The Ministry of Education and Culture has announced that the first authorisations to offer general upper-secondary education in English have been granted.
Approvals were given to Gradia — a Jyväskylä-based educational consortium — and institutions in the cities of Helsinki, Oulu, Pori, and Tampere, covering a total of five upper-secondary schools, a ministry press release explained on Monday.
"The authorisation to provide education applies to Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Languages, Jyväskylän Lyseo Upper Secondary School, Oulun Lyseon lukio (upper secondary school), Porin lukio general upper secondary school and Pyynikin lukio upper secondary school (in Tampere)," the ministry said in the release.
The English School in Helsinki already offers an English-language curriculum for upper secondary pupils.
According to Education Minister Anders Adlercreutz (SPP), the move aims to make Finland more attractive to international students and returnees, while supporting those with limited Finnish or Swedish skills.
The English upper-secondary courses are set to begin next August, with around 200 students expected to enrol in the programmes each year.
The first English matriculation exams are set for autumn 2028.
"The matriculation examination in English is intended for students whose language skills are too limited to be able to complete the general upper secondary education syllabus and the related matriculation examination in Finnish or Swedish," the release explained.
"Matriculation candidates whose primary language is neither Finnish nor Swedish are required to pass a compulsory mother tongue and literature test in either Finnish or Swedish in the form of a second language and literature test," it continued.
Amended note at 14:41 on 4 November 2025 to reflect that this item was edited shortly after publication for clarity and to name the specific schools.
Edited at 10:17 on 5 November 2025 to add that the English School in Helsinki already offers an English-language curriculum.
