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Basic education in Finland is free of charge and as a public school we have no school fees. The books and daily school lunch are free of charge as well. However that also means that we only serve families living in the Tampere area, so you need to be living in Finland before we can admit your child to our school.
The grade levels are based on the child's year of birth. Children start grade 1 the calendar year they turn seven. Please see our admissions page for the full list:
Children living in other municipalities can also attend FISTA. However, if there are more applicants than places, priority is given to students who live in Tampere.
You can see our application dates here: Admissions
However, if you are moving or have only just moved to Tampere, you can apply to FISTA outside of those dates as well. Please apply well in advance, at least a month before your move, even if you don’t have all the details regarding your move yet - your application can be updated later.
Please note that July is the main holiday month in Finland which means applications are processed very slowly (if at all) during that time. If you want your child to join FISTA in August when the new school year starts, you should already fill in the application in the spring if at all possible.
Please send us your child’s latest report card (or similar transcript) from their previous school. You can send it to the coordinator by email, or bring it with you on paper when you come to the language test.
You need to register with the DVV to acquire a Finnish personal identity code for your child. Sometimes getting the Finnish personal identity code can take some time, so it’s okay if the child doesn’t have it on the first day of school, as long as the process is underway. For very short stays in Finland (only a few months) it’s not necessary to acquire a personal identity code.
You can start the application process while you’re still living abroad, and we recommend that you do so well in advance. However, in order for us to finalise the admissions process and confirm the student’s school place you need to have a residence permit and an address in the Tampere region.
Please fill in the school application at least a month before your move, even if you don’t have all the details regarding your move yet - your application can be updated later.
Please note that July is the main holiday month in Finland which means applications are processed very slowly (if at all) during that time. If you want your child to join FISTA in August when the new school year starts, you should send in the application already in the spring if at all possible.
We meet all our prospective students for a short interview and language test to ensure that they know enough English to be able to study in English, on their own age level. It tests the student’s English language skills, not their knowledge of school subjects such as mathematics or sciences. It is not necessary to prepare or practice for the test. There are no language tests for preschool.
Grade 1: simple speaking and listening activities.
Grades 2-9: interview, grammar, reading comprehension and writing tasks.
In the Finnish school system children start grade 1 the calendar year they turn seven. The school grades in different countries can be numbered differently but our teaching is always aimed at a certain age level and therefore new students always join a group with their peers.
By law, it is possible to apply to 1st grade at the Finnish International School of Tampere during the calendar year the child reaches the age of seven. Children who are one year younger can be admitted providing that the guardian presents an assessment of school readiness made by a Finnish psychologist before the child's participation in the aptitude test. Please note that the FISTA school psychologist does not conduct these tests.
In Finland the mandatory preschool year (“grade 0") covers many aspects of first grade in other countries where children already start school at the age of six.
No prior knowledge of Finnish is required. All students must take Finnish lessons, as it is a mandatory subject in the national curriculum. There are different level groups available for Finnish lessons, from beginners to native speakers.
Read more about language studies at FISTA here.
However, please note that in order to get the Finnish primary and lower secondary education certificate at the end of year 9 that students need to qualify for upper secondary education in Finland, all students need to achieve a passing grade in Finnish studies. The criteria for grades are set in the national curriculum.
Therefore if a new student joins grade 8 or 9 and they don't know any Finnish, they will initially join a preparatory education class to learn basic Finnish skills.
FISTA is not a boarding school. We cannot offer any kind of accommodation or help with finding accommodation for students or families.
Moreover, if for some reason an underage child has to move to Finland without their parents, they must have a legal guardian in Finland before we can admit them to our school.
Whenever possible, we recommend that new students start at the beginning of a term.
However, if necessary, it’s possible to start in the middle of the school year as well.
FISTA does not have daycare or kindergarten classes. The earliest a child can start at FISTA is in August of the calendar year they turn 6 (preschool class).
You can read more about FISTA admissions here: Admissions
You can read more about early childhood education in Tampere here: Early childhood education and pre-primary education
Unfortunately we cannot offer any help or advice with visas or residence permits, or speed up those processes in any way.
We cannot confirm admission or issue any documents confirming admission before the student is living in the Tampere area and has passed the language test. It is currently only possible to take the language test in person at FISTA.
Moreover, FISTA is a public school, owned by the City of Tampere, and as such its purpose is to serve international families living in the Tampere area. As a public school, we are unable to take in exchange students who are only moving here for school.
There are no school buses but FISTA is easy to reach by public transport. For schedules and tickets, please see: Tampere City public transport
Unfortunately there are no free or discounted bus/tram tickets available for FISTA students. You can only get a discounted student transport pass if you have a very long distance to your nearest (Finnish language) school, not if you choose a special school like FISTA that is further away from your home. However, all children under 16 qualify for the children's bus ticket, which is cheaper, and all children under 7 can use public transport for free.
Read more about the discounted student transport passes on the City of Tampere website: School transport
Preschoolers must be dropped off and picked up by a parent in person every day. All other students can come to school and leave after the school day by themselves.
The City of Tampere recommends walking or using buses and trams when coming to school. If you have to drive your child to school, we recommend stopping or parking a few blocks away from the school and walking from there. There is no parking available in the school yard. Please avoid driving to Suokatu as it gets crowded and unnecessary traffic obstructs our maintenance vehicles.
Parents can decide how the child is dressed for school. There are no school uniforms. However, students spend some breaks outside every day throughout the year, so the parents must ensure that the child has outdoor clothing that is warm enough and suitable for the prevailing weather conditions. During lessons, students leave their outdoor clothing in lockers or in clothes racks outside the classrooms.
Basic education in Finland is free of charge, including daily school lunch.
FISTA offers two lunch options every day, and one of them is always vegetarian food. All meals are lactose free. See the menu.
For other special diets, you need to inform the school kitchen using the special diet form which needs to be signed by a medical professional. The guardians are responsible for making sure the school kitchen has up to date information about their child's special diet. Read more: Special diets
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child's special diet in school, please contact the school nurses. Contacts
The lessons run between 8:15 and 16:00 but the starting time and the length of the school day varies by grade. Every class has their own weekly schedule.
Younger students have fairly short school days, as for example grade 1 students have 21 lessons per week. In comparison, gr 5 students have 25 lessons and gr 9 students have 30 lessons per week.
Basic education in Finland is free of charge. The school provides books, notebooks and other materials needed for school. The students should take good care of all given materials. The student will need to bring a school bag, a pencil case and personal sports equipment.
There is daily morning and afternoon care available for students in grades 0–3.
There are a few hobby clubs for students in grades 3-9.
Read more: Morning and afternoon activities at FISTA
However, in Finland most hobby type activities are generally not organized by schools. There are lots of music, sport and other hobbies available in Tampere, they're just not organized by FISTA.
If the child is sick, guardians need to notify the school on the first day of the student’s absence, using the Wilma system. The contact person for absences is your child’s class teacher or tutor, not the school office.
If the child is absent for some other reason, guardians need to inform the school in advance. You can find the holiday application in the browser version of Wilma under Applications and decisions > New application > Student’s temporary absence from school.
Family holidays are best placed during school break and holiday times. Parents are responsible for the child’s studies during any extra holiday absences. It is important that arrangements for compensatory work and tests are made well in advance. However, teachers are not obligated to provide all materials in advance and make detailed plans for the student’s absence. Any extra materials will be given on the student’s return.
Tampere schools use the Wilma student administration system for communications between the home and the school. Wilma is used for messages, pedagogical documents, absences, schedules, assessment etc. You can use Wilma either via browser or app.
Create your Wilma logins (once your child has been registered as a student)
Read more about parents’ evenings, parent-student-teacher conferences and the FISTA Parents’ Association here:
Basic education in Finland is free of charge and as a public school we have no school fees. The books and daily school lunch are free of charge as well. However that also means that we only serve families living in the Tampere area, so you need to be living in Finland before we can admit your child to our school.
FISTA has the same term and holiday times as all City of Tampere basic education schools. You can see them here:
The main language of tuition at the Finnish International School of Tampere is English.
Following the Finnish national curriculum, all students also take Finnish lessons. The second national language, Swedish, is a mandatory subject in grades 6-9.
In addition, students can pick an optional language that starts in third grade. The City of Tampere also organises optional instruction in the students' own home languages.
Read more on our Language studies page.
FISTA follows the Finnish National Core Curriculum, set by the Finnish National Agency for Education. FISTA is not an IB school.
The Finnish National Curriculum is available online for free in the two official languages, Finnish and Swedish:
Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteet 2014
Grunderna för läroplanen för den grundläggande utbildningen 2014
You can purchase the official English translation as an ebook:
National core curriculum, ebook
If you want to learn more about the Finnish school system, you can find information and videos in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Russian, Persian and Somali available here on the City of Tampere website:
Guides to basic education and videos about education in Finland