When a pupil moves

Fill in the Lähikouluun hakeminen form. You can find the Lähikouluun hakeminen form here.

Return the form to any school located in your catchment area. The school will forward the application if the pupil’s assigned local school is another school in the area. The catchment areas are Espoonlahti, Eastern Leppävaara, Western Leppävaara, Central and Northern Espoo, Matinkylä-Olari and Tapiola. You can view the catchment areas in the Espoo map service.(external link, opens in a new window)

A new local school will be assigned to your child after the move. Read more about enrolling in a local school and the school assignment criteria.

If you want your child to stay in their current school, fill in the Toissijaiseen kouluun hakeminen form and submit it to your child’s current school. Your child can stay in their current school until the end of the school year, after which a new application is required. You can find the Toissijaiseen kouluun hakeminen form here.

Read more about applying to a secondary school.

Fill in the Lähikouluun hakeminen form and return it to the school you wish your child to attend. You can find the Lähikouluun hakeminen form here.

A new local school will be assigned to your child if the distance from the new address to the current school is more than 3 kilometres (grades 1–2) or more than 5 kilometres (grades 3–9).

Read more about enrolling in a local school and the school assignment criteria.

If you want your child to stay in their current school, fill in the Toissijaiseen kouluun hakeminen form and submit it to your child’s current school. Your child can stay in their current school until the end of the school year, after which a new application is required. You can find the Toissijaiseen kouluun hakeminen form here.

Read more about applying to a secondary school.

A local school will be assigned to your child after the move. The school assigned as the local school may not always be the one to which you submitted the form or the one you indicated as your child’s preferred local school on the form. Read more about enrolling in a local school and the school assignment criteria.

You can find the pupil catchment areas on the Map service of the City of Espoo.

1. Go to Map service and click the menu in the upper left corner. Select what is shown on the map and click ‘Regional divisions’.
2. Check the option ‘Finnish pupildistricts’.

The Map service can be found on this page.(external link, opens in a new window)

When your child moves to Espoo from another municipality during the school year, fill in the form Applying to a local school and submit it to a school nearby your new home.  Local school is assigned within the pupil catchment area.  Catchment areas are: Espoonlahti, Eastern Leppävaara, Western Leppävaara, Central and Northern Espoo, Matinkylä-Olari and Tapiola. 

Application forms on the page Forms and applications for basic education. 

Additional information on school admissions can be found here.

You can find the pupil catchment areas on the Map service of the City of Espoo.

1. Go to Map service and click the menu in the upper left corner. Select what is shown on the map and click ‘Regional divisions’.
2. Check the option ‘Finnish pupildistricts’.

The Map service can be found on this page.(external link, opens in a new window)

Pupils moving to Espoo from abroad who do not speak Finnish or need support in strengthening their Finnish language skills begin their schooling in preparatory education. The pupil can start preparatory education at any time during the school year. 

Espoo offers preparatory education either at the pupil’s local school or in a regional preparatory education group. The form of education depends on the pupil’s grade level and local school. 

To apply for preparatory education, please contact: valmistava@espoo.fi. 

More information about preparatory education can be found on this page.(external link, opens in a new window)

When a pupil returns to Finland from abroad, the school principal or head teacher and the teachers agree with the guardians on what grade-level the pupil will begin school-going. If needed, the school will assess the pupil's skills. A pupil returning to Finland will receive support in studying in the Finnish language, if needed.

The new home municipality is responsible for the education of a pupil who moves from Espoo to another municipality. The guardians shall notify the school in Espoo about the move, in which the pupil was supposed to begin school-going in the following autumn or which the pupil attends when the school year begins. The guardians shall also contact the education authority or a local school in their new home municipality.

If the pupil wants to continue school-going in Espoo, the guardians shall apply for a study place to the child as a pupil of another municipality. The guaradians shall fill in the form Toissijaiseen kouluun hakeminen and submit it to the school principal or head teacher. A pupil can be admitted to a school in Espoo only if free study places remain after pupils who are Espoo residents have been admitted.

Decisions on admitting a pupil living in another municipality is made by the superintendent of schools (school principal or head teacher if the pupil studies in foreign-language or weighted-curriculum education). Transportation costs of a pupil living in other municipality are the responsibility of the guardians or the pupil's new home municipality.

Toissijaiseen kouluun hakeminen application form can be found on page Forms and applications for basic education. 

Notify the principal or director of your child’s current school of the move abroad and request a certificate of school discontinuation.

Notify the principal or director of your child’s current school of the move abroad. If your child will reside abroad for at least one month and study while abroad, you can apply for permission to suspend compulsory education. How to apply for permission:

1. Fill in the Oppivelvollisuuden suorittamisen keskeyttäminen form. You can find the form here.
2. Submit the form and proof of your child’s studies abroad to:
   Finnish Basic Education Unit
   Petra Bilund
   P.O. Box 31, 02070 CITY OF ESPOO

The decision on granting permission will be made by the Superintendent of Schools. Contact information for the superintendents of schools.

As your municipality of residence, Espoo is obliged to assign your child a place in the local school. However, if you want your child to continue attending their old school, please contact that school for further information and possible application instructions. Espoo is not obliged to provide transport services or a travel card for your child if they go to school in another municipality.

Please send an email to valmistava@espoo.fi.