Historical moments in Espoo general upper secondary schools: History of Viherlaakson lukio was published & Kuninkaantien lukio turned 25 years

Viherlaakson lukio general upper secondary school celebrated the publication of its history on Thursday 13 November 2025. Numerous alumni from various years were present at the event. An alumna who graduated in the late 1960s came to the celebration with her two schoolmates. Her daughter and son-in-law also attended the same school. They had even had same teachers.

The published history tells the fascinating story of Espoo's oldest general upper secondary school. The school was originally established as a co-educational secondary school, under the name Kauniaisten yhteiskoulu, in 1939. At the time, it operated in several buildings. The school was granted a licence as Viherlaakson yhteiskoulu in 1945, which means that the school celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2025. The history is written by Marianne Sundblad, who herself graduated from Viherlaakson lukio in 1978.

The first students graduated in 1951. The school changed its name to Viherlaakson lukio in 1977. Over the years, a total of 5,384 students have graduated from Viherlaakson yhteiskoulu and Viherlaakson lukio. "We now have an intake of 180 students entering upper secondary education, 140 of whom graduated last year, which is wonderful," said Jussi Rekilä, principal of Viherlaakson lukio. 

Kuninkaantien lukio general upper secondary school celebrated its 25th anniversary extensively in 2025 with current students and alumni.

The school initially started in a temporary building next to Järvenperän koulu and moved to its current building in 2003. "For the Espoon keskus district, the general upper secondary school was a big thing," says Pauliina Ilkko-Ervasti, acting principal of Kuninkaantien lukio. "Thanks to the persistent and determined work of the teachers, students' school performance has improved since the early years, and their grades are now excellent. As one of the teachers said: 25 years is a short time for a school, but Kuninkaantien lukio has grown up in these 25 years," Ilkko-Ervasti adds. She explains that Kuninkaantien lukio has committed staff. The school has many teachers who have been there from the beginning.

The anniversary was celebrated with the students on 6 November 2025. That is the date of the Finnish Swedish Heritage Day, during which the school's anniversaries have also been celebrated before. After all, the school is located on Kuninkaantie, the King's Road, which is an old postal route that once connected the regions in the powerful Kingdom of Sweden. The students' festivities were organised by the students themselves. The theme was 'royalty,' with the students and staff dressing up as royals. The celebrations included participants crafting crowns for themselves, making speeches, and choosing the best costume. The school cafeteria had designed a festive pastry. "It was a relaxed, pleasant and happy day," Ilkko-Ervasti recalls.

The anniversary was also celebrated with alumni and retired staff in connection with the autumn graduation ceremony on 5 December 2025. The main speech was given by one of the school's very first students: Jenny began attending upper secondary school back in the temporary facilities in Järvenperä. Present at the event were more than 90 former students of Kuninkaantien lukio. Before the festivities, the school held an open day for its alumni. The former students toured the classrooms and shared their memories of upper secondary school with current students. "The alumni talked about topics such as the importance of different school subjects to them, even if they ended up working in a completely different field. The teachers were touched by their old students remembering them and how significant they had been to them. We build not only education, but also community spirit," Ilkko-Ervasti says. In fact, Kuninkaantien lukio aims to revive its alumni activities.

In the future, the premises of Kuninkaantien lukio will grow as it will adopt facilities that are freed up from the swimming pool wing of the building. "We will continue to reinforce students' social inclusion. We demand determination in studies, which we also teach here," says Ilkko-Ervasti.