Bilingual general upper secondary education in Finnish and English to be launched in Tampere in August 2025
The new programme is called the Bilingual Study Programme (Finnish & English).
The Bilingual Study Programme (Finnish & English) is aimed especially at students who do not have sufficient Finnish or Swedish language skills for general upper secondary education at the beginning of their studies at general upper secondary school. At the same time, those students who have completed their basic education either partly or entirely in English are offered an equal opportunity to continue their studies in English at the general upper secondary level.
The committee also decided on the admission criteria for the Bilingual Study Programme (Finnish & English). The subjects emphasised in the joint application process for bilingual general upper secondary education are Finnish (as a second language or native language) and English. In addition, students are required to have a minimum average of 7.0 in theoretical subjects on their final basic education certificate.
The Bilingual Study Programme is set to take place at Pyynikki General Upper Secondary School. The launch of Pyynikki General Upper Secondary School is scheduled for August 2025, when Hatanpää General Upper Secondary School will be renamed Pyynikki General Upper Secondary School.
National preparatory work continues
From the perspective of equal study paths for students, it is important to offer students who have completed their basic education in English the opportunity to continue studying in English during their general upper secondary education.
However, the current legislation does not allow the launch of a fully English-language study programme on 1 August 2025, as the related national preparatory work is still under way. Any potential changes introduced by it will enter into force in 2026.
The new bilingual general upper secondary education programme starting in Tampere in August is based on the current legislation, regulations and curriculum. Both the language of instruction and the language in which the matriculation examination is taken is Finnish, and the study programme has a special emphasis on Finnish as a second language (S2 emphasis).
English serves as a support language especially in the early stages of studies, but its significance decreases as studies advance. The learning materials are primarily in Finnish. The aim of the Bilingual Study Programme (Finnish & English) is to enable the student to complete the Finnish-language general upper secondary school syllabus and the Finnish-language matriculation examination.
At the moment, general upper secondary education in the English language only applies to IB education with a special educational task in Tampere. The new Bilingual Study Programme (Finnish & English) will not affect the operation of the IB programme.
