English-language education
Beginning from the first grade, the pupil has an opportunity to apply for English-language education. English-language education is arranged in Espoo International School and Kivimies International School. On this page, you can find instructions for applying.
English-language education is meant for pupils living in Espoo and Kauniainen. Pupils who have moved abroad and are temporarily living in Espoo, can apply for a temporary study places.
The basis for admission is either a pass grade in the entrance examination or previous studies in English-language education. Applicants admitted to English-language education are not entitled to school transport subsidy. The applicant's younger sister or brother does not have a sibling basis to be admitted in the same school.
Before you fill in the application form, familiarize yourself with the instructions and the principles of pupil admission down below.
If places become available in grades 1–9 in the middle of the school year 2023-2024, a pupil who has recently moved to Espoo can be admitted based on an entrance examination. The principal will determine the date of the entrance examination. If there are several applicants at the same time, the entrance examination will be held on the same day for all of them.
Please fill in the application form Application for education in English (grades 1-9) and submit it to the school offering English-language education to which your child primarily applies. Contact information can be found down below.
Application forms
- Form Application for education in English (grades 1-9) can be found on this page.
Entrance examination
- The entrance examination will be held once the applicant has moved to Espoo.
THE APPLICATION PERIOD HAS ENDED!
Enrolling in the 1st grade and applying for English-language education takes place through the electronic Wilma service between 9th and 19th January 2024 by filling in the form Application for 1st grade of Comprehensive School.
If you are unable to use the Wilma service, you can fill in the paper form. The paper form must be submitted by 19 January 2024 at the latest to the following address: The Finnish Education Unit, Administrative services, Sara Raitala, P.O. Box 31, FI-02070 City of Espoo.
Application period
- 9-19 January, 2024
Application form
- The form Application for 1st grade of comprehensive school is only available during application period.
Entrance examination
- 31 January -1 February 2024. Applicants will receive a personal invitation.
If your child has fallen ill and is unable to participate in the entrance examination, contact the school before the examination starts and present a statement on the illness. The principal has the authority whether of not a new entrance examination is held.
Briefings for the guardians
- Espoo International School, 9 January 2024 at 5:30 pm
- Kivimies International School, 9 January 2024 at 5:30 pm
The briefing material, please see below.
Means of delivery for the decision
You can choose the means of delivery for the decision when filling in the form ’Application for 1st grade of comprehensive school’. There are two options:
- The decision will be published in Wilma on 26 April, 2024. The decision will not be delivered by post.
- The decision will be mailed on 26 April, 2024. The decision will not be published in Wilma.
It is possible to choose only one. The choice is binding!
Downloadable files
THE APPLICATION PERIOD HAS ENDED!
Enrolling in the 7th grade and applying for English-language education takes place through the electronic Wilma service between 9th and 16th January 2024 by filling in the form Application for 7th grade of Comprehensive School. If you are unable to use the Wilma service, you can fill in the paper form. The paper form must be submitted to your child's current school in Espoo by 16 January 2024 at the latest.
If your child is attending a school in another municipality or a private school, submit the paper form by 16 January 2024 at the latest to the following address: The Finnish Basic Education Unit, Administrative services, Katri Pietarinen, P.O. Box 31, FI-02070 CITY OF ESPOO.
Note! If your child is studying at the Espoo International School in the 6th grade, he/she is not required to apply for English-language education in 7th grade of participate in the examination, if he/she is continuing studying in English-language education.
Application period
- 9-16 January 2024
Application form
- The form Application for 7th grade of Comprehensive School is only available during application period.
Entrance examination
- 24 January 2024 at 9 am at Espoo International School. No separate invitation!
If your child has fallen ill and is unable to participate in the entrance examination, contact the school before the entrance examination starts and present a statement on the illness. The principal has the authority whether of not a new entrance examination is held.
Briefing for the guardians
- 10 January 2024. Please contact Espoo International School for additional information.
The briefing material, please see below.
Means of delivery for the decision
You can choose the means of delivery for the decision when filling in the form Application for 7th grade of comprehensive school. There are two options:
- The decision will be published in Wilma on 10 April, 2024. The decision will not be delivered by post.
- The decision will be mailed on 10 April, 2024. The decision will not be published in Wilma.
It is possible to choose only one. The choice is binding!
Downloadable files
Please fill in the form Application for English-language education (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.
Note! Your child cannot apply for English-language education in 1st grade if he/she has been a Espoo resident during the application period 9-19 January, 2024 and has not applied for English-language education during that time.
Application period
- 12 January, 2024 -10 June, 2024 at 3 p.m.
Application form
- Application for English-language education (grades 1-9). The form can be found on this page.
Entrance examination
- 2 August, 2024. Your child will receive an invitation.
Temporary study places are intended for applicants who have moved from abroad and are temporarily living in Espoo. Applicants can only be admitted to temporary study places once during basic education. Applicants are admitted for a maximum of three school years. The basis for admission is previous studies in English language education.
In order to apply for a temporary study place, please fill in the form Application for English-language education (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.
Application form
- Form Application for English-language education (grades 1-9) can be found on this page.
Entrance examination
- No entrance examination.
- An applicant must take part in an entrance examination only if the report of previous studies in English-language education is not attached to the application form or the report is not approved by the principal of the school offering English-language education in Espoo.
Schools
- Espoo International School (grades 1-9)
- Kivimies International School (school year 2023-2024 grades 1-4, school year 2024-2025 grades 1-5 and later on grades 1-6)
Number of study places
1st Grade
- Espoo International School, 50
- Kivimies International School, 25
7th Grade
- 100, including Espoo International School's 6th grade pupils who are continueing studying in English-language education.
ADMITTING APPLICANTS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR
Admitting applicants to 1st grade
Applicants are admitted based on an entrance examination held in the spring. The entrance examination consists of two sections:
- English examination (0–30 points)
- Test of linguistic capabilities (0–45 points) in either Finnish or English, according to the guardian’s choice.
In order to be admitted to English-language education, an applicant must achieve the minimum score for each section and the minimum total score of the entrance examination.
Applicants are admitted in the order of their total score in the entrance examination (0–75 points). If two or more applicants have the same total score, their order will be determined by drawing lots. If qualified applicants are not admitted due to a limited number of study places available, applicants are admitted to a waiting list in the order of their total score in the entrance examination. If places become available, applicants are admitted in the order of the waiting list until the end of August. The waiting list expires after August.
Admitting pupils to 7th grade
Pupils attending English-language education in the 6th Grade in Espoo transfer to the 7th Grade automatically.
If there are places available after pupils who are continuing to 7th Grade have been admitted, new applicants will be admitted based on an entrance examination held in the spring.
In order to be admitted to English-language education, an applicant must achieve the minimum total score for the entrance examination. Applicants are admitted in the order of their total score (0–100 points). If two or more applicants have the same total score, their order will be determined by drawing lots. If qualified applicants are not admitted due to a limited number of study places available, applicants are admitted to a waiting list in the order of their total score in the entrance examination. If places become available, applicants are admitted in the order of the waiting list until the end of August. The waiting list expires after August.
Admitting pupils to grades 2-6 and 8-9
Pupils are admitted to grades 2-6 and 8-9 based on an entrance examination held before the beginning of the next school year.
When applying to any grade, an applicant must achieve the minimum total score of the entrance examination in order to be admitted to English-language education. Pupils are admitted based on the order of their total score in the entrance examination. If two or more applicants have the same total score, their order will be determined by drawing lots. If qualified applicants are not admitted due to a limited number of study places available, applicants are admitted to a waiting list in the order of their total score in the entrance examination. If places become available, applicants are admitted in the order of the waiting list until the end of August. The waiting list expires after August.
ADMITTING APPLICANTS DURING SCHOOL YEAR
Admitting pupils to grades 1-9
If places become available in grades 1–9 in the middle of the school year, a applicant who has recently moved to Espoo can be admitted based on an entrance examination. The entrance examination will be held once the applicant has moved to Espoo. The principal of the school in question will determine the date of the entrance examination. If there are several applicants at the same time, the entrance examination will be held on the same day for all of them.
When applying to any grade, an applicant must achieve the minimum total score of the entrance examination in order to be admitted to English-language education. Applicants are admitted in the order of their total score of the entrance examination. If two or more applicants have the same total score, their order will be determined by drawing lots.
A applicant admitted to English-language education must start school within one week of receiving the admission decision or the decision expires. School holidays are an exception to this requirement.
A principal may exceed the maximum number of pupils with one or two qualified applicants moving to Espoo whose presence was not known during the preparation phase.
ADMITTING APPLICANTS TO TEMPORARY STUDY PLACES
Temporary study places are intended for applicants who have moved from abroad and are temporarily living in Espoo. Applicants can only be admitted to temporary study places once during basic education.
The basis for admission is previous studies in English language education. Applicants are admitted for a maximum of three school years.
In order to be admitted to temporary study place, an applicant must meet the following criteria:
- The applicant has studied in English- language education for at least one year immediately before the application (or during current school year when applying to 1st grade).The guardian must present a school report of the studies as an attachment to the application form.
- The applicant does not have the prerequisites or the need to study in Finnish due to temporary housing.
Applicants admitted to a temporary study place in English-language education cannot directly transfer to a permanent study place, if the temporary residence in Espoo later becomes permanent. An applicant must apply for English-language education separately and the basis for admission is an entrance exam.
How to apply simultaneously for Bilingual education for the 1st grade
You must 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 the followin entrance examitions:
- The entrance examination for English-language education on 31 January 2024 at Espoo International School (Opinmäki)
- The entrance examination for Bilingual (Finnish-English) education on 1 February 2024 at the school which is marked as the first choice for Bilingual education. The entrance examination consists of two sections: A test measuring linguistic capabilities AND A test on basic terminology in English and English language skills.
NOTE! The first section measuring linguistic capabilities must be completed in Finnish. It is only possible to take the test in English if the child applies solely for English-language education.
All applicants will receive a personal invitation to the entrance examinations.
How to apply simultaneously for Bilingual education for the 7th grade?
If your childs first preference is English-language education your child must participate to the entrance examination at Espoo International School on 24 January 2024 at 9 am. No separate invitation.
If your child´s first preference is Bilingual education your child must participate to the entrance examination at the school offering Bilingual education on 24 January 2024 at 9 am. No separate invitation.
Weighted-curriculum education in Espoo
Espoo offers versatile options for weighted-curriculum education. All options can be found on this page.
More information
Contact Espoo International School or Kivimies International School for more information on English-language education.
If you need more information on applying, you can find the contact information below.
More information on applying
Espoo International School
+358 9 81639124eis.admissions@espoo.fiP.O. Box 3343, 02070 ESPOO CITYInformation on English-language education and entrance examinations.
School´s website can be found on this page.
Kivimiehen koulu
tuomas.suhonen@espoo.fiP.O. Box 3253, 02070 ESPOON KAUPUNKIInformation on English-language education and entrance examinations.
School´s website can be found on this page.