Studies and sports at upper secondary school

The Mattlidens gymnasium upper secondary school is the only Swedish-language upper secondary school in Espoo. Jessica Lönnholtz, whose life outside of school includes handball, is completing her final year of upper secondary school. After graduation, she intends to apply to Hanken to study economics.

Jessica Lönnholtz is a final-year student at the Mattlidens gymnasium upper secondary school. Jessica also plays handball at the top national level in the club Dicken. Her everyday life reflects the demands of the sport: she has practice four times a week and then games on top of it. Three days a week, Jessica goes straight from school to practice. Jessica has played handball since she was nine years old.

“The goal is to make the starting line-up in a national championships match,” Jessica says.

The Mattlidens gymnasium upper secondary school was a natural choice for Jessica, who lives in Espoo. She also considered the upper secondary schools Brändö gymnasium and Lärkan, which are in Helsinki, especially since Brändö is part of the Metropolitan Sports Academy Urhea network. However, she was not too enthusiastic about the long daily trek to school in another city, and it would have also taken up time from her hobby. Mattlidens gymnasium is, when possible, flexible in terms of sports-related absences, even though it is not a sports-focused upper secondary school. Students can complete ten credits through sports during upper secondary school.

Jessica thinks the best thing about upper secondary school is her friends. She has also made a lot of new friends in upper secondary school. “I also have to give an honourable mention to the free morning porridge served at Mattlidens,” Jessica says.

Jessica has not had any favourite subject in upper secondary school, but if she had to choose, she would say psychology. She praises her psychology teacher as the best. According to Jessica, the classes led by the teacher feel like the teacher actually wants every student to get a good grade in the matriculation exam and wants to be a friend to the students.

After upper secondary school, she intends to apply to the Swedish-language Hanken School of Economics, because it is the only option that will enable her to continue playing handball in her current club. When Jessica’s mother was her daughter’s age, she also played handball and studied at Hanken. “My mother’s side of the family is full of people working in the banking sector,” Jessica says.

If the doors to Hanken do not open, Jessica will take a gap year, during which she can improve her matriculation exam grades if she wants. Really good handball players go from Finland to play abroad, but that does not interest Jessica.

For ninth-graders, Jessica has a few tips. She encourages them to apply to the same school as their friends, so that they will have people they know at upper secondary school. She herself was stressed about getting into upper secondary school. In her opinion, you should not stress about it. “At first, upper secondary school can feel a little difficult. Just pay attention in class, and you will do just fine.” Jessica says.

Jessica’s best memories from upper secondary school are the second-year students’ dance and days when students were encouraged to dress according to a particular theme. Her final year will still include events such as the final-year student’s dinner and the school-leaving festivities.