Finland · Turku
Turku 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.
Turku International School, or TIS, is a City of Turku school for Grades 1–9. It provides Finnish basic education mainly in English and follows the Finnish National Core Curriculum. It is a co-educational day school, not an International Baccalaureate school and not an upper-secondary school.
The school’s current address is Lemminkäisenkatu 30, with the visitor entrance at Untamonkatu 2 in Kupittaa. These are two entrances to the same site, not two campuses.
TIS changed substantially in 2025–26. The City of Turku took over its basic-education operation from the University of Turku in August 2025. The school then began 2026 in renovated premises in Kupittaa. Older descriptions of a university-operated school are therefore out of date.
TIS is a strong fit for a child who can already learn through English and needs a Finnish municipal school through Grade 9. The city particularly identifies internationally mobile families and Finnish families returning from abroad.
This is not an English-language beginner programme. The admission test is designed to establish whether the child can learn and participate in English. A family seeking intensive English acquisition should ask what support is realistic before applying.
The school serves the whole of Turku rather than one small neighbourhood catchment. That does not guarantee admission. A child must pass the test, meet the residence condition and obtain one of the available places.
English is the main teaching language. Pupils still study within Finland’s basic-education system, so families should ask how Finnish develops at the child’s grade and starting level.
The programme ends after Grade 9. Any English-language upper-secondary or IB provision in Turku is a separate institution and application. This distinction matters for families planning the years after compulsory school.
The City describes a multilingual pupil body. Its January 2026 report counted 38 mother tongues and said about one fifth of pupils were Finnish-speaking. Those figures are a dated city snapshot, not an admissions quota.
Apply through the separate electronic TIS form linked from the City’s English-language basic-education page. Do not use the ordinary Wilma form for Turku language classes.
The current City admission rules state that applications can be made throughout the year. They do not publish a single current test calendar, so ask the school when your child would be assessed.
Admission requires a grade-specific test. Grades 1–6 use one test for entry at the beginning of a school year and another for entry during a grade. Every section must be passed; a high score in one section cannot fully offset a failed section elsewhere.
If qualified applicants outnumber places, the school ranks them by test score. Among applicants who pass, the rules give priority to children with English as a mother tongue, English-speaking parents or another international background.
A child who passes but receives no place may remain on a waiting list. The school cannot reserve or promise a future place. A child who fails normally cannot reapply until the following school year.
There is a narrow Grade 1 exception. An August retest may be considered when space exists and there is a justified reason. The school’s admission-test group decides this case by case.
Tests normally take place at school. Remote assessment is possible only when it is strictly necessary and justified in the child’s interests, such as a family work relocation.
Before an admission decision, the child and guardian must have a permanent address in Turku or a municipality covered by an agreement. Families outside Turku should verify their municipality’s status directly. The guardian pays school-transport costs for a TIS pupil.
TIS is municipal basic education and charges no tuition. There is no boarding.
City morning and afternoon activities are available for Grades 1–2 and pupils with a special-support decision. Morning care runs from 07:30 to 10:00 where at least ten children enrol. Afternoon care runs until 15:00 or 17:00 and includes a snack.
The current monthly fee is €50 for morning care, €110 for afternoon care until 15:00 and €130 until 17:00. August is charged at half rate. A reduction or exemption may be available according to household income.
As a municipal school, TIS sits within Turku’s pupil-welfare and learning-support system. The public pages do not define which specialist provision can be delivered in English for a particular child. Ask the school to assess that need before accepting a place.
The main constraint is admission, not cost. Existing English must be strong enough, places can be limited, and transport remains the family’s responsibility. For a child needing substantial language or learning support, obtain a specific plan rather than relying on the word “international.”
The Turku guide covers local logistics. The Finland guide explains the wider school system.
Official pages and documents we read. If a figure matters to your budget or your application, open the link and confirm it is still current.
Friendly orientation, not an application. Dates, fees, and programme details move. Confirm everything with the school.
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.
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.
7 minStart with the qualification your child would actually receive. Then check its subjects, language demands, and recognition in the countries where they may study next.
7 minStart with your child and the family's likely plans. Define the non-negotiables, verify the school's claims, compare three realistic options and visit with specific questions.
7 minTuition is only one line of the budget. Separate charges from advance payments, record what each figure includes, and ask the school to confirm your calculation in writing.