium, or English-taught education, all teaching is in English, despite the compulsory Finnish language and literature classes, which are taught in Finnish. A school applicant should have good knowledge of English, but no prior Finnish skills are required when applying to grades 1-7.
Bilingual education: Bilingual education aims to give pupils fluent language skills in both languages used in the classroom. The goals and content of teaching in bilingual education are the same as in regular basic education. Prior Finnish skills are mandatory for admission to 1st grade. In bilingual education, 25 – 50 % of the teaching is in the target language, and the rest is in Finnish. Each school specifies the amount of second language instruction in its curriculum.
Basic education in Finnish: Every child has the right to attend a local school assigned by the municipality he/she lives in. The local school is assigned within the pupil catchment area. It is not possible to assign the nearest located school in every case.
English Schools
Bi-lingual schools
High School education (Lukio)
The Finnish general upper secondary is, on average, a three-year education, equipping students with transversal general knowledge to continue either at a University or a University of applied sciences or vocational training. General upper secondary education is based on the general upper secondary education syllabus. During general upper secondary students complete 150 credits in total. The matriculation exam is completed at the end of studies.
You can complete high school studies
- High education in Finnish
- Other high schools
- IB schools
- High school education based on Christian values
- Steiner schools
- Deutsches Internationales Abitur