Kids moving here to Finland, school questions

fastinjun · Post by **fastinjun** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:28 pm

Ive got 3 girls, 15, 13, 8 that will moving here to Finland from Spain to live with me. We are originally from the USA but the kids speak Spanish fluently, English and some german. How does the school system work concerning kids which dont speak Finnish? We live between Kirkkonummi and Siuntio and dont know what choices I have as far as schools. Kids were Homeschooled when we lived in the States which worked out well. They have been going to public schools in Spain for the past 3 years which have worked out so so but they have mastered the language.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks

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catstale · Post by **catstale** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:36 pm

If you are considering English schools, the closest ones to your location are in Espoo. It really depends on what you wish to do. E.g. send them all to English schools or just the older one...You can check out the schools from Espoo's website: http://english.espoo.fi/default.asp?pat ... 5340;37081

fastinjun · Post by **fastinjun** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:10 am

I will check it out, thank you very much.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 1:46 pm

How does the school system work concerning kids which dont speak Finnish?

They get put into a special class to learn the language, depending on the county and how many kids there are. For the eldest I'd say "Eira" might then be an option as high schools are pretty pissy on the final grades off the 9th.

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:58 pm

If you live in Kirkkonummi then you are bottom of the waiting list for a place in an English language primary school in Espoo. Espoo and Helsinki have some kind of a mutual agreement for student schooling but I don't think Kirkkonummi does.

Having said that I do know a few people who live beyond Keha III and yet manage school their kids in town. But it's a long bus ride (especially in winter) and expensive (I don't think Kirkkonummi will pay the transport costs) and it means your kids will not be able to socialise with their school mates as much as if they were schooled close to home.

IMO it depends on how long you plan to stay here. If you are thinking of staying indefinitely then Finnish or Swedish school is the way to go, certainly for the youngest who could probably start 1st grade even though she´s 8 and then maybe skip a grade later on.

I don't think Eira is a good idea for a 15 year old. It is an aikuislukio (adult high school) and there is not the same support structure you get in a regular school. An English language lukio might be a better idea, in which case you would "apply from abroad" and not have to worry about the grade point average that Pursuivant refers to (which could be to your advantage depending on how bright your daughter is). WIth such a multilingual multicultural background, I think an IB programme would be a good choice for your 15 year old. Mattlidens Gymnasium in Matinkyla has an IB program that is strong in economics, maths, business etc. The new IB school in Etelä Tapiola has a better choice of elective subjects. All students do a one-year pre-IB program before starting the diploma course. It's all in English and the tuition is all free except for the books, the trips, the exams etc.

fastinjun · Post by **fastinjun** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:24 pm

Thanks for all the good information.
I know my kids will eventually have to learn Finnish if we stay but theyve been through a lot lately with moving from the USA to spain, having to learn spanish which they have perfectly and now coming here there are a lot of things involved and its rather complicated but Im thinking of them and trying to ease the fact of having to learn a new language again and a tough one at that. I do know that kids tend to pick up on languages a lot faster than us adults though so Im sure they will master it fast then I.
Thanks again

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:33 pm

My eldest was nearly 10 when we came here (he will be 18 next week) - we put him into English language schooling and his Finnish is still far from great. He is making progress but it is slow and getting the Finnish high school diploma is going to be EXTREMELY difficult for him. If you put your kids into English language schooling, you have to ask yourself what kind of qualification they are aiming for; I don't think a 15 yr can get up to speed in Finnish in the 4 years it takes to graduate from high school with the matriculation exam. If Finnish is spoken at home then it might be possible, but very difficult.

If you want your kids to leave school with a diploma then IB is a safer bet than the Finnish matriculation, especially for the older ones. But it is very hard to get into the IB schools as the number of places available is small and the competition is fierce.

I regret not put my younger two straight into Finnish language schooling. It was a big mistake. I was in a similar situation to you, mine had French as their first language when they were small and during their first years in school and then they switched to English when we moved to Hungary, only 2 years before we came here. Nowadays there are some immigrant integration programs for young kids that do a great job teaching Finnish intensively.

Another possbility is the European School in Helsinki which just opened to the general public. It is a fee-paying school but I think they teach in English and French and maybe Spanish (not sure). www.esh.fi

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