School enrolment

In Turku, each pupil of compulsory education age has a place in their local school. The local school of a pupil in Finnish-speaking basic education in the City of Turku (grades 1–9) is based on the designated student areas. The principal decides on the placement of the pupil within the student area.

The school is not necessarily the school closest to home. In other words, the local school and the nearest school can be different. However, school commutes must be as safe and short as possible, taking into account the place of residence, location of school and transport connections. 

Student areas 

You can find the student areas in your residential area on the student area map. Each student area has 1–3 schools, one of which is your child's local school.  

For specialised schools and classes, the student area is the entire city.

Some schools operate in several locations. In these cases, the principal is also responsible for the placement of pupils.  

• Finnish-speaking schools
• Swedish-speaking schools

If you want to apply for a school place for your child in a school other than the one assigned to your child, submit your application through Wilma between March 31–April 14, 2026.  

Your child may receive a place in another school if there is enough room. The admission decision is made by the The regional principal of the receiving school. The decision on places in schools other than your local school will be published on Wilma by April 30, 2026.

If you apply for a school place for your child in a school other than the local school assigned to them, school travel costs will not be reimbursed. 

Applying for language classes

If you want to apply for a place in a class specialised in language teaching, submit the application through Wilma by 17 December 2025. 

Basic education in Turku offers language classes in Swedish, French, English and German. A pupil can only apply to one school that provides special classes. A pupil who has accepted a special class place can no longer apply to another special class, except for new special classes starting in grade 7.

The decision on language class places is sent on 31 March 2026. If the child does not receive a language class place in the school they applied to, they will be assigned to a school in their local student area.

Briefings on language classes will be organised at schools in November and December.  

Read about language classes in Turku. Here you can find the schedules and additional information for briefings about language classes. 

Applying to Turku International School

You can also apply for a place for your child in Turku International School. You can apply to Turku International School by filling out a separate online application form: Application form Turku International School (TIS).

Applying to Turku Teacher Training School and Turku Steiner School

You can also apply for a place for your child in Turku Teacher Training School or Turku Steiner School or register them to the city's Swedish-language basic education. Applications must be submitted through Wilma by 17 December 2025.  

• Read more about applying to Turun Normaalikoulu on the website of  Turun Normaalikoulu. (In Finnish)
• Read more about applying to the Turun Steiner-koulu on the website of Turku Steiner-koulu. (In Finnish)

The city’s Swedish-speaking basic education has one joint admission area.  

Guardians can register their child to the Swedish-speaking school of their choice. Enrol in the school electronically on Wilma by 17 December 2025. Select Swedish as a language in Wilma, if you are registering to the Swedish-speaking school.

If the number of applicants exceeds the number of places for first graders, the admission criteria shall be applied in the following order:

1. Health-related reason or need for support
2. Accessibility of the school. School routes are based on the Föli journey planner: primarily on the basis of a safe walking route and, secondarily, on public transport connections.  
3. Siblings in the same school
4. Draw 

Pupils in grades 1–2 and pupils in basic education who have a decision on special support can participate in the paid morning and afternoon activities of basic education organised by the City of Turku.

Applications for the activities are primarily submitted between March 31–April 14, 2026. The application is for the entire school year.  

Places in morning and afternoon activities are announced in Wilma by 31 May 2026. Read more about Morning and afternoon activities. 

As a rule, your child will continue in the same secondary school as the primary school. If your child has attended primary school in a school other than the one in his/her admission area and lives in Turku, his/her local school from grade 7 onwards will automatically be determined by the new admission area. No separate decision or notification is required.

Your child has the right to apply to a secondary school other than the one designated on the basis of their primary school. The school may be located in a different area than your local school. Fill in the application to another school on Wilma.

The City of Turku informs guardians of the transition to grade 7 in November. Each lower secondary school holds a briefing at the end of the year. Decisions on school places are published to guardians on Wilma.

If you do not have access to the City of Turku’s Wilma

Your family does not have access to Wilma in the City of Turku programme if your child does not attend school in the City of Turku. In this case, contact the lower secondary school to which your child is applying. Submit a paper application to the principal of your preferred lower secondary school during the application period. 

You can apply for a school place for your child in a comprehensive school in Turku even if they live outside Turku.  

In this case, submit an application for the right to attend school in Turku.

You can get permission for your child to attend school in Turku for grades 1–6 or 7–9. In schools where the primary and lower secondary school are in the same building, your child can get permission to attend for all 9 grades. Getting permission depends, among other things, on whether there are free places in your preferred school.

You do not need to apply separately to enrol your child in basic education in Swedish. The City of Turku has an agreement with neighbouring municipalities on providing basic education in Swedish. 

Applications for school transport are made to your home municipality. 

Student admission is based on the following criteria, respectively:

1. All pupils living in the school's admission area.
2. Sibling basis (The pupil has a sibling who lives at the same address and attends the same school in grades 1-5.)
3. Travel distance

The sibling basis is only applied when the guardian separately requests it when registering or applying to a school. 

The admission decision is made until the end of the sixth grade in primary schools and until the end of the ninth grade in secondary schools. In comprehensive schools, the admission decision is made separately for grades 1-6 and 7-9.  

Regional principals make the decisions on the allocation of pupil admissions to schools in their area. The principals of the schools will later decide on the organisation of teaching in the different school buildings.

The sibling basis shall not apply if the sibling is

• In the top grade of the school in question (grades 6-9)
•  admitted for weighted-curriculum education, secondary school, preparatory education or specialised classes.
•  In specialised education. 
   

Your child may receive a place in another school if there is enough room. 

Read about the admission criteria for basic education in Turku