Lyseonpuiston lukio is a municipal upper secondary school in central Rovaniemi, founded in 1908; it describes itself as the oldest and largest upper secondary school in Finnish Lapland, with about 700 students. It is a UNESCO school, part of the Green Flag sustainable development programme, a LUMA science development school and an Erasmus+ accredited school. Its values are Lappish and Finnish culture, hard work and good manners. Besides the national programme, the school has a visual arts line and, as a special task, the IB Diploma line. It 'gained official status as one of the schools in Finland offering IB Diploma education' in January 2004; its first IB graduates were 13 young women. The IB line takes three years: a preparatory pre-IB year, then IB1 and IB2 with the IB exams. 'In Finland the IB Diploma is regarded as equivalent to the Finnish Matriculation Examination.' The language of instruction is stated directly: Finnish for the national programme, English for the IB Diploma and the preparatory year.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Finnish, English
Languages taught
Swedish, Spanish
About the fees The school is municipal; it states no tuition fee for residents of Finland. For third-country nationals with a study-based residence permit the school cites the General Upper Secondary Education Act (34 a §), under which an annual tuition fee is charged; the City of Rovaniemi will announce the amount later. Students study on laptops; textbooks are listed for 2023-2024, with no prices given.
Admissions Students from Finnish basic education apply through the national joint application (yhteishaku) on Opintopolku; IB selection is based on the 'Grade point average of the final school report with weightings in English and Finnish languages as well Mathematics', with no cut-off given. The visual arts line has an entrance exam in April. Applicants from outside the Finnish basic school system, including foreigners, can also apply: by 17 March 2026 they send the IB coordinator their school report, passport copies, the guardian's name and a motivation letter in English, sit exams in Mathematics and English on 15 April 2026, and apply on Opintopolku with the school's IB line as first choice. Conditions: 'You must have a guardian living in the Rovaniemi area', and 'an applicant can not be older that 17 years old'. The school notes that under the General Upper Secondary Education Act third-country nationals with a study-based residence permit pay a tuition fee; 'The City of Rovaniemi will announce the amount of the fee at a later date.'
Stages and year groups Upper secondary only (lukio), after grade 9 of basic education. Main line: the Finnish national lukio curriculum in Finnish with the ylioppilastutkinto. Visual arts line: 14 technique courses (painting, video, animation and more) and two art history courses, ending in the national visual arts diploma. IB Diploma Programme since 2004, three years: a preparatory pre-IB year taught in English, then IB1 and IB2, six subjects (three or four at higher level) plus TOK, CAS (150 hours) and the Extended Essay. Subjects for 2026-2027: group 1 - Finnish SL and self-taught mother tongue SL; group 2 - English B, Swedish SL, Spanish ab initio; group 3 - economics, history, psychology; group 4 - biology, chemistry, physics; group 5 - mathematics; group 6 - visual arts SL or a second subject from groups 3 and 4. The school says the IB Diploma 'is recognized by institutions of higher education all over the world' and is equivalent to the matriculation exam in Finland. IB graduates also take part in the ylioppilasjuhla graduation ceremony.
Address Ruokasenkatu 18, 96200 Rovaniemi
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school; it runs as a separate English-language line with a preparatory year alongside the Finnish upper secondary programme and the ylioppilastutkinto matriculation exam.
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
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: DP (ages 16-19). DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Where leavers go: University of South-Eastern Norway (Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge)
The school does not publish a list of universities; its IB site mentions an alumna studying at Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge (University of South-Eastern Norway). The school aims for all students to continue to further studies.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
✓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 building is in central Rovaniemi with good public transport. The ground floor has cafeterias, the main hall, a library for quiet work and classrooms; the second floor has the school office, IB coordinator and counsellor; the third floor a chemistry and physics laboratory; the fourth floor the visual arts room; the basement changing rooms. Students are assigned lockers. Lunch break is 11:00-11:45. The city's adult upper secondary school operates in the same building.
Clubs and activities: Lasten rakettikerho (rocket club for children, run by students) · Kids Science Week · Vihreä lippu (Green Flag environmental programme) · Koulu Afrikkaan (School for Africa project) · Erasmus+ (international projects and trips)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
Head of school Osmo Huhtala, IB Diploma Coordinator Heikki Loukusa, IB guidance counsellor Aino Saukkosaari, special education teacher Kaija Törmänen; there is also a CAS coordinator and home class teachers. The special education teacher runs reading and writing disability tests and a learning-to-learn course. The school does not publish teacher qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
·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
The school nurse does a first check-up and refers students to a doctor or mental health specialist; a school social worker, a special education teacher and a guidance counsellor work at the school. Absences are recorded in Wilma, where guardians of minors can see them.
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%)82 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data70 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 data75 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data73 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
Rovaniemi, Finland · est. 1908 · State