← Back to the rankingEuropean School of Helsinki
Helsinki, Finland · est. 2008 · State
Illustration · Helsinki
The European School of Helsinki (Helsingin eurooppalainen koulu in Finnish, ESH) is a state school in central Helsinki accredited to the European Schools' network. It is a separate full-day school in its own building on Bulevardi, not a programme within another school: it has a nursery, primary and secondary cycles up to the final year. The school operates under the Finnish Act on European Schooling Helsinki (1463/2007), which entered into force on 1 January 2008; the primary section opened in 2008 with 30 pupils, and the first European Baccalaureate exams took place in 2013. It is managed by a Director and an Administrative Board, and payments go to the Finnish National Agency for Education (Opetushallitus). Teaching follows the European Schools' curriculum in three language sections - English, Finnish and French; the school states the language of instruction directly: main subjects are taught in the language of the section, with some lessons in mixed groups. The second language starts in P1, and from S3 history and geography are taught in the second language; a third language is compulsory from S1 to S5. The final exam is the European Baccalaureate, recognised throughout the EU on a par with national qualifications. The school takes part in the Eco-Schools programme Vihreä lippu and the KiVa Koulu anti-bullying programme.
Key facts
Programmes
European Baccalaureate
Admits from
4 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English, Finnish, French
Languages taught
German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Estonian
Class size
small teaching groups
About the fees The school is a state school. For Category II pupils fees are set by the Ministry of Education: nursery 1234 euro per term, 2468 euro per year; primary 1696 euro per term, 3392 euro per year; secondary 2313 euro per term, 4626 euro per year; the school does not state which year the rates apply to. By the Ministry's decision there are no sibling reductions. The school states no separate fee for Category I. Meals, textbooks, learning materials and after-school activities are charged to all pupils.
Admissions Admission is in two categories: Category I - children of staff of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and other EU institutions, Category II - all others. Applications for the 2026-2027 school year were accepted in January 2026, and entrance tests by invitation took place in early March. A child is enrolled primarily in the section of his or her native or dominant language; if no such section exists, the child must be able to follow teaching in the language of the chosen section, which then becomes the child's second language. Nursery begins in the autumn of the year the child turns 4, primary at age 6; applicants to higher classes need second-language skills at the level of the class. For native languages other than English, Finnish and French the school offers mother tongue teaching under certain conditions. After completing S4, students move to upper secondary leading to the European Baccalaureate without a separate application.
Stages and year groups Grades N1-N2, P1-P5, S1-S7. Nursery - two years, N1-N2, ages 4-6, the European Schools' Early Education Curriculum in three parallel classes (English, French, Finnish). Primary - five years, P1-P5, ages 6-11. Secondary - seven years, S1-S7, ages 11-18, ending with the European Baccalaureate in S7; students take 10 or 11 subjects. The curriculum is that of the European Schools; the religious and health education syllabi are approved by the Finnish National Agency for Education. No Finnish lukio, ylioppilastutkinto or IB.
Address Bulevardi 18, 00120 Helsinki
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
European Schools · authorised programmeThe European Schools system lists it as an Accredited European School: the European Schools curriculum from kindergarten to the final year, with students sitting the European Baccalaureate.
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
European SchoolsThe European Union's European Schools (Schola Europaea)
An intergovernmental system of European Union schools with its own curriculum and its own certificate, the European Baccalaureate. It runs thirteen schools of its own, and national schools gain the status of Accredited European School after an audit with a visit by inspectors. The certificate is recognised for university entry in every EU country.
What the badge means for this school. The school runs the European Schools curriculum, and this can be checked in the system's lists at eursc.eu. The system's own schools are checked by inspectors from EU countries, accredited schools pass an in-school audit, and accreditation is renewed every three years. Whether the school awards the European Baccalaureate, and whom it admits, is stated on its own page. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →European Baccalaureate
The European Union's European Schools curriculum from nursery to the final year, with the European Baccalaureate as the leaving certificate. Teaching is in language sections, and a second language is compulsory from primary school.
What this means for this school. The curriculum and the certificate are set by the European Schools system, whose Board of Governors is made up of the education ministers of the EU countries. European Baccalaureate papers are marked by the teacher and an external examiner, and the certificate is recognised for university entry in every EU country and in several others. A school may award it only if it is one of the system's own schools or is accredited for the senior years.
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 hall
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Art studio
Campus: The school occupies a historic building from 1884-1885 in central Helsinki; its first occupant was a Swedish-speaking school for girls, and it later belonged to the University of Helsinki. The renovation, supervised by the museum authorities, was completed in December 2009. The five-floor building has 45 classrooms, two ICT rooms, three science laboratories, a language laboratory, a music room and an art room, with interactive whiteboards in most classrooms; there is also a canteen, a library, a gym and an assembly hall. Students use laptops and iPads.
Clubs and activities: Arts and Handicraft · Drawing · Painting · Architecture · Theatre · Dance · Basketball · Wushu · Science Club · Baking Club · Chess club · Nature Club · Lego Club · Boardgames · Vihreä lippu (Eco-Schools)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
✓Number of teachers60
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
The contacts page names 60 teachers: 3 nursery teachers, 8 primary class teachers and secondary subject teachers, including mother tongue teachers of Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Romanian, Spanish, Polish, Greek, Czech, Swedish, German, Bulgarian and Lithuanian. According to the school, primary teachers come from around the world. There are two special educational needs teachers (for the English and Finnish sections and for the French section) and a study and exams coordinator.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
·Security staffnot stated on the website
✓Access control
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school is part of the Finnish KiVa Koulu anti-bullying programme. The student welfare team includes a coordinator, a school nurse (annual health assessments, first aid and first aid training), two school psychologists, a school counsellor and special needs teachers. The building has access control and camera surveillance.
Reviews
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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 data85 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median95 "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 7 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