Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu

Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu (SYK for short) is an independent grade 3-12 coeducational day school located in Helsinki. The school was founded in 1886; and our IB programme was started in 1990. For 30 years, SYK has successfully offered the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. SYK IB students achieve outstanding results. The average score of our graduates from the past 10 graduating classess is 37/45, which places us among the top IB schools in the world. The worldwide average is at around 29 or 30 points. SYK offers both the IB diploma and the Finnish national matriculation exam. Both students attending the national section and those attending the IB section undergo a selection process. Our school receives most of its funding through the government. Students attend at no cost. Of the IB graduates virtually everyone plans to pursue studies at university level. SYK IB graduates have continued their academic studies at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. SYK is a school with an illustrious past, with many graduates who have gone on to become political, cultural, and industrial leaders within Finnish society and beyond. SYK's modern facilities include an auditorium, art and music rooms, state-of-the-art language and computer laboratories, laptop carts, physics, chemistry, and biology labs and a well-stocked library. The school also has a separate sports building, and SYK students have a chance to use a well-equipped gym and a full size swimming pool. Today's SYK is more than our illustrious alumni, more than our facilities. Our Mission takes its inspiration from the IBO (The International Baccalaureate Organization) that declares its goal to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.