One in five pupils attend school outside immediate neighbourhood in Helsinki
Nearby schools more popular in Espoo and Vantaa
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Last year more than 18 percent of Finnish-speaking school pupils in Helsinki attended schools that were not the closest to their homes. The most common reason for opting for a more distant school is the parents’ desire to have their children learn a language that is not in the curriculum of the nearest school.
No data has been collected of the choices of the families of this year’s pupils, but the changes each year are not very great. The proportion of pupils attending schools outside their own neighbourhoods is growing slowly.
Pupils at higher levels tend to travel longer distances to school than smaller children. One third of Finnish-speaking pupils opt for a school relatively far away. For Swedish-speaking pupils the figure is 12 percent.
In Helsinki, 4,222 pupils started first grade last year. All who wanted to attend a neighbourhood school were accommodated.
In Espoo, schoolchildren commute outside their nearby areas less frequently than those in Helsinki. Fewer than ten percent of first-graders in Espoo did so. Choice of foreign languages was the main reason for going to a more distant school in Espoo as well.
At higher levels, pupils in Espoo can choose from schools with different focuses in their teaching, such as music, art, and maths and sciences.
Juha Nummi, head of development at the City of Espoo Education Department, says that pupils who do not get into a specialised school of their choice are allocated a space in a school near their homes. He adds that it is most important for a pupil to be able to continue studying the same first foreign language that he or she chose at the lower level.
In Vantaa, most children go to their nearest schools, although some opt for a school specialised in English, or in Montessori teaching.
"We tell the parents by the end of March where a child that is starting school in the autumn has a reservation. After that, the parents can apply for a slot in another school if they are not happy with the decision", says Tina Hirvonen, head of comprehensive schools for the City of Vantaa.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 9.2.2006 - TODAY |
 One in five pupils attend school outside immediate neighbourhood in Helsinki
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