Hi there,
We are trying to decide between Ressun peruskoulu and Postipuu (and Espoo International) for our daughter, with the idea that she will stay there till grade 9 (she is going to grade 2 now).
Although both have very good reputations, a couple of parents we have spoken to whose kids have been through the Ressu english stream say that the kids from there find it difficult to get into lukio
They say that the standard of maths and science (in particular) at Ressu is not on par with the other schools. Have your had first-hand experience with this please?
Also, any thoughts on the fact that they do not use any textbooks?
How about Postipuu and the Espoo International please?
Any first hand experiences from there please?
Thanks and regards,
James
Anyone with experience from Ressun peruskoulu or Postipuu?
Re: Anyone with experience from Ressun peruskoulu or Postipu
Hi Anna,
Thanks for the reply.
How old are the children that you are talking about please? Did they switch to your school or are you giving them supplementary tuition? Did they struggle with maths, physics and chemistry then?
We are looking to have our daughter in an English language school because we are a mixed family and we are not sure where we will end up. If we stay here, we want to give her the best possibility to get into a decent lukio.
Do you know how easy the kids from Ressu find it to get into a decent lukio of their choice?
We like the idea of IB, but we find it strange that they have no textbooks and they have loose sheets of paper floating around at such a young age (we understand the idea for older children)
We do not want her to google everything - the school is supposed to give her a solid foundation, and not teach her to look up Wikipedia
Regards,
James
Thanks for the reply.
How old are the children that you are talking about please? Did they switch to your school or are you giving them supplementary tuition? Did they struggle with maths, physics and chemistry then?
We are looking to have our daughter in an English language school because we are a mixed family and we are not sure where we will end up. If we stay here, we want to give her the best possibility to get into a decent lukio.
Do you know how easy the kids from Ressu find it to get into a decent lukio of their choice?
We like the idea of IB, but we find it strange that they have no textbooks and they have loose sheets of paper floating around at such a young age (we understand the idea for older children)
We do not want her to google everything - the school is supposed to give her a solid foundation, and not teach her to look up Wikipedia
Regards,
James
Re: Anyone with experience from Ressun peruskoulu or Postipu
Thanks very much Anna.
Re: Anyone with experience from Ressun peruskoulu or Postipu
My youngest went to Komeetta and then Espoo International. As far as I remember he did have textbooks and they were in English.
If the students choose to apply to a Finnish lukio they may well have problems transitioning from an English-language system to a Finnish-language system (the terminology eg in maths is different) - I've heard of quite a few students failing to get into Olari lukio for that reason.
My son didn't get into his first choice lukio but most of his friends did (mostly IB: Etela Tapiola, Mattliden, Ressu, SYK). The IB curriculum (in years 11-12) is quite demanding, especially the long maths, probably more demanding than the regular lukio syllabus because the students focus on fewer subjects and study them in more depth.
Another difference between Ressu and Espoo international is (was?) that most of the teachers in the former are Finnish and in the latter they are mostly foreigners (native English speakers). That might explain why there are no textbooks in Ressu: maybe the staff prefer to use FInnish books which they "translate" themselves into English. It is also very expensive for the schools to import books from UK/USA publishers and they don't get any extra budget for English-language schooling.
My son is now 18 so his peruskoulu days are long gone - so I can't really give any info on Postipuu, or Ressu.
Edit: one other thing I thought of... you mentioned that some people had told you it was difficult to get a good lukio place from Ressu/Espoo International. Well, one reason for "non-Finns" not always getting into the lukio of their choice is the fact that the all-important Grade Point Average is weighted on the "academic" subjects and Finnish language is one of those subjects. So even if a child is in a school where English is the language of instruction, his grades in Finnish still count in the calculation of the GPA. It's one of those paradoxes that native English speakers sometimes struggle to get into English-language lukios due to their mediocre grades in Finnish....
If the students choose to apply to a Finnish lukio they may well have problems transitioning from an English-language system to a Finnish-language system (the terminology eg in maths is different) - I've heard of quite a few students failing to get into Olari lukio for that reason.
My son didn't get into his first choice lukio but most of his friends did (mostly IB: Etela Tapiola, Mattliden, Ressu, SYK). The IB curriculum (in years 11-12) is quite demanding, especially the long maths, probably more demanding than the regular lukio syllabus because the students focus on fewer subjects and study them in more depth.
Another difference between Ressu and Espoo international is (was?) that most of the teachers in the former are Finnish and in the latter they are mostly foreigners (native English speakers). That might explain why there are no textbooks in Ressu: maybe the staff prefer to use FInnish books which they "translate" themselves into English. It is also very expensive for the schools to import books from UK/USA publishers and they don't get any extra budget for English-language schooling.
My son is now 18 so his peruskoulu days are long gone - so I can't really give any info on Postipuu, or Ressu.
Edit: one other thing I thought of... you mentioned that some people had told you it was difficult to get a good lukio place from Ressu/Espoo International. Well, one reason for "non-Finns" not always getting into the lukio of their choice is the fact that the all-important Grade Point Average is weighted on the "academic" subjects and Finnish language is one of those subjects. So even if a child is in a school where English is the language of instruction, his grades in Finnish still count in the calculation of the GPA. It's one of those paradoxes that native English speakers sometimes struggle to get into English-language lukios due to their mediocre grades in Finnish....
Re: Anyone with experience from Ressun peruskoulu or Postipu
Can anyone tell me Where i can get IB syllabus text books or materials for grades 8-9 Th ..
Thanks
Thanks
Re: Anyone with experience from Ressun peruskoulu or Postipu
The school has to provide all the textbooks for compulsory education (ie grades 1-9). State education is free in Finland.
Only lukio students have to buy their own textbooks.
Consequently, book shops in Finland don't stock them. Try online.
Only lukio students have to buy their own textbooks.
Consequently, book shops in Finland don't stock them. Try online.