Bilingual Study Programme

Bilingual Study Programme (Finnish & English) - BSP

The bilingual study programme is designed for students (16 to 19 years old) looking to study at Finnish general upper secondary level but who lack high enough proficiency in Finnish to begin their studies in fully Finnish programmes. The aim of the bilingual programme is to support, enhance, and further students’ Finnish skills for them to complete the upper secondary school syllabus and the matriculation examination in Finnish.

The programme’s language of tuition is primarily Finnish with varying amounts of English utilised depending on the subject, the contents of the study unit, and the level of support required by each individual student. English is used as a secondary, supporting language; therefore, students are expected to have higher skills in English to participate in the programme.

Students’ Finnish skills are developed not only through intensive preparatory Finnish as a second language courses but language-aware approaches throughout the syllabus. Students are encouraged to use Finnish in various linguistic and academic situations both in and outside school. Towards the end of the syllabus, students are expected to be able to use Finnish independently for all their academic and personal pursuits.

The overall aim is to improve students’ Finnish proficiency and their successful participation in the matriculation examination in Finnish so they may gain eligibility to apply for tertiary education.

Students are chosen through the national joint application system (yhteishaku).  The minimum required admission score of 7.0 is based on the grade average of theoretical subjects with Finnish weighted x2 and English weighted x3.

Applicants must also fill in a separate form to cover their motivation and interests to study in the Bilingual Study Programme. Click here to enter the form.

Applications from students without the Finnish certificate will be considered separately. Such applicants will be invited to a face-to-face interview session during which they must outline their motivation to study in the programme and demonstrate their written and oral skills in both Finnish and English.

Basic understanding of Finnish is required of all applicants as they will be expected to further their language proficiency to ultimately meet the matriculation examination requirements. Applicants should carefully consider the demands of studying in a bilingual study programme as well as the Finnish proficiency requirements set for passing the matriculation examinations.

Students with advanced Finnish proficiency should apply to general upper secondary programmes taught fully in Finnish. Prospective applicants without the necessary skills in English are encouraged to look into other Finnish-specific preparatory programmes (e.g. TUVA).

The amount of study places in the BSP is 25.

For further information, please contact Hatanpään lukio Upper Secondary School principal, vice-principal or student counsellors.

The name of the Hatanpään lukio upper secondary school will be replaced by Pyynikin lukio upper secondary school on August 1st, 2025.  The school will move from Hatanpää, Tampere to the center of the city during the academic year of 2025-2026. The new address will be Pyynikintie 2.