Finnish general upper secondary school can be completed in English as of autumn 2026

In accordance with the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government, the Finnish matriculation examination is being developed so that it can also be completed in English in future. This also requires making it possible to complete general upper secondary education in English.

The Parliament of Finland decided on the amendments to the Act on General Upper Secondary Education and the Act on the Matriculation Examination in December 2024. The National Core Curriculum for English-language General Upper Secondary Education published by the Finnish National Agency for Education on 20 March 2025 is now the first concrete step towards putting these amendments into practice.

The objective of the reform is to strengthen Finland's attractiveness among international actors and returnees. The reform will improve the right to education of students with poor Finnish or Swedish language skills.

The amendments to the Act on General Upper Secondary Education and the Act on the Matriculation Examination enable the completion of general upper secondary education and the matriculation examination in English based on strictly defined criteria. The English-language matriculation examination and the general upper secondary education preparing students for it are not intended for students arriving in Finland from third countries for study purposes.

Providing education requires authorisation from the Ministry

English-language general upper secondary education can be started at the earliest on 1 August 2026, while the tests that make up the matriculation examination can be completed in English from autumn 2028 onwards.

Before this, education providers must draw up local curricula for English-language general upper secondary education and approve them in accordance with the national core curriculum. Only then can they apply for authorisation to provide general upper secondary education in English. The local curriculum must be appended to the application.

The application for the authorisation to provide education must be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Culture no later than one year before the education is planned to start.

“English-language general upper secondary education will most likely be initially provided at the general upper secondary schools and adult general upper secondary schools of large cities and regional centres where there is sufficient demand for it,” estimates Counsellor of Education, Head of Unit Petri Lehikoinen from the Finnish National Agency for Education.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme to also remain an option

The content of the new national core curricula for English-language general upper secondary education and adult general upper secondary education is the same as the national core curricula for Finnish-language and Swedish-language general upper secondary education. The former are accurate translations of the latter.

Certain Finnish general upper secondary schools will continue to offer the option of completing general upper secondary education in accordance with the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme curriculum.

The difference between these two options is that the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme focuses only on six subjects after a preparatory year, whereas Finnish general upper secondary education offers the option of studying the full range of general upper secondary school subjects in English. Finnish general upper secondary education thus offers more options over the course of a student’s studies. Finnish general upper secondary education culminates in the matriculation examination, whereas the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme culminates in international final examinations.

“Both options provide students with an excellent foundation for higher education studies both in Finland and abroad. The matter of which is a more suitable option for each student largely comes down to preference,” says Lehikoinen.