General Upper Secondary education in Finland

1. General Upper Secondary education in Finland Principal Pasi Syrjä Valkeakoski Upper Secondary School 10.6.2014

2. The Education System of Finland

3. Features of Upper Secondary School • The admission requirement for the upper secondary school is the completion of comprehensive school • Upper secondary schools select their students mainly on the basis of previous study record • Application takes place through the national joint application procedure • Upper secondary school offers general education for students of about 16-19 years of age • Upper secondary school gives students eligibility for all studies at the tertiary level • Upper secondary school ends with the matriculation examination • More than half of each age group complete upper secondary school

4. Syllabus • Syllabus is planned for three years, possible to finish in two years, maximum four years • Since 1982, instruction in upper secondary schools has been divided into courses, each consisting of about 38 lessons (each 45 minutes) • The school year is usually divided into five or six periods. A separate timetable is drawn up for each period, concentrating on certain subjects • Students' progress and the composition of teaching groups thus depends on the students' choice of courses • Consequently, year classes have been abolished in all upper secondary schools, which now function without fixed forms

5. Distribution of lesson hours 1 • Studies consist of compulsory, specialisation and applied courses. • Applied courses may be either further studies in subjects already studied or other subjects. The provision of applied courses can be decided independently by each school. They can also be offered in co-operation with other educational institutions, such as vocational or music institutions. Courses Compulsory courses  47-51 National Specialization courses (minimum)  10 Applied courses Total number of courses (minimum)  75

6. Distribution of lesson hours 2 Subjects Compulsory National courses specialization courses Finnish and Literature 6 3 Language starting in grades 1-6 of basic education (A) 6 2 Language starting in grades 7-9 of basic education (B1, B2) 5 2 Other languages (B3) 16 Mathematics (advanced) 10 3 Mathematics (basic) 6 2 Biology 2 3 Geography 2 2 Physics 1 7 Chemistry 1 4

7. Distribution of lesson hours 3 Subjects Compulsory National courses specialization courses Religion or Ethics 3 2 Philosophy 1 3 Psychology 1 4 History 4 2 Civics 2 2 Physical Education 2 3 Music 1-2 3 Visual Arts 1-2 3 Health Education 1 2 Careers counselling 1 1

8. Matriculation examination • The purpose of the examination is to discover whether students have assimilated the knowledge and skills required by the curriculum for the upper secondary school and whether they have reached an adequate level of maturity in line with the goals of the upper secondary school • The Matriculation Examination is held twice a year, in spring and in autumn, in all Finnish upper secondary schools, at the same time • A candidate must complete the examination during not more than three consecutive examination periods. The examination can also be completed in one examination period

9. Matriculation examinationthe tests • The examination consists of at least four tests; one of them, the Test in the candidate's Mother Tongue, is compulsory for all candidates • The candidate then chooses three other compulsory tests from among the following four tests: the Test in the Second Domestic Language, a Foreign Language Test, the Mathematics Test, and the General Studies Test • The candidate may include, in addition, as part of his or her examination, one or more optional tests

10. Valkeakoski Upper Secondary SchoolHistory in brief • The Upper Secondary School of Valkeakoski continues the traditions of the Co-educational School of Valkeakoski founded in 1923 • Official permission for the first five classes of the Co-educational School (lower secondary school) was granted in 1928 • In 1943 the school was changed into an eight-class secondary school leading to university studies • In 1975 the town of Valkeakoski took ownership of the school and a year after the upper secondary classes of Roukko were incorporated into the Co-educational School of Valkeakoski • The new school was named Valkeakosken lukio • Today there are about 350 students and 30 teachers in the school

11. Valkeakoski Upper Secondary SchoolNew premises • During nearly its entire history the upper secondary school has been located by the beautiful stream of Apia in the town centre • The school building was built in four different periods of time between 1937 and 1967 • According to the decision of the City Council Valkeakosken lukio will no longer serve in its present premises after spring 2008 since the new school year will be started in the new school facilities, a few kilometres north of the centre of the town • Valkeakosken lukio will be part of Campus Valkeakoski, which already includes Häme Polytechnic, Valkeakoski Vocational Institute and UPM Industrial Institute • New possibilities for co-operation will arise between these various institutions and the Upper Secondary School. The planning of the new school building is already in full swing