A City of Espoo Swedish-language upper secondary school in Mattby (Matinkylä), founded in 1957; "Mattlidens gymnasium är det största finlandssvenska gymnasiet i Finland och det enda svenskspråkiga gymnasiet i Esbo." In 1990 it was among the first schools in Finland authorised to offer the IB Diploma Programme and calls itself "the only Swedish language IB DP school in the capital region". Two lines: the Swedish-language line towards the Finnish ylioppilastutkinto (studentexamen) and the English-language IB line; a sports line for young athletes started in autumn 2026. In 2025-2026 there were about 760 students, about 150 of them in the IB line. It is the only Swedish-language school in Finland offering the German DSD I and DSD II exams, "Proven är kostnadsfria för våra studerande"; DELF French is also available. School values: empathy, curiosity, togetherness and integrity. Language of instruction stated by the school: the gymnasium line in Swedish, the IB line in English.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Swedish, English
Languages taught
Finnish, German, French, Spanish, Chinese
About the fees Tuition is free: "There are no tuition fees." Students accepted to the preDP from August 2020 onwards coming directly from comprehensive school "are eligible for free education." DSD exams are free for students. The school's pages do not mention fees for third-country citizens from 2026.
Admissions Admission through the joint application (Studieinfo/Opintopolku): in spring 2026, 175 places in the general line, 50 in the IB line and 25 in the sports line. IB applicants apply for the preDP year; "The admission points are based on the weighted GPA (academic subjects only)" (maximum 10), English and Maths count twice; there is no entrance test, except that the school may test late applicants in Maths and English. "All those who have completed comprehensive school (or the equivalent) are eligible to apply to the preDP year"; "a maximum of 8 applicants can be accepted from outside the Finnish comprehensive school system", who apply as education completed abroad with the latest school report, the Candidate Application Form and the School's Appraisal form. The school admits foreigners: a guardian in Espoo is not mandatory, "We highly recommend this"; there is no boarding, "Students are responsible for their own living arrangements." DP1 entry only if places are available.
Stages and year groups Grades three upper secondary years: Swedish-language line towards the studentexamen, sports line; IB line: preDP (grade 10) and IB Diploma Programme (DP1-DP2, grades 11-12). The Swedish-language gymnasium line follows the national curriculum and ends with the Finnish ylioppilastutkinto (studentexamen); since autumn 2026 there is a separate sports line. In parallel the English-language IB line: the preparatory preDP year, then the two-year IB Diploma Programme with six subjects, CAS, the Extended Essay and TOK; since 2001 a double intake, about 50 students a year. No other IB programmes (PYP, MYP, CP) appear on the website.
Address Matinsyrjä 1, 02230 Espoo
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmePASCH · takes part in the programmeThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school; it runs as a separate English-language line with a preparatory year alongside the Swedish-language upper secondary programme and the ylioppilastutkinto matriculation exam. The school is listed in the PASCH network as a school offering the German language diploma DSD.
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 →PASCHSchools: Partners for the Future, an initiative of the German foreign ministry
More than two thousand schools in about 120 countries. A school cannot apply for itself: participants are chosen by German agencies in agreement with the embassy. Very different schools sit under one mark - full German schools abroad, and ordinary national schools that simply teach German well.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to a German support programme. By itself the mark means neither a German curriculum nor the right to award a German certificate: of the two thousand PASCH schools, about seventeen hundred hold no such right. Look for a ZfA status next to it - that is the one that is about this. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
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
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
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school is in a school centre in Mattby (Matinkylä), near the Iso Omena metro station: its own classrooms and study spaces, renovated areas, science laboratories, a quiet reading room and a group work room, meeting rooms, a student lounge, a gym that students may use during the school day, table tennis in the courtyard. The dining hall with daily morning porridge, the auditorium and the sports halls are shared with the comprehensive school; the Iso Omena library is within walking distance.
Clubs and activities: Student Council, StuKå · Model United Nations · Model European Parliament · Mattnatten (school night with a talent show)
Teaching staff
The school publishes neither the number of its teachers nor their 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
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
There is a curator, a school nurse and a school psychologist, four student counsellors and special education teachers. "Everyone should be able to feel safe at school and not be at risk of personal attacks"; the school intervenes immediately when inappropriate behaviour occurs in class and elsewhere and has clear action models; respect and equality are discussed every school year.
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 data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data70 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 data70 "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
Espoo, Finland · est. 1957 · State