Education in Espoo

The City of Espoo organises day care, or early childhood education, at city-owned and private day-care centres. In addition, there are family day-care providers in Espoo. Day care is provided in Finnish or Swedish.

You should apply for a day-care position for your child at least four months prior to the beginning of the care period. If you suddenly get a job or are admitted to a school, you can apply for the day-care position later.

When applying for a day-care place, you must fill in an electronic application form online. If you cannot fill in an electronic application, you can also get a form from a day-care centre, Early Childhood Education Service Guidance or Espoo Service Points.

Read more: Early childhood education

In Espoo, pre-school education (esiopetus) is provided at day-care centres or schools. Pre-school education is provided in Finnish and Swedish.

You can apply for pre-school education through the website of the City of Espoo. Pre-school education begins in August. The application period is normally in January.

If you have question regarding matters concerning child care and pre-school education, you can contact Early Childhood Education Service Guidance.

Tel. 09 816 31000
E-mail: vaka.palveluohjaus(at)espoo.fi

Read more: Pre-school education

Espoo has Finnish and Swedish comprehensive schools (peruskoulu). Education is also available in English.

School normally starts during the year when the child turns seven. You must enrol for school in advance. The enrolment time is usually in January. The contact information for schools and additional information about registration can be found on the website of the City of Espoo.

If you have questions about applying for comprehensive education, contact the Espoo Finnish Education Unit.

Tel. 040 507 0817, grades 1–6
Tel. 040 505 6107, grades 7–9

Read more: Basic education

Immigrant students and children of bilingual families can receive education in their own native language (oman äidinkielen opetus) if a sufficient number of students sign up for the group. There are two hours of lessons per week, and they may be given at another school. The enrolment period for mother tongue education is in March.

More information is available on the website of the City of Espoo.

Omnia, the Joint Authority of Education in the Espoo Region provides vocational education in Espoo. You can study various professions at Omnia. 

Omnia also organises preparatory education for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification (TUVA). It is intended for young people and adults who wish to prepare for secondary education (general upper secondary school or vocational education and training). In TUVA education, you can also improve your Finnish or Swedish skills. 

Residents of Espoo can also apply for vocational schools in Helsinki or Vantaa.

Read more: Vocational education

Espoo has 11 Finnish general upper secondary schools (lukio) and one Swedish general upper secondary school. Two general upper secondary schools in Espoo also have an IB programme where you can study in English.

Young people residing in Espoo can also apply to study in the general upper secondary schools of other cities.

Espoo has a general upper secondary school for adults (aikuislukio), where adults can complete the general upper secondary school and the matriculation examination. At this general upper secondary school, you can also improve the grades of your leaving certificate or study individual subjects. In addition, young immigrants can study Finnish or complete comprehensive school studies.

Leppävaara general upper secondary school provides preparatory education for immigrants and others whose native language is not Finnish to study in a general upper secondary school. The education is intended for young people who wish to study in a general upper secondary school but whose language proficiency is not yet sufficient for general upper secondary school studies.

Read more: General upper secondary school

If you are under 30 years of age, you can get advice and guidance from the Ohjaamo service. If you do not have a job or a study place, the Ohjaamo personnel will help you. You can also ask about other matters, such as housing or personal finances.

Contact information:

Lintuvaarantie 2 A
02650 Espoo
Tel. 040 126 7513
email: ohjaamotalo(at)espoo.fi

There are three institutes of higher education in Espoo:

• Aalto University
• Laurea University of Applied Sciences
• Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

In institutes of higher education, you can obtain a higher-education degree. More information is available on the websites of Aalto University, Laurea and Metropolia.

Helsinki also has universities and institutes of higher education where you can study a variety of subjects. More information is available on the City of Helsinki website.

Read more: Universities of applied sciences

Read more: Universities

At Espoo Adult Education Centre (Espoon työväenopisto), you can study, for example, languages, crafts and cooking, or take part in guided sports activities. The courses, which are subject to a fee, take place during the day and in the evening. Anyone can study at an adult education centre.

At Espoo School of Art (Espoon kuvataidekoulu), children and young people can study visual arts. The studies are subject to a fee.

At Espoo Music Institute (Espoon musiikkiopisto), children and adults alike can study music.

Read more: Studying as a hobby