Internation School of Helsinki - Fees

anandpr · Post by **anandpr** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 6:40 pm

Hi,

I have been offered a permanent long term employment opportunity in Helsinki, Finland and now I need to find a good English school for my 7 year old daughter. Based on my timelines to start working in Finland, I don't think I can make it to the government schools that start their academic year in August (I will be in Finland around September, 2013).

I found at the website of ISH that they accept students all the year around, so I was shortlisting this school for my daughter. However the annual fees for grade-1 is 13,040!! This seems to be too high!

However while researching through the same site, I found some interesting statements in the Fiscal policy document:

By statue, the International School of Helsinki receives financial support from the government of Finland. The State grant is based on average enrollment and unit price per grade level. Students recognized as residents by Finnish authorities receive 100% of the grant amount. Students recognized as non-residents by Finnish authorities receive 57%.
Students listed as non-residents will be levied a non-residency fee to compensate for the partial loss of the state grant

Does anyone know how this should be translated, for a person holding a permanent residence permit in Finland? Does this in anyway reduce the annual fee burden of 13,040?

Any help / pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Anand.

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Adrian42 · Post by **Adrian42** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:19 pm

anandpr wrote:Hi,

I have been offered a permanent long term employment opportunity in Helsinki, Finland and now I need to find a good English school for my 7 year old daughter. Based on my timelines to start working in Finland, I don't think I can make it to the government schools that start their academic year in August (I will be in Finland around September, 2013).

Why would that be a such a huge problem?

You are neither the first nor the last person to move with his family between countries in the middle of the school year, and there surely is a solution for that.

anandpr wrote:I found at the website of ISH that they accept students all the year around, so I was shortlisting this school for my daughter. However the annual fees for grade-1 is 13,040!! This seems to be too high!

School and college education in Finland is free, and Finland has the best public schools in the world.

If that's not good enough for you, and you want your child should to go to a private school instead, then it is only fair that you have to pay a large share of the costs of the school for your child.

anandpr wrote:However while researching through the same site, I found some interesting statements in the Fiscal policy document:

By statue, the International School of Helsinki receives financial support from the government of Finland. The State grant is based on average enrollment and unit price per grade level. Students recognized as residents by Finnish authorities receive 100% of the grant amount. Students recognized as non-residents by Finnish authorities receive 57%.
Students listed as non-residents will be levied a non-residency fee to compensate for the partial loss of the state grant

Does anyone know how this should be translated, for a person holding a permanent residence permit in Finland? Does this in anyway reduce the annual fee burden of 13,040?

Any help / pointers will be greatly appreciated.

http://www.ish.edu.hel.fi/uploaded/admi ... 2-2013.pdf makes it clear that the non-residency fee would have to be paid additionally to the € 13,040.

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:07 pm

Hi Anand,

The fees are indeed 13K€ per year and as far as I remember that does not include food (school meals are free in Finnish sate schools but not at ISH). You would also have to add transport costs. The govt subsidy goes to the school, not to the parents!

There are plenty of other alternatives such as English speaking IB schools (eg Ressu) and bilingual schools (such as Kulosaari) which are free. Then there is the European School (http://www.esh.fi) which charges a fee but is closer to 3-4K€ per year.

If you have been offered a permanent job and you are planning to settle in Finland, then I honestly believe the best thing you can do for your child is to enrol her in a Finnish state school. She will learn Finnish quickly - there are even special programmes for immigrant children that give intensive Finnish classes in the first few months. She is just the right age to start Finnish school. If she can already read and write in her mother tongue then she will have a head start on many Finnish kids anyway.

Finnish children start learning English in 3rd grade (ie age 10) and your daughter would anyway qualify for 2h per week tuition in her mother tongue as there is a special programme for foreign children so they can maintain their native language.

Ultimately it is your choice but if you think you will live permanently in Finland, I think you will have regrets later if youdecide to put your daughter into an English-speaking school. OTOH, if you plan to leave FInland in a year or two, it's a different ball game.

anandpr · Post by **anandpr** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:35 pm

Adrian42 wrote:
anandpr wrote:Hi,

I have been offered a permanent long term employment opportunity in Helsinki, Finland and now I need to find a good English school for my 7 year old daughter. Based on my timelines to start working in Finland, I don't think I can make it to the government schools that start their academic year in August (I will be in Finland around September, 2013).
Why would that be a such a huge problem?

You are neither the first nor the last person to move with his family between countries in the middle of the school year, and there surely is a solution for that.

anandpr wrote:I found at the website of ISH that they accept students all the year around, so I was shortlisting this school for my daughter. However the annual fees for grade-1 is 13,040!! This seems to be too high!
School and college education in Finland is free, and Finland has the best public schools in the world.

If that's not good enough for you, and you want your child should to go to a private school instead, then it is only fair that you have to pay a large share of the costs of the school for your child.

Thanks Adrian! I only shortlisted ISH, because I thought the other schools won't allow new admissions once the academic year has started. By any chance, are you aware of cases where this has happened? If so, I would also prefer a public school because I have read quite good feedback about these schools in the area.

Regards,
Anand.

anandpr · Post by **anandpr** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:42 pm

Thank you, Rosamunda!

I intend to stay in Finland for 3 years at the minimum. Beyond that it depends on the projects and work in my company. However during this period, I would still like to consider the public schools and this is what I have found till now.

Ressu - I contacted them and was informed that language test is allowed, latest by August first week. However, we would be in Finland only by the mid / end of August, 2013. So not sure if they would still entertain a late entrant.

Komeetta - Discussion is still ongoing with the Principal and I haven't received a final correspondence from them yet with respect to the possibility of having a late admission.

Postipuu - Same state as in Komeetta.

I will check ESH and Kulosaari that you have mentioned below. But at least based on yours and Adrian's comments, I don't think I can afford ISH anymore.

Thanks for the time.

Regards,
Anand.

Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:01 pm

If you are only staying for 3 years then an IB school or a bilingual school is probably the best idea. If your daughter has already been schooled since age 5 or 6 she may be able to apply for a place in 2nd grade, even if she is a year younger than the others. It's worth giving this information to the schools when you apply. If she is already in school then a report from her current teacher might help (but she will still have to do the test).

If you are working, you will also need to find a place in an after-school club as the primary-years school day ends at noon or maybe 13.00. The state does not provide after-school care so you will need to find a solution (or let your daughter walk home to an empty house...). Usually parents apply for an after-school place at the same time they apply to the school. Usual story: not enough places for all the kids. Remember to ask when you call the schools.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:06 pm

Rosamunda wrote:The state does not provide after-school care so you will need to find a solution (or let your daughter walk home to an empty house...).

You make it sound like a bad thing

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 1:30 pm

Well, in some countries you get arrested for that these days... in other countries the kids run on the street all day as the parents can't afford school uniform or shoes, so go figure.

AnaTeresa · Post by **AnaTeresa** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:32 pm

Hi have you checked Y.E.S, International School? It is in Vantaa, near the airport.

http://www.edu.vantaa.fi/isv/ISV/About.html

Godzilla · Post by **Godzilla** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 12:27 pm

Upphew wrote:
Rosamunda wrote:The state does not provide after-school care so you will need to find a solution (or let your daughter walk home to an empty house...).
You make it sound like a bad thing

It would be a bad thing if it were true. They do, however, provide after school care for the 1st and 2nd grades. After school clubs are also a good solution, but it depends more on when they meet, and they aren't as dependable as afterschool care, since sometimes they cancel.

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