English-language education

Enrolling in the 1st grade and applying for English-language Education takes place through the electronic Wilma service between 8th and 20th January 2026 by filling in the form Application for 1st Grade of Comprehensive School. If you are unable to use Wilma, you can fill in the paper form. The paper form must be submitted to the Finnish Basic Education Unit by 20 January 2026 at the latest. The return address is informed in the form.

8-20 January 2026

The form Application for 1st grade of comprehensive school can be found during application period on this page.

The entrance exam will take place on January 27–28, 2026 at the English-language school you marked as your child’s first choice on the application form. Applicants will receive a separate invitation.

If your child is ill on the entrance exam day, notify the principal of the school organizing the exam before the exam begins. Provide the principal with a medical certificate or statement from a doctor or another healthcare professional (e.g., a nurse) confirming your child’s illness. The principal will decide whether a new exam date can be arranged.

• Espoo International School: January 13, 2026
• Kivimies International School: January 13, 2026

Please contact the school in question for detailed information and familiarize yourself with the briefing material beforehand. The briefing material can be found at the end of this section.

You can choose the means of delivery for the decision when filling in the application form. There are two options:

1. The decision will be published in Wilma on 24 April 2026. The decision will not be delivered by post.
2. The decision will be mailed on 24 April 2026. The decision will not be published in Wilma.

It is possible to choose only one. The choice is binding!

Please fill in the form Application for English-language education in 4th Grade or temporary study place in grades 1-9. Submit the form to the school offering English-language education to which your child primarily applies. Contact information can be found down below.

20 May - 5 June, 2026

The form Application for English-language education in 4th Grade or temporary study place in grades 1-9 can be found on this page.

6 August, 2026. Applicants will receive a separate invitation.

Enrolling in the 7th grade and applying for English-language education takes place through the electronic Wilma service between 8th and 15th January 2026 by filling in the form Application for 7th grade of Comprehensive School. If you are unable to use Wilma, you can fill in the paper form. The paper form must be submitted to your child's current school in Espoo by 15 January 2026 at the latest. In case your child is attending a school in another municipality or a private school, submit the paper form to the Finnish Basic Education Unit. The return address is informed in the form.

Note! Pupils studying at the Espoo International School in the 6th grade are not required to apply for English-language education in 7th grade or participate in the entrance examination, if they are continuing studying in English-language education.

8-15 January 2026

The form Application for 7th grade of Comprehensive School is available during application period on this page.

21 January, 2026 at Espoo International School. All applicants must arrive by 8:45 am. No separate invitation!  

If your child is also applying to bilingual education, the entrance exam must be taken at a bilingual school.

If your child is ill on the entrance exam day, notify the principal of the school organizing the exam before the exam begins. Provide the principal with a medical certificate or statement from a doctor or another healthcare professional (e.g., a nurse) confirming your child’s illness. The principal will decide whether a new exam date can be arranged.

Briefing for the guardians will be on:  12 January, 2026

Please contact the school for detailed information and familiarize yourself with the briefing material beforehand. The briefing material can be found at the end of this section.

You can choose the means of delivery for the decision when filling in the application form. There are two options:

1. The decision will be published in Wilma on 8 April, 2026. The decision will not be delivered by post.
2. The decision will be mailed on 8 April, 2026. The decision will not be published in Wilma.

It is possible to choose only one. The choice is binding!

Please fill in the form Application for English-language education in 4th Grade or temporary study place in grades 1-9. Submit the form and a report of your child's previous studies in English-language education to the school offering English-language education to which your child primarily applies. Contact information can be found down below.

No separate application period

The form Application for English-language education in 4th Grade or temporary study place in grades 1-9 can be found on this page.

No entrance examination

Admission is based on previous studies in English-language education in Finland or abroad. See section "Admission criteria".

Admission is based on an entrance examination. The entrance examination consists of two sections:

1. English test (0–30 points)
2. Linguistic skills test (0–45 points).

The entrance examination is taken in English. Applicants must get at least 20 points from the English test and at least 30 points from the linguistic skills test so that at least 7 points are attained from each task in the test.

Applicants who have passed the entrance examination will be ranked in the order of the total score they have received from the entrance examination. From among the applicants, as many of the highest-scoring applicants are considered as there are available study places. Applicants are admitted for English-language education in 1st grade in the following order of priority:

1. Applicants meeting the sibling criteria and the highest total score
   
   A sibling refers to an older sibling who lives at the same address and who is admitted as a pupil in English-language education other than the highest grade. On the application form, the guardian must mention that they are applying with the sibling criterion. 
   
   Applicants are admitted in the order of the total score they have received from the entrance examination. If the total score of the applicants is the same, the order of the applicants is determined by drawing lots.
    
2. Other applicants with the highest total score
   
   Applicants are admitted in the order of the total score they have received from the entrance examination. If the total score of the applicants is the same, the order of the applicants is determined by drawing lots.

If there are still available study places after the admitting applicants referred to in sections 1–2 above, applicants who have passed the entrance examination will be admitted in the order of the total score they got in the entrance examination. When the applicants’ total score is the same, the order is determined by the sibling criterion (an applicant’s sibling is admitted as a pupil in English-language education other than the highest grade). If these applicants also meet the sibling criterion, their order is determined by drawing lots.

Admission is based on an entrance examination. The applicant must get at least 43.5 points as the total score in the entrance examination.
Applicants are admitted in an order based on their total score (0–50). When the applicants’ total score is the same, the order is determined by the sibling criterion (an applicant’s sibling is admitted as a pupil in English-language education other than the highest grade). If these applicants also meet the sibling criterion, their order is determined by drawing lots.

Pupils studying in the 6th grade in English-language education at a comprehensive school in Espoo that teaches all grades from 1 to 9 will continue studying in the same school without a separate application.

After admitting pupils studying in English-language education at a comprehensive school in Espoo and pupils studying in the 6th grade in a primary school that teaches grades 1–6), new applicants can be admitted for vacant study places based on the entrance examination (0–100 points). The applicant must get at least 67 points as the total score. Applicants are admitted in the order of the total score they have received from the entrance examination. When the applicants’ total score is the same, the order is determined by the sibling criterion (an applicant’s sibling is admitted as a pupil in English-language education other than the highest grade). If these applicants also meet the sibling criterion, their order is determined by drawing lots.

Admission is based on previous studies in English-language education in Finland or abroad. The applicant has studied for at least one school year in English-language education immediately before applying or when applying to the 1st grade in the current school year at the time of application.

Those applying for temporary student places can be admitted for a maximum of three school years, the first of which is when the pupil starts studying in the school year. 

The guardians must attach a certificate of their studies to the application. 

Where applicable, the general principles of the admission criteria for English-language education in section “General principles” shall be complied with in the application process and pupil admission. An applicant may be admitted to a temporary study place only once during basic education. 

The applicant admitted to a temporary study place must start going to school within one week after receiving a notification of the decision, otherwise the decision will expire. School holidays are an exception to this rule.

An applicant admitted to a temporary study place can apply for a permanent study place. Admission is carried out in accordance with sections 1.2. and 1.3.

• English-language education is meant for pupils living in Espoo. Applicants living in other municipalities will not be admitted for English-language education. An exception to this are applicants who are admitted for English-language education on an equal basis with Espoo residents in accordance with the cooperation agreement between municipalities.
• You can apply for English-language education at times that are determined annually by the City of Espoo. Applications submitted after the deadline shall be dismissed as late arrivals.
• Pupils are admitted based on either a passed entrance examination or previous studies in English-language education.
• Entrance examinations are organised at times determined annually by the City of Espoo. You can only take the entrance examination once during the same year.
• If the applicant is sick on the day(s) of the entrance examination and cannot participate in it, a new entrance examination day may be arranged for the applicant. The guardian must notify the principal/director of the school providing English-language education of the situation before the entrance examination begins and provide a statement by a doctor or other healthcare professional (such as public health nurse) proving the applicant’s illness on the entrance examination day before the entrance examinations begins or immediately after receiving the statement. Only those applicants who were sick on the actual day of the entrance examination and were therefore unable to participate in the entrance examination can take a new entrance examination.
• Applicants who meet the admission criteria but are not admitted due to the limited number of study places will form a waiting list. Those applying for a temporary study place will be first on the waiting list in order of the length of their studies in English-language education. If applicants have been studying in English-language education for an equal amount of time, the order of the applicants will be determined by drawing lots. After this, applicants who have passed the entrance examination will be added on the waiting list in an order based on their total scores. As study places become vacant, applicants will be admitted following the order of the waiting list until the end of August, at which point the waiting list will expire.
• Applicants moving to Espoo during the school year will be admitted after they have moved.
• If an applicant residing in another municipality or country intends to move to Espoo before the start of school in the following school year, the applicant can be taken into account like those living in Espoo. The applicant will receive a conditional decision, and it will only enter into force if the applicant moves to Espoo by the deadline date the City of Espoo sets for each year and if their home address is visible in the Population Information System at the time.
• Applicants are admitted for English-language education for the duration of the school years. Those applying for temporary study places are admitted for a maximum of three school years, the first of which is when the pupil starts studying in the school year.
• Applicants who have attended school abroad are admitted for English-language education in the age-appropriate grade on the basis of their year of birth. Applicants who have attended school in Finland are admitted for a grade on the basis of their latest school certificate.
• Pupils admitted for English-language education are not entitled to the school travel benefit (school transport or travel card for public transport).
• The new teaching groups and the minimum and maximum number of pupils admitted for English-language education are determined annually by the Board.
• Compulsory education begins in the year when the child turns seven. Starting school one year earlier than provided by law requires that the child has a separately applied for and granted permit for exceptional start of basic education.
• A 6th grade pupil in English-language education in Espoo (primary school, grades 1–6) may continue in English-language education from the beginning of grade 7 until the end of basic education, provided that their application form is directed at all schools providing education.
• Pupils admitted for English-language education can only be admitted to another school providing English-language education if there is a significant reason to change schools that is related to pupil welfare or the pupil's state of health. The guardian must present an expert statement (doctor, psychologist) or a multidisciplinary report prepared at the school to demonstrate the reason in question.

• Espoo International School: Grades 1-9
• Kivimies International School: Grades 1-6 

• Espoo International School: 50
• Kivimies International School: 25

The number of study places are valid through grades 1-6.

Espoo International School: 100 
In addition to students currently studying at Espoo International School and those transferring from Kivimies International School, new students may be admitted to Grade 7 so that the total number of does not exceed 100.

The number of study places is valid through grades 7-9.

Indicate on the form 'Application for 1st grade of Comprehensive School' that your child is applying for English-language education as well as Bilungual education, and select the schools in order of preference. Your child must take part in following entrance examitions:

1. Entrance examination for English-language education: 27-28 January, 2026 at the school which is marked as the first choice for English-language education
2. The entrance examination for Bilingual (Finnish-English) education: 29-30 January, 2026 at the school which is marked as the first
   choice for Bilingual education. 

Your child will receive a personal invitation to the examinations by email. Remember to give a valid email address on the application form.

You must indicate on the form 'Application for 7th grade of Comprehensive School' that your child is applying for English-language education as well as Bilungual education, and select the schools in order of preference. Your child must take part in the entrance examition at the school offering Bilingual education on 21 January, 2026 at 9 am. 

Your child will not receive a separate invitation to the examination. All applicants must arrive at 8:45 am at the latest.