Public education first
The local comprehensive is a serious first choice in Finland. Look elsewhere when your child needs a different teaching language, qualification or form of support.
Compare English-medium IB, bilingual Finnish schools and German education in Helsinki. Check the actual campus, admissions route and residence-based fees before choosing.
Espoo International School ends at Grade 9. Mattlidens and Etelä-Tapiolan offer separate English-language IB routes at upper secondary, with their own admissions and residence conditions.
Tampere now has a clearer English pathway across age groups, but it is not automatic. FISTA provides tuition-free English-medium Finnish education through Grade 9. Pyynikin lukio offers an eligibility-limited English route to the Finnish matriculation examination, while Svenska samskolan provides Swedish-medium continuity.
Turku's main language-route choices are municipal rather than fee-charging international schools. TIS provides English-medium Finnish basic education through Grade 9 in Kupittaa. Cygnaeus provides Swedish-language Years 1–6, followed by S:t Olofsskolan for Years 7–9.
Cygnaeus is a municipal Swedish-language school for Grades 1–6 at Maariankatu 7 in central Turku. It is worth considering for a family seeking primary education in Swedish, rather than an English-medium international programme.
HelsinkiDeutsche Schule Helsinki combines Finnish schooling with the German international-school system. Its German and Finnish routes converge before the Deutsches Internationales Abitur. The decisive questions are which language route fits your child and whether they meet its entry standard.
EspooEspoo International School is a municipal, English-medium comprehensive school for Grades 1–9. It follows the Finnish curriculum and adds the IB Middle Years Programme in Grades 7–9. Residence and admission criteria matter more than ability to pay.
EspooEtelä-Tapiolan lukio, or Etis, is a Finnish-language City of Espoo upper-secondary school with a three-year English IB route. The 2026 intake is complete. External applicants face local-living conditions, and some study-permit holders now pay €10,300 per year.
TampereTampere’s tuition-free municipal English-medium school follows the Finnish national curriculum from preschool through Grade 9. Tampere residents have priority, but regional applicants are not automatically excluded. Admission and language-support rules vary sharply by route.
HelsinkiHRSK is a Finnish state school in Munkkivuori offering education in Finnish and French from pre-primary to upper secondary. It follows the Finnish curriculum and leads to the Finnish matriculation examination. Tuition is free, but families pay for travel and preschool afternoon care. Admission depends on the entry stage and, in most cases, language tests.
HelsinkiSYK is a privately run Finnish school in Etelä-Haaga that charges no pupil fees. It begins at grade 3 and offers both the Finnish matriculation route and an English-medium IB programme at upper secondary level. The admissions routes have different language requirements and timetables: the published basic-school dates below concern 2027, while the IB information concerns the completed 2026 intake.
HelsinkiISH offers English-medium education for ages 4–19 in Ruoholahti, with IB programmes from the early years to the Diploma. Annual tuition for 2026–27 ranges from €12,432 to €16,608 when paid in one sum. Families should check the child’s language placement, any non-residency surcharge and the support available before applying.
EspooMattlidens is a Swedish-language City of Espoo upper-secondary school with a three-year English IB route. Its 50-place pre-DP accepts at most eight pupils from outside Finland’s comprehensive system. The 2026 application cycle is closed, and a new citywide study-permit fee now applies to some entrants.
HelsinkiRessu is a City of Helsinki upper secondary school with a Finnish programme on Kalevankatu and an English-medium IB programme on Ruoholahdenkatu. The main 2026 application closed on 17 March. Families should distinguish the admissions route for Finnish comprehensive-school certificates from discretionary admission, and confirm whether the tuition rules introduced in August 2026 apply.
TampereSST is a private Swedish-language day school at Koulukatu 14 in Tampere. It offers preschool, years 1–9 and upper secondary education leading to the Finnish matriculation examination. It is a useful option for families seeking Swedish-medium schooling, with Finnish and English taught as language subjects. Confirm the child’s language readiness, admissions route and current additional costs.
HelsinkiA private Finnish school teaching through English and Finnish from two-year preschool to the national matriculation examination. Basic-school entrants need both languages. Its new English upper-secondary route is not IB and has narrow eligibility rules.
TurkuTurku International School is the city’s English-medium basic school for Grades 1–9. It follows Finland’s national curriculum and charges no tuition. Admission depends on English proficiency, a grade-specific test, space and an eligible home municipality.
Cities: Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Turku
Finland’s ordinary first choice is the municipal school. The relevant distinction is rarely “public school or ambitious school”. It is whether the local Finnish- or Swedish-medium route meets this child’s language, support and continuity needs.
An international move changes that calculation. A younger child who will stay may gain a great deal from learning in the local language. An older child with examinations approaching may need English-medium teaching to protect subject progress. The public system contains both local and international choices, so “English” does not automatically mean “private”.
Begin with three questions: where will the family actually live, which language can the child use for academic work, and which final qualification must remain possible? Then examine the specific admission route. Some programmes use municipal priority, language tests or the national joint application; others have private-school fees and waiting lists.
Early childhood education and care (varhaiskasvatus) comes before school and is usually income-related rather than free. Pre-primary education (esiopetus) is free and compulsory at six. It may operate in an early-childhood centre or a school. Keep its application separate from enrolment in Grade 1.
Basic education (perusopetus) begins in the calendar year a child turns seven and normally lasts nine years, Grades 1–9. Grades 1–6 are primary and Grades 7–9 lower secondary, together often called peruskoulu, comprehensive school. Municipalities usually assign a nearby school (lähikoulu) using the home address. Families may apply elsewhere, but another school is not guaranteed and transport rights can differ.
Pre-primary and basic education are free. This includes learning materials, a daily school meal, school health and welfare services, and qualifying transport for a long journey. Finland has a small number of administratively private schools, but the National Agency says pupils should not experience a different entitlement. Private early-childhood care and fee-paying international education are separate cases. Finnish National Agency overview of basic education.
After Grade 9, students usually choose between:
For children permanently resident in Finland, compulsory education ends at eighteen or earlier upon completion of a qualifying upper-secondary examination or vocational qualification. The end of Grade 9 is therefore a transition, not normally the end of the education obligation. National Agency explanation of pupils’ rights and obligations.
An IB Diploma is not the Finnish matriculation examination. A school can offer one, the other, or separate routes to both. The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) in lower secondary also does not mean that the same school offers the IB Diploma in upper secondary.
Finnish and Swedish are the national languages, with separate school provision. A Swedish-medium municipal school is not a private international school. It teaches the Finnish national curriculum through Swedish and may be the best route for a genuinely Swedish-speaking family.
For a newcomer, ask the municipality about preparatory education before basic education and about Finnish or Swedish as a second language. Do not reduce support to a label. Establish how many lessons occur in a preparatory group, when the child joins age-level subjects, and what determines the move into a mainstream class.
The national support rules changed on 1 August 2025. Schools can use group-based support and, when that is insufficient, pupil-specific measures. Ask what the current school can provide in the child’s teaching language; an English programme does not necessarily have the same range of English-language specialist support as a Finnish one. Current National Agency overview.
If the family may remain through upper secondary, plan language development beyond playground conversation. National lukio work requires academic reading and writing. Even a mainly English upper-secondary programme can require Finnish as a compulsory subject and examination.
Do not describe the new charge as a fee for every non-EU child. It applies to certain third-country students who begin upper-secondary studies on or after 1 August 2026 and come to Finland, or hold a residence permit, for study. Exemptions include a third-country citizen permanently resident in the European Economic Area, a recognised exchange student not completing a Finnish qualification, and a person receiving temporary protection. Residence-permit details matter, so obtain a written assessment for the student rather than relying on nationality alone.
The City of Helsinki charges liable students €10,600 per academic year for its national general upper-secondary route and €14,000 for its IB route. These are Helsinki municipal amounts, not national prices and not private-school fees. The city says they cover teaching and guidance, required school-day meals, materials, and the first five matriculation examinations or the IB Diploma examinations. City of Helsinki fee rules and exemptions.
Private providers set their own cost. At The English School, the 2026/27 fee for a liable upper-secondary student is €11,314. That figure already includes the school’s ordinary €673 annual fee, a computer, materials and meals, so do not add €673 again. The school says exemption can follow if a student’s permit changes, for example to a work-based permit. The English School’s fee page.
The Helsinki school-search guide covers travel and application detail. At country level, the key distinctions are curriculum and eligibility.
International School of Helsinki in Ruoholahti is a fee-paying IB continuum. It is the clearest fit for a mobile family that wants the IB from the early years through the Diploma. Ask for the current fee, capital charges, deposit treatment and vacancies for each child. A private waiting-list application is different from the national joint application.
The English School is a private Finnish school, not an IB school. Preschool and Grades 1–6 are on Mäntytie; Grades 7–9 and upper secondary are on Valimotie. Its normal annual charge is €673 from preschool through upper secondary, including lunch. New pupils also face published registration, entrance-test and administration charges where applicable.
Most places in Grade 1 come from its own preschool. The live pages listed Preschool 1, Preschool 2 and Grade 1 as full for 2026/27; Grades 2–8 depend on a vacancy and tests in Finnish and English. Grade 9 is normally closed to new entry.
The upper-secondary school now has two national routes:
A non-EU/EEA applicant to the English-language programme must have a Finnish residence permit based on something other than study. Selection uses the national English-language entrance examination, taken in Finland. The English School’s upper-secondary criteria.
Ressun lukio is a City of Helsinki upper-secondary school with a Finnish national route and a separate English-language IB route. Its 2026 joint application ran from 17 February to 17 March. The city’s €10,600 and €14,000 charges apply only to students who meet the new fee-liability conditions.
Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu (SYK) is an administratively private Finnish sopimuskoulu, or contract school, in Etelä-Haaga, starting at Grade 3. It has national and IB upper-secondary routes and says it does not charge ordinary pupil fees. An upper-secondary applicant from abroad should still confirm liability under the new law. Check admission separately from Ressu; sharing the IB does not create a shared selection process.
Helsingin ranskalais-suomalainen koulu (HRSK) is a Finnish state language school on Raumantie. Despite its French name, Lycée franco-finlandais d’Helsinki, it is not an AEFE French school. It follows Finland’s curriculum and leads to the Finnish matriculation examination.
Deutsche Schule Helsinki is a German school abroad and a German-Finnish Begegnungsschule, a bilingual encounter school. It leads to the German International Abitur. Applicants choose between language tracks and face school-specific language tests. For Grade 1 in 2027/28, the current page gives an application deadline of 20 January 2027 and tests in late January or early February. Check fees separately for kindergarten, school and afternoon care.
The Espoo guide maps the municipal choices. Espoo International School at Opinmäki teaches the Finnish national curriculum in English. Its MYP in Grades 7–9 is not an upper-secondary IB Diploma route.
Mattlidens gymnasium in Matinkylä is Espoo’s Swedish-language upper-secondary school with a separate English IB section, normally around fifty places. Etelä-Tapiolan lukio is a Finnish-language upper-secondary school with another English IB route. Their spring 2026 joint application has ended. Ask each provider how the August 2026 third-country fee law applies; Helsinki’s figures cannot simply be copied to Espoo.
Finnish International School of Tampere (FISTA) is a City of Tampere English-medium comprehensive with preschool and Grades 1–9. Tampere residency gives priority; it is not an absolute requirement for every application. New entrants to Grades 1–9 require an English test. Applications outside the normal entry points are possible for a family moving to the Tampere region after earlier English-medium schooling, subject to space and assessment.
For Grade 1 starting in 2027, applications run 4–20 January 2027, followed by a functional-English test on 3 or 4 February. Preschool attendance gives no automatic Grade 1 place and sibling status gives no priority. The current admissions page explains the 60% test threshold and waiting-list order.
FISTA’s Transition class needs particular care. It is for Grades 1–9, not preschool, with a maximum stay of three school years. All five published conditions must apply:
Students follow a modified curriculum, cannot transfer from that class into ordinary FISTA classes, and cannot receive the Finnish Grade 9 basic-education certificate there. We would not choose it for a student who intends to enter Finnish upper secondary.
Morning and afternoon care is not necessarily free. The private Enkku before- and after-school service, open 7:00–17:00, charges €335 a month for Grades 1–3 in 2026/27. Its preschool charge is income-related. FISTA’s own afternoon club for Grades 0–2 is a separate service with separate fees. Current care information.
Svenska samskolan i Tammerfors, on Koulukatu, is the Swedish-language comparison. This private school runs from preschool through the Swedish-language matriculation examination. Its public pages did not state a 2026/27 pupil fee. Ask the school rather than inferring a fee from its administrative status. The Tampere guide compares both locations.
Turku International School is a City of Turku English-medium comprehensive for Grades 1–9. It moved into its Kupittaa premises at the start of 2026. The city uses a separate TIS application; do not use a deadline for an ordinary Wilma language-class application as if it were the TIS deadline. TIS is not an IB Diploma school and does not itself extend into lukio.
Cygnaeus skola is Turku’s Swedish-medium municipal alternative for Grades 1–6 on Maariankatu. Its free basic education follows the Finnish curriculum. The Turku guide compares the routes and sites.
For a younger child staying in Finland, the nearby Finnish- or Swedish-medium comprehensive deserves a proper comparison with an English programme. For a short assignment or an older child, curriculum continuity can outweigh faster local-language immersion. Base the decision on the actual child and next examination, not Finland’s reputation or the word “international”.
Before accepting, ask:
Finally, time the journey on a winter timetable. Helsinki and Espoo can look close on a map while producing a demanding daily commute. In Tampere and Turku, confirm that a regional or municipal priority does not undermine an otherwise suitable plan.
Friendly orientation, not formal admissions advice. Always confirm dates with the school.