Turun normaalikoulu (Norssi) is the teacher training school of the Faculty of Education of the University of Turku (Turun yliopisto): prospective teachers do their teaching practice here alongside the pupils. The school is in a residential area about 3 miles from the centre of Turku. It has about 930 students: 640 in perusopetus (grades 1-9) and 290 in upper secondary; there are about 100 teachers and on average 250 teacher trainees. The school's predecessor, Käkisalmen yhteiskoulu, was founded in 1892 in Käkisalmi; after the war the state moved the school to Turku. In 2017 the school returned to its fully renovated building. The school calls itself the most international school in Finland, with more than 40 nationalities; it has been a UNESCO school since 1999. Language of instruction: perusopetus and the Finnish upper secondary school teach in Finnish, and in the bilingual classes at least 25% of teaching is in English; the IB line, running since 1991, teaches in English from the preparatory year.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · National programme
Languages of instruction
Finnish, English
Languages taught
Swedish, German, French, Spanish
Class size
No more than 20 pupils in grade 1.
About the fees A state school maintained by the University of Turku. The school writes that 'Kaikki oppimateriaalit ovat maksuttomia' (all learning materials are free), coursebooks, a graphic calculator and a computer are lent by the school, and 'IB -loppututkinto on maksuton' (the IB final examination is free). Under the admission policy for the pre-DP year in 2027-2028, non-EU/EEA citizens pay a tuition fee of 12800 euros per year. The school names no fee for other students.
Admissions Grade 1: families apply through the school's form, and Turku pupils also file a compulsory education notification in Wilma; each class takes no more than 20 pupils, with sibling priority and then a lottery if there are more applicants. The bilingual English class admits by a test. Grade 7 admits by the chosen line, the science line taking into account grades in environmental studies and mathematics; the bilingual grade 7 has a written and oral English exam and an interview. Finnish upper secondary school: spring joint application (yhteishaku) by the grade average of theoretical subjects in the peruskoulu final report, intake 52 students. IB line: also through yhteishaku, intake 30 students to the preparatory year by the weighted grade average (mathematics, Finnish and English weighted 2); direct entry to the first Diploma year is also possible. 'Applicants with an equivalent certificate completed abroad with good academic skills in English' apply through yhteishaku as discretionary applicants: the final report (50%) and an entrance exam (50%) with two English parts and one mathematics part without a calculator. The school accepts foreign students: 'According to the Finnish legislation, all non-ETA/non-EU citizens, must pay tuition fees' in upper secondary education; international applicants are advised by the school's partner Sumino. The school states no Finnish language requirement.
Stages and year groups Grades perusopetus 1-9; lukio 1-3; IB: pre-DP, DP1-DP2. Perusopetus, grades 1-9: grade 1 has three lines - a STEAM-based science class (1A), media and arts (1B, up to grade 6) and a bilingual English class (1C); grades 7-9 have science, bilingual and general options. Finnish upper secondary school (lukio), three years on the national curriculum with the ylioppilastutkinto examination; there is an entrepreneurship module Yrittäjyys-Norssi and a science path LUMATE. The IB line runs alongside the Finnish upper secondary school: a preparatory year (pre-DP) on a modified Finnish curriculum taught in English, 25-30 courses, followed by the two-year IB Diploma Programme; students of other lines can take individual Diploma subjects. Diploma subjects: group 1 Finnish A, English A, Swedish A and a self-taught language A; group 2 English B, Finnish B, French ab initio, German ab initio, Spanish ab initio; group 3 Business Management, History, Psychology; group 4 Biology, Chemistry, Physics; group 5 Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches and Applications and Interpretation. The school writes: 'In Finland the IB Diploma is considered equivalent to the Finnish matriculation examination.' No other IB programmes (PYP, MYP, CP) appear on the website, and the school names no pre-school class.
Address Annikanpolku 9, 20610 Turku
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Diploma Programme at the school; it runs in the upper secondary school as a separate English-language line alongside the Finnish programme and the ylioppilastutkinto matriculation exam. It is the teacher-training school of the University of Turku, with grades 1-9 and an upper secondary school.
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 Oxford · University of Cambridge · London School of Economics (LSE) · Imperial College London · Karolinska Institutet
The school writes: 'Around 95% of the IB Diploma graduates enter universities in Finland, Britain, other European countries', and the most successful gain admission to prestigious European and North American universities. Named universities include Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Imperial College and Karolinska Institutet.
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
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: A fully renovated building at Annikanpolku 9, to which the school returned in 2017 after a year and a half in temporary premises. An auditorium for assemblies and IB mock exams, an upper secondary lobby and a Sodexo canteen. IB students borrow coursebooks, graphic calculators and computers from the school.
Clubs and activities: Ohjelmointikerho (programming) · Journalismikerho (journalism) · Opiskelijakunta (student council) · Green Work Hubs (international project)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
✓Number of teachers100
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: The school's teachers also train prospective teachers of the Faculty of Education of the University of Turku.
About 100 teachers, who also mentor on average 250 teacher trainees. Separate guidance counsellors for the Finnish upper secondary school and for the IB.
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 policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The nurse is at the school every day and gives health check-ups to first-year upper secondary students, together with the school doctor in the second year. There is a school social worker, a psychologist, guidance counsellors and a special education teacher who screens first-year students for dyslexia. The student welfare group includes the principal, a counsellor, the nurse, the special education teacher, the social worker and the psychologist. The school writes: 'Our learning environments are safe, inclusive and support well-being.' There are school rules; treatment of injuries during the school day is free.
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 data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data70 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
Turku, Finland · est. 1892 · State