Vantaan ammattiopisto Varia (Vantaa Vocational College Varia) is the City of Vantaa's vocational college and one of the largest in the capital region: according to its 2023 presentation, about 4500 students a year, about 400 staff and five sites. It teaches young people after basic education as well as adults. Since 2024 Varia has been an authorised IB World School offering one programme, the IB Career-related Programme (IBCP). It is a full-time day programme for students aged 16-19 who have completed basic education and have no vocational qualification yet. Students complete a Finnish vocational qualification in Information and Communications Technology as a Hyvinvointiteknologia-asentaja (Welfare Technology Installer: security systems and assistive technology for the elderly and people with disabilities), 180 competence points, and in parallel the two-year IBCP. The IBCP includes two IB Diploma courses (Digital Society and Language B, English or Finnish), the four-part CP core and the vocational units. In the college's words, students earn two diplomas at once: the Finnish vocational qualification and the IB CP. The language of instruction is stated directly: 'English is the main language of instruction' in the IB part, while 'the teaching of the basic vocational qualification is mainly in Finnish'. The first IB group started in autumn 2024; its IB phase runs from January 2025 to the end of 2026, and vocational studies end in spring 2027.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · CP · National programme
Languages of instruction
English, Finnish
Students
about 4500 students a year across the college; up to 25 are admitted to the IB group
Class size
up to 25 students in the IB group
About the fees 'Toisen asteen opinnot ovat Suomessa pääsääntöisesti maksuttomia' (upper secondary studies in Finland are mostly free); students in compulsory education get learning materials and tools free until the end of the year they turn 20. From 1 August 2026, citizens of countries outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland without a permanent residence permit pay tuition; for 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027 the ICT qualification costs 10000 EUR a year, 11000 EUR a year with the IBCP. The fee does not include free meals, learning materials or a dormitory place. The card shows what a family that moves to Finland and lives here pays: tuition is free; the fee above applies to students who come alone on a student residence permit.
Admissions Admission to the IB line is separate: applications go through Opintopolku in fixed windows; in 2026 the form is open from 27 July to 17 September, and studies start on 5 August 2026. Requirements: completed Finnish comprehensive school or equivalent education abroad, good written and oral English and Finnish at level B1.1, age 16-19, no completed vocational qualification. Applicants take a two-phase exam worth 25 points: a written English test (up to 10 points) and an interview (up to 15 points, English and motivation); applicants whose first language is not Finnish take a Finnish test. Up to 25 top-scoring applicants are admitted. The programme 'admits students regardless of nationality, cultural background and mother tongue'. 'Foreign applicants under 18 years old must have a guardian living in the capital area'; applicants must live in Finland when applying; foreign certificates need certified copies and an official English translation. Non-EU/EEA citizens starting on or after 1 August 2026 pay tuition fees unless exempt (compulsory education, permanent residence permit).
Stages and year groups The college does not teach school grades: this is upper secondary vocational education after grade 9. Programme: Finnish vocational qualification in Information and Communications Technology, Hyvinvointiteknologia-asentaja, 180 competence points, taught mainly in Finnish. Within it, the two-year IB Career-related Programme in English: two IB Diploma courses of 150 hours each (Digital Society and Language B, English or Finnish), the CP core (Personal and Professional Skills, Community Engagement, Reflective Project, Language and Cultural Studies) and vocational units. The IBCP starts one semester after vocational studies begin and ends one semester before they finish; the final units are completed mainly through on-the-job learning. DP courses are graded 1-7, the Reflective Project E to A. The college describes the outcome as two diplomas: the vocational qualification and the IB CP. The college does not offer the Finnish lukio programme or the ylioppilastutkinto.
Address Talvikkitie 119, 01360 Vantaa
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · CP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Career-related Programme at the college, combined with a Finnish vocational qualification for teenagers after comprehensive school. It is a municipal vocational college.
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: CP (ages 16-19, with a vocational slant). CP is the final stage with a vocational slant, ages 16 to 19: some of the DP subjects plus an applied qualification. It is meant for those heading into a trade or an applied degree rather than an academic one.
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 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
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 sizein the key facts above
The programme is run by IB CP Coordinator Riina Pykäri; Community Engagement is coordinated by Karita Kupiainen. A special education teacher supports students in common studies, and some vocational studies have small support groups. The college 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
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The college has nurses (health check in the first year), a doctor (check in the first or second year), school social workers, psychologists (free and confidential), special education teachers and study counsellors. It follows the City of Vantaa's anti-bullying programme and has its own process for bullying and harassment.
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 data60 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "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
Vantaa, Finland · State