Tampere classical upper secondary school

Tampere Classical Upper Secondary School

Tampere Classical Upper Secondary School has long traditions. Our upper secondary school started its operation as far back as in 1901, and the old prestigious school building was erected next to the Cathedral in 1907. The connecting building, completed in 2016, unites the Main Building to the Rongansiipi wing, completed in 1968. Over several decades, the name of our upper secondary school has become established in the form CLASU in everyday usage by the residents of Tampere. The school's location in the centre of Tampere offers good transport connections for the students.

In autumn 2013, the school launched a natural sciences programme which offers young people living in Pirkanmaa an exceptionally magnificent framework for studying natural sciences during their upper secondary school education. The natural sciences programme was granted the status of national special educational task in autumn 2017. A special educational task refers to instruction which to an essential extent puts emphasis on one or more subjects or modules and allows derogation from the provisions and regulations concerning general upper secondary education.

CLASU operating culture

Tampere Classical Upper Secondary School underscores the importance of broad-based education. We strive to provide students with the best possible readiness for the matriculation examination and the further studies following them. At the same time, we ensure that every student is provided with an adequate level of knowledge for acting as an active and critical citizen.

Strengths of CLASU

•    togetherness and doing things together
•    excellent instruction
•    strong general line of study
•    experiential science programme
•    extensive language offering
•    lively international activities
•    CLASU is a science-based general upper secondary school of the future today

Studies

Study atmosphere

The interactive and motivated atmosphere prevailing during the lessons takes the students into account as individuals. The students are guided to take responsibility for their own studies and, on the other hand, also for the entire work community. They are encouraged to try their best and learn from their successes and failures. Each student is offered a safe and peaceful learning environment. The students are heard, and their opinions are taken into account in the everyday life of the school. The student council is strongly involved in the development of the upper secondary school.

Language studies

The language offering of our upper secondary school
Our upper secondary school offers a wide range of foreign languages. Since most of our students choose courses in foreign languages, they are usually also arranged. Honouring our traditions, we offer our students the opportunity to study Latin. We also offer courses in Italian.

German language diploma

The Ministry of Education of the Federal Republic of Germany has granted our upper secondary school an official permission to organise German language diploma tests, the completion of which gives students the right to apply for higher education studies in German-speaking countries. We also provide instruction preparing students for the language diploma test.

Studying Latin at CLASU

At CLASU, the tradition of studying and teaching Latin and classical culture and of fostering the common European cultural heritage dates back more than 100 years. We can build the future only by knowing history – that is the reason why we need to study classical languages and cultures. Studying Latin is the key to versatile general education and, even today, we need professionals in various fields who also have this kind of intellectual capital.

Latin could be called both a language and a humanities subject at the same time. In their lessons, the students study Latin and get acquainted with the cultural history of the Greco-Roman world and the history of the Roman Empire. Even though the lessons use time on reflecting on historical perspectives, learning the language is the first priority. In addition to the above, other benefits of studying Latin include improved reasoning skills and logic as well as increased vocabulary. In addition, the Latinists know their Latin proverbs, as well as the secrets of different arts and works of art, because classical stories have inspired artists throughout the centuries. The special vocabulary used in many disciplines originates from Latin, including natural sciences, arts, theology, history and language research.

At CLASU, you can study Latin starting from the basic level (B3 language) or continue the Latin studies started in upper stage of comprehensive school (B2 language). After three years of studies, you should participate in the matriculation examination, where students taking Latin are allowed to use a dictionary in their Latin test. 

The students have the opportunity to get to know the history of Rome in situ by attending the camp school in Rome, which is held every two years.

To recap, three points why you should study Latin:

•    it is fun and challenging
•    it expands your world view
•    it helps you with your other/further studies.

International activities

Extensive international connections and maintaining them is one of our strengths. Our school has partner schools in Italy, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain.

Study unit entries

The general upper secondary school syllabus consists of study units. The scope of the courses in the Tampere Classical Upper Secondary School varies from 1 to 8 credits. Most of the study units (formerly courses) provide 2 credits. The study units are divided according to their content into compulsory, optional and school-specific study units and school-specific natural sciences programme study units. The contents of compulsory and optional study units are the same in every general upper secondary school.

Natural science programme

At Tampere Classical Upper Secondary School, the natural science programme is based on biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry, biotechnology and environmental sciences. The study units also create links to health education, social studies, geography and philosophy. Many of the school-specific study units are multidisciplinary, i.e., they cross subject boundaries. They aim is to examine and establish a broad-based understanding of phenomena related to natural sciences from different perspectives.

When studying in the natural sciences programme, the focus is on the observation of natural phenomena and, through this, realising the conformity to the laws of nature. A collaborative approach and new working methods offer unique learning experiences.

The natural sciences programme was granted the status of national special educational task in autumn 2017. A special educational task refers to instruction which to an essential extent puts emphasis on one or more subjects or modules and allows derogation from the provisions and regulations concerning general upper secondary education.

In the natural sciences programme, students focus on natural sciences by selecting at least 24 credits in relevant subjects (biology, physics, chemistry and geography) in addition to the national compulsory study units. In this case, if they so wish, students may choose to drop compulsory studies in other subjects amounting to a total of 16 credits from their study plan. This gives the students an excellent opportunity to focus on studying natural sciences during their upper secondary school education.