Mattlidens gymnasium

Mattlidens gymnasium is a coeducational Swedish-speaking upper secondary school founded in 1957. The IB Section was initiated in 1990. The school is situated in Matinkylä in Espoo, 15 km west of the centre of Helsinki. It has some 520 students, of whom c. 150 are in the IB section. The school prepares its students for the Finnish Matriculation Examination and the ones in the IB Section for the International Baccalaureate Diploma. The school year runs from mid-August until the end of May or the beginning of June. The school year is comprised of 190 days of instruction. Students apply for the IB programme when they are finishing grade 9 in comprehensive school. The first year in the upper secondary school is a preliminary year preparing for the two IB years. The students follow more or less the same programme as the other first-year students within the national system, but with some exceptions. They have extra courses in higher level Mathematics, Economics and Philosophy. The language of instruction is English. The annual intake of students to the IB section is roughly 50 and the Mother tounges taught are English, Finnish and Swedish.