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International schools in Helsinki

ISH charges EUR 12,432 to 16,608 a year in 2026-2027; the European School and English School cost less, and Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa run free English schools.

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The International School of Helsinki (ISH), the capital region's fee-paying IB school, charges EUR 12,432 to 16,608 a year in 2026-2027, according to its fee summary. The European School of Helsinki charges EUR 2,468 to 4,626 to families without EU-institution priority, the English School EUR 673, and the public English-language schools run by Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa charge nothing. The public schools test every regular applicant in English and fill their grade 1 and grade 7 places in January, so your move date decides which options stay open.

Who can use which school

  • Fee-paying schools (ISH, the English School, the European School) accept families from any municipality. ISH admits during the school year when it has space.
  • Public English-language schools give priority to residents. Espoo's places are "meant for pupils living in Espoo and Kauniainen", Vantaa's give priority to children from Vantaa, and Helsinki's admit Helsinki residents.
  • Upper secondary students on a student residence permit from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland pay tuition at public upper secondary schools from 1 August 2026. Students who live in Finland on other grounds, such as a family-based or permanent permit, fall outside that fee.

School system basics

Compulsory education starts with one year of pre-primary education in the year a child turns six. Basic education (peruskoulu) follows from the year the child turns seven and covers grades 1 to 9. After that comes general upper secondary school (lukio) or vocational education, and compulsory education continues until the age of 18.

Public education is free, including books, materials and a daily hot lunch, and a public English-language school gives you the same package as any municipal school.

The school year (lukuvuosi) runs from mid-August to early June. Admission decisions for the following August are made in spring, so your calendar starts in January.

International School of Helsinki (ISH)

The International School of Helsinki on Selkämerenkatu in Ruoholahti teaches all three IB programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP), from early years to grade 12.

ISH's fee summary for 2026-2027 lists these annual totals of basic and supplementary tuition:

GradeAnnual tuition 2026-2027 (EUR)
Early years12,432
Grades 1 to 513,744
Grades 6 to 814,570
Grades 9 to 1015,384
Grades 11 to 12 (DP)16,608

Paying in three instalments raises each figure, for example to EUR 13,924 for grades 1 to 5. The fee summary also states that a non-residency fee is added where applicable. On top of tuition, the admissions requirements list a EUR 350 application fee. Ask a relocating employer whether it pays school fees before you sign the offer.

ISH's admissions policy states: "The school accepts students throughout the academic year as long as adequate space is available and the student meets our admissions principles." Applicants submit "School reports for the past two (2) complete school years, in English or originals with translations."

The English School

The English School (Englantilainen koulu) in Helsinki is a private school that follows the Finnish national curriculum, taught partly in English and partly in Finnish, from preschool to the end of upper secondary. Its fee page lists annual tuition of EUR 673, the same for all grades, and states: "The fee includes a daily warm lunch."

Its admission page holds entrance tests for grades 2 to 8 only when places are available, with "written tests in English and Finnish". Applicants need "A1.3 knowledge in Finnish language". The school does not teach the IB; students take the Finnish matriculation examination.

European School of Helsinki

The European School of Helsinki (ESH) at Bulevardi 18 is accredited within the European Schools network and leads to the European Baccalaureate. It teaches in English, Finnish and French, from nursery through secondary.

Children of staff at the European Chemicals Agency and certain EU institutions have priority (category I). Other families apply for remaining places (category II) and pay a fee set by the Ministry of Education and Culture. ESH's admissions page lists these category II fees for 2026-2027, with meals, books, materials and clubs charged separately and no sibling discount:

LevelPer semester (EUR)Per year (EUR)
Nursery1,2342,468
Primary1,6963,392
Secondary2,3134,626

The main application period for 2026-2027 ran from 7 to 31 January 2026, with entrance tests in the first week of March.

Free public English-language schools in Helsinki

The City of Helsinki's English-language basic education page lists:

  • Grades 1 to 6: Maunula Primary School and Ressu Comprehensive School
  • Grades 7 to 9: Kulosaari Secondary School, Maunula Secondary School and Ressu Comprehensive School

The learning goals are the same as in Finnish-language schools, and Ressu "follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) frame of reference". There are no tuition fees.

Regular applicants take a language test. For grade 1, "no writing or reading skills are expected"; higher grades are tested on reading comprehension, listening comprehension and writing. Applicants for grades 8 and 9 also need spoken Finnish at A1 level. If you move during the school year, continuous admission requires native or near-native English and English-language schooling within the past 18 months. Ressu also runs a temporary admission class for families staying up to two years, with no language test and no requirement of earlier English-language schooling.

Helsinki also has state-run bilingual schools with no tuition: the Lycée franco-finlandais d'Helsinki (French and Finnish) and the Finnish-Russian School (Suomalais-venäläinen koulu). The Deutsche Schule Helsinki is a private German-language school.

Espoo options

Espoo runs English-language education at two public schools:

  • Espoo International School (grades 1 to 9, Opinmäki campus), which follows the Finnish national curriculum and offers the IB Middle Years Programme in grades 7 to 9. It has 50 grade 1 places and 100 grade 7 places.
  • Kivimies International School (grades 1 to 6), with 25 grade 1 places.

Espoo's admissions page lists these 2026-2027 windows:

GradeApplication periodEntrance test
18 to 20 January 202627 to 28 January 2026
78 to 15 January 202621 January 2026
420 May to 5 June 20266 August 2026

"Pupils admitted to English-language education are not eligible for school transport benefit." For upper secondary, Espoo has two IB Diploma schools: Etelä-Tapiolan lukio, which also runs a pre-DP year, and Mattlidens gymnasium, which is Swedish-speaking with an English IB section.

Vantaa options

Vantaa offers basic education in English at three schools:

Pupils from Kaivoksela and Rekolanmäki can continue at the International School of Vantaa for grades 7 to 9. A new English-language pathway starts in Aviapolis in autumn 2027 and later moves to Muura school. Vantaa states that "School books and other education materials as well as school meals are free of charge." First graders need no prior English, while grades 2 to 6 require it. The latest application period closed on 15 July 2026, with the test on 7 August 2026.

IB Diploma in public upper secondary schools

Public IB Diploma programmes in the capital region run at Ressu and SYK in Helsinki, Etelä-Tapiolan lukio and Mattlidens gymnasium in Espoo, and Tikkurilan lukio in Vantaa; ISH offers the DP as a fee-paying school. Applicants from Finnish basic education apply through the national joint application on Studyinfo. Ressu's application page states: "Priority is given for applicants who can show that they are living with their parents in the greater Helsinki region."

Tikkurilan lukio reserves 30 pre-DP places a year and admits applicants living abroad on the basis of school reports. For 2027 its application deadline is 16 March 2027, with entrance exams on 20 April 2027. It lists tuition of EUR 8,953.47 a year for international students, with EU/EEA citizens entitled to free upper secondary education exempt.

From 1 August 2026, upper secondary schools charge tuition to students from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland who hold a student residence permit. Espoo's fee page sets the fee at EUR 10,300 a year, or EUR 30,900 for three years, and exempts holders of permanent residence permits and exchange students.

Public or private

The largest difference is cost. Two children in grades 1 to 5 at ISH cost EUR 27,488 a year in tuition before the application fee. The same children in a public English-language school pay nothing.

The second is admissions certainty. ISH admits during the year when it has space, while public English-language schools take a fixed number of pupils, test regular applicants and favour residents.

The third is language. Public English-language schools teach Finnish, and Helsinki expects some Finnish from applicants to grades 8 and 9. On a two-year assignment, a curriculum that continues abroad (the IB at ISH, the European Baccalaureate at ESH) or Ressu's temporary class may fit better.

If your child does not yet speak Finnish or English well enough for a test, each city offers preparatory education for newly arrived pupils, followed by a place in a regular school. The childcare and family life guide covers children under school age.

A practical timeline

  1. Move confirmed: shortlist schools in the city you will live in, since public English-language places favour residents.
  2. Register your address: a municipality of residence makes your child a resident pupil, and your personal identity code is needed for enrolment.
  3. January: application windows for grade 1 and grade 7 in Espoo and for the European School.
  4. Spring: test results and offers from public schools; private schools confirm places.
  5. Summer: later application rounds, such as Vantaa's test on 7 August 2026 and Espoo's grade 4 test on 6 August 2026.
  6. Mid-August: school starts.

City guides: Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa.

This goes wrong if you arrive after the January windows: Espoo's grade 1 window for 2026-2027 closed on 20 January 2026, and after that you depend on continuous admission and spare places.

Frequently asked questions

How much do international schools in Helsinki cost?

ISH's fee summary lists EUR 12,432 to 16,608 a year for 2026-2027, plus a EUR 350 application fee. The European School's admissions page lists EUR 2,468 to 4,626 for category II families, and the English School charges EUR 673 with lunch included.

Are there free English-language schools in Helsinki?

Yes. Helsinki's English-language basic education page lists Maunula and Ressu for grades 1 to 6 and Kulosaari, Maunula and Ressu for grades 7 to 9. Espoo and Vantaa run their own free English-language schools for residents.

When should I apply to an international school in Helsinki?

For public schools and the European School, in January for the following August. Espoo's grade 1 window for 2026-2027 ran from 8 to 20 January 2026, according to its admissions page. ISH accepts students during the year when it has space.

Which schools in the Helsinki area offer the IB?

ISH teaches the PYP, MYP and Diploma Programme. Ressu follows the IB frame of reference in grades 1 to 9, and Espoo International School offers the MYP in grades 7 to 9. Public IB Diploma programmes run at Ressu, SYK, Etelä-Tapiolan lukio, Mattlidens gymnasium and Tikkurilan lukio.

Can my child attend an English-language public school in another city?

Only if places remain after residents. Espoo's admissions page reserves places for residents of Espoo and Kauniainen, and Vantaa gives priority to its own children. Tikkurilan lukio's IB programme admits applicants from outside Vantaa.

Sources

Last updated: October 2026

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