Upper Secondary School Education (Lukio)
There are two upper secondary schools in Sipoo: Sipoon lukio provides education in Finnish, and Sibbo gymnasium in Swedish.
Students graduating from upper secondary schools are eligible to apply for further studies in universities, universities of applied sciences, and in vocational education based on the lukio syllabus. The general upper secondary school syllabus takes three years to complete. It is also possible to graduate sooner, or to use a maximum of four years to complete the studies. Studies in the Finnish lukio end at a matriculation examination.
In a modular upper secondary school, the studies progress independently of definite class years. The school year is divided into study units. One unit usually lasts for 1.5 months and includes studies in 5–6 different teaching subjects. Courses in one teaching subject last for 38 hours in general. It is common that the same teaching subject is taught in several study units.
Upper secondary school education aims at giving the students a broader, comprehensive general knowledge. The goal is to encourage the students to critical, individual thinking and responsibility. Students attending upper secondary schools will increase their essential knowledge and skills of people, cultures, nature and the society. Upper secondary education will train the students in understanding the complex mutual dependencies in life and the world. They will also learn to analyze wide-ranging phenomena.
The goals and objectives of upper secondary education are defined by the Finnish General Upper Secondary Schools Act and Decree, respectively, the Government Decree on the General Objectives for General Upper Secondary Education and Lesson Hour Distribution, and the core curriculum for general upper secondary schools, published by the Finnish National Agency for Education in 2015. The national core curriculum and its goals are defined more closely in the local syllabus for upper secondary education. In Sipoo, the syllabus is defined for Finnish and Swedish educational establishments separately.
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Applications to upper secondary schools are filed online at the Studyinfo.fi website.
Basic information and legislation
General upper secondary education provides you with the necessary skills for studying at a university or university of applied sciences. At the end of your general upper secondary education, you will complete a matriculation examination that will make you eligible for a place of study at a higher education institution.
You can apply for a study place at the educational institution of your choice. The provider of the education decides whom it will admit to its institution.
The target completion time for a general upper secondary school syllabus is three years. Every syllabus and the studies included in them are measured in credits. The general upper secondary school syllabus for young students consists of 150 credits. The studies included in the syllabus for young students have been designed with full-time study in mind. A separate syllabus is also available to adults who wish to participate in general upper secondary education.