Helsinki to start English-language track at upper secondary level

The City of Helsinki will start English language track at the upper secondary education level, said the city in a press release on Tuesday.

The English track is designed for young people who have completed up to three years of studies that follow the Finnish core curriculum for basic education.

This program is for students whose language skills are not yet strong enough to pass the Finnish or Swedish matriculation (lukio) examination.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has approved six education providers to offer general upper secondary education in English.

The approval was given to the Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia and the cities of Helsinki, Oulu, Pori, Tampere, and Vantaa.

Out of the public schools in Helsinki, English-language upper secondary education will be provided by the Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Languages.

This English-language education follows the Finnish general upper secondary school curriculum.

Students will take the Finnish matriculation examination in English. Additionally, all students must complete a compulsory test in Finnish as their second language and literature.

The first opportunity to take the matriculation examination in English will be in autumn 2028.

This program targets young students who do not have adequate Finnish or Swedish skills for general upper secondary school but can study fully in English.

This group may include Finnish expatriate families and youth who have relocated to Finland due to their parents' jobs.

"Providing the opportunity to complete lukio in English in Finland is crucial for students who lack sufficient Finnish or Swedish language skills and are not enrolled in the IB Diploma Programme. English-language education is aimed at students moving to Finland because of their parents' work, for example. It will be interesting to see how many applications we receive for this program," said Tarja Aro-Kuuskoski, Head of General Upper Secondary Education in Helsinki.

Students can apply for English-language general upper secondary education through the Studyinfo service during the joint application period for upper secondary education, which runs from 17 February to 17 March 2026.

The school will accept 30 students in the first year.