The new Aviapolis upper secondary school will begin English-language upper secondary school education in Vantaa in August 2026

The Ministry of Education and Culture has granted the City of Vantaa a license to organize upper secondary education in English as of August 2026. The instruction will become part of the new Aviapolis upper secondary school. The curriculum for upper secondary school education in English corresponds to the Finnish-language upper secondary school education. It is intended for those young people whose Finnish or Swedish skills are not sufficient for upper secondary school studies in Finnish or Swedish. 

Upper secondary school education in English was added to the Upper Secondary School Act as part of the reform of the Upper Secondary School Act. Organizing permits were applied for the first time nationwide in 2025, and upper secondary school education in English will begin nationwide in August 2026

The new Aviapolis upper secondary school has 30 starting places for the English language line

Aviapolis upper secondary school is a new upper secondary school still under construction in Vantaa. You can apply for Aviapolis upper secondary school already in the joint application in February 2026. The operation of the new upper secondary school will begin in August 2026 on temporary premises in Varia Aviapolis. The upper secondary school building will be completed in early 2027, and the teaching will then be transferred to the new upper secondary school premises. The new Aviapolis upper secondary school has 90 starting places, of which 30 are reserved for the English language line.

Mika Luukkonen, who started in his new position in January 2026, has been elected principal of Aviapolis upper secondary school.

How is upper secondary education in the English language  different from IB taught an upper secondary education school?

The new upper secondary school education in English corresponds to the national upper secondary school education in Finland, while the IB upper secondary school education is an international IBDP degree, which follows the international IB-degree curriculum. IB upper secondary school and upper secondary school education in English also differ from the criteria for student selection: the new upper secondary school education in English is limited to those persons whose Finnish or Swedish language skills are insufficient for upper secondary school studies in Finnish or Swedish and who have completed comprehensive school studies in Finland for a maximum of three years. You can apply for an IB upper secondary school even if your Finnish or Swedish language skills are sufficient for Finnish or Swedish-speaking upper secondary school studies.

Tikkurila upper secondary school in Vantaa has been organizing IB upper secondary school education in English for a long time. Vantaa is applying for permission to organize IB education also in early childhood education, preschool education, and basic education.