The English School / Ressu/ Espoo international

bangkokaussie · Post by **bangkokaussie** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 1:12 pm

Hi all, we are a Finnish family possibly returning to Finland in June after 10 years overseas. Seems like I'm horribly late applying to schools for our three kids aged 6, 8 and 10, especially if I want them in the same school!

Ressu has been very accommodating, they have an entrance exam in August. Anyone here sending their kids to Ressu? Are the teachers native speakers?

The English School in Meilahti seems to be full and waiting lists exist so they haven't given us much hope. Anyone here with first hand experience about the wait lists?

Espoo International has entrance exams in August and as they are moving to a new campus, they have more availability. Not sure about the school as stumbled upon a Finnish discussion board where parents complained of bullying and poor leadership by the principle. Any thoughts?

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Rosamunda · Post by **Rosamunda** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:43 pm

What do you mean by "native speakers"? Every teacher is a native speaker of something! And why would that be an important criteria anyway?

A word of warning. If you are hell bent on putting your children into the IB mill then you need to know that there is a bottleneck at diploma level and competition to get into an IB lukio is very tough. So, if your children are not super academic, it might not be the best choice. Even kids who have done grades 1-9 in eg Ressu (PYP, MYP) don't get automatic entry into the lukio programme. There are many IB 9th-graders who struggle to find a suitable path through high school, especially if their Finnish skills are not up to scratch.

There is also the European school which offers the European Baccalaureate programme. And Kulosaari Yhteiskoulu has an international stream which is not IB.

bangkokaussie · Post by **bangkokaussie** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 4:17 am

Hi Rosamunda, thanks for your reply. By "native speaker", I meant a native speaker of English.

Thanks for highlighting the issue of IB diploma places. Not sure if my kids fall into the category of being terribly academic so will also look into some bilingual options.

Cheers.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:07 am

Well, yes then you get a "native" Australian and a "native" Geordie teachers and the "native" parents complain the kids speak "all weird"

saleciahost · Post by **saleciahost** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:39 am

what did you end up doing?

We are currently looking at moving and finding place for our 3 children who are aged 11,8 and 6.
We are moving from the USA where they have been homeschooled.
We are Australian and South African and would love contacts for expats also.

None of us speak a word of Finnish........

hummer · Post by **hummer** » Fri Sep 16, 2016 11:19 am

Hello,
I am planning to move to Helsinki on Job basis in couple of months time frame.
I have a kid turned 11 and pursuing 5th grade and want to continue this education there after i move (would be probably in month of Oct or Nov)
I have googled enough on English schooling there and found couple of options (Ressu & Espoo International).

Looking for some feedback on these schools if you happen to know..
Appreciate if some one can throw some pros and cons against these two schools and the admission process for them in general..

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