Turku International School (TIS) moved to new premises in Kupittaa at the beginning of the year. The modern spaces meet Turku’s growing needs to provide high quality education in English.
TIS’s basic education has started the spring term at Lemminkäisenkatu 30 (visiting address Untamonkatu 2). The premises, located in Kupittaa, offer the pupils and personnel up-to-date learning environments that support varied and innovative education.
The new spaces in the school building include a gymnastics hall, a music hall, a visual arts hall, a domestic science hall, a handcrafts hall, and spaces for natural science education as well as a service kitchen with spaces for dining. The spaces have also gotten a six-piece art installation called International Squirrels by artist Kati Immonen. The basis for the art installation are squirrels from different continents.
– The move to Kupittaa is a big opportunity and a significant step in the school’s development. The spaces support our school’s vision to provide high quality education and to create an environment, where every pupil can grow and learn in an international community, Principal Elli Sainio rejoices.
TIS offers education in English for grades 1–9 in basic education.
There is a large need for basic education in English, because Turku has a continuous flow of families from abroad. Basic education in English supports not only families with an immigrant background, but also the Finnish returnee families, whose children have attended international schools abroad.
Currently, 38 different mother tongues are spoken in TIS, and a fifth of the pupils are Finnish.
Turku is a pioneer in English-language education
The premises have been specifically designed to meet the requirements of TIS, and they enable a sense of community, safety, and the joy of learning better than ever before.
– Kupittaa is Turku’s prominent innovation and education hub, where several educational institutions, businesses, and research organisations are located. The placing of TIS in this area strengthens Turku’s position as the pioneer in English-language education in Finland, Sainio says.
The basic education at TIS, which was founded in 2003, currently has about 250 pupils. The new premises has space for 450 pupils.
– The number of pupils has grown steadily, and the move to new premises enable not only better learning environments, but also the expansion of our operations. Sometime later on, there will be a need to expand the upper secondary school and vocational school education in Turku, Director of the Basic Education Service Area Krista Lahtinen states.
The responsibility of arranging the basic education at Turku International School changed from the University of Turku to the City of Turku in August 2025. The facility is owned by the social infrastructure real estate investor Hemsö, from who the City rents the spaces.
Photo: Hemsö / Kuvatoimisto Kuvio