← Back to the rankingÉcole française Jules Verne
Helsinki, Finland · est. 1976 · Private
Illustration · Helsinki
École française Jules Verne (Ranskalainen Jules Verne -koulu in Finnish) is a small private French school in central Helsinki: a playschool from age 2 and an elementary school up to CM2, roughly age 10. The school has existed since 1976 and is run by a non-profit parents' association that has signed a management agreement with the AEFE; it calls itself the only school in Finland in the AEFE network. Teaching is led by a Head teacher appointed by the French Ministry of Education. It follows the French national curriculum adapted to Finnish requirements. The school states the language of instruction directly: all subjects except Finnish and English are taught in French. English starts in CP, and from CE2 physical education is also taught in English; Finnish is taught from playschool by a native-speaking teacher. Pupils represent more than 10 nationalities. After CM2, under the school's agreements, pupils join the French section of the European School of Helsinki (S1) without an entrance test, and a few Finnish-speaking pupils join grade 5 of the French-Finnish School of Helsinki.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 530–14 452 a year
4 895–12 792 EUR
Programmes
French programme
Admits from
2 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
French
Languages taught
English, Finnish
Students per teacher
in playschool no more than 21 children for three adults, one adult per seven children over 3
Registration fee
≈ $508
450 EUR
About the fees Fees for the 2026-2027 school year under the school's financial rules: CE1-CM2 445 euro per month for 11 months, 4895 euro per year; PS-GS and CP 1066 euro per month for 12 months, 12792 euro per year; children under 3 years 1539 euro per month. Rates are the same for all families; French citizens may apply for a French state scholarship through the embassy. Families entitled to KELA services receive the private day care allowance for children under 7: according to the school they pay themselves between 550 and 680 euro per month for a day from 8:35 to 15:30 with lunch; for CP the City of Helsinki adds 520 euro per month from August to May. The fees page states 603 euro per month including lunch for ages 7-11.
Admissions The school welcomes all children: French children living in Finland and children from other AEFE schools, Finnish children whose families chose the French system, and children of other nationalities. There is no entrance test for playschool, and before age 6 neither the child nor the family needs to speak French; children can be placed on a waiting list. For elementary school, children from schools in France or the AEFE network enter without a test; children from other systems take a French proficiency test, and admission depends on the result. The school sends the enrolment form on request; the registration fee is due by 15 May.
Stages and year groups Grades TPS, PS, MS, GS, CP, CE1, CE2, CM1, CM2. Playschool (maternelle, cycle 1): TPS at age 2, PS at 3, MS at 4, GS at 5; it is one of Helsinki's private day care centres, and each child has an individual plan (VASU). Elementary school: cycle 2 - CP, CE1, CE2, cycle 3 - CM1, CM2, ages 6-10, French national curriculum. In 2026-2027 the groups are TPS, PS, two mixed MS-GS, CP, CE1/CE2 and CM1/CM2. There is no secondary school and no leaving qualification: the last class is CM2.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
AEFE · accreditationThe Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) lists the school in its register as a partner school under agreement (conventionné). It runs a kindergarten and primary school on the French curriculum.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
AEFEAgency for French Education Abroad
It runs the network of French schools worldwide, while the accreditation itself, the homologation, is granted by the French education ministry and inspected by French state inspectors. A leaver from a homologated school moves into a school in France without an entrance examination. Homologation is granted stage by stage, so it sometimes covers only part of the year groups.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →French programme
The state programme of France. A school is homologated by the French ministry of education, and a leaver may move into a school in France without entrance tests. Homologation is granted stage by stage, so it sometimes covers only part of the year groups.
What this means for this school. Which year groups of this school are covered by homologation - only the primary ones, or all the way to the final year - is not stated here. The difference matters: it decides whether the school takes a child through to the French baccalaureate or hands them on to another school halfway.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school's permanent premises are in the architecturally significant Kaartin Lasaretti buildings near Hietalahti market square; in autumn 2026 it temporarily operates on Eiranranta. Its own library holds about 6000 books in French, Finnish and English, and every class visits once a week; pupils also visit city libraries, including Oodi Central Library. A canteen serves lunches from Sodexo, and the playschool has a dormitory with a bed for every child. Outdoor play and sport take place daily in any weather.
Clubs and activities: Theatre · Yoga · Architecture · Sports · Music · Circus · Arts · Cinema
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: all class teachers are French graduate teachers certified by the French Ministry of Education; assistants are native French speakers
The Head teacher and seven class teachers, with assistants in the playschool groups and CP; Finnish in all classes is taught by a native-speaking teacher and English in CP-CM2 by a separate teacher. All class teachers are certified by the French Ministry of Education and all assistants are native French speakers; teachers take AEFE in-service training.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
✓Access control
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
Parents bring playschool children to their classroom and collect them there; a child may only be picked up by a person on the list given at the start of the year or with a written request from the parents. Teachers accompany elementary pupils to the exit and hand CP pupils over to their parents. The school rules cover hygiene, security and discipline.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country