Enrolling to local school
You can enrol online or by visiting the school.
You can enrol your child at school electronically through the Asti online service(Link leads to external service) . Asti will guide you through every step of the enrolment process. Also find step-by-step instructions to enrol below:
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Go to Asti
Go to the Asti front page at asti.hel.fi(Link leads to external service) (links leads to external service)
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Select the preferred language from the upper right corner of the website.
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Log in
Click on the 'Log in' button
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Follow the elctronic authentication procedure
When logging in to the Asti service for the first time, please accept the processing of personal data.
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Choose basic education in Finnish or basic education in Swedish
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Basic education in Finnish
- Select your preferred A1 language at your local school. Select your choice even if you are applying for other than your local school (in case you don’t get a place in your preferred school).
- You can apply for weighted-curriculum, fully English-language or bilingual education. You can also apply to a school other than the local school due to the pupil's A1 language choice or other reasons.
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Basic education in Swedish
- Choose the pupil’s Finnish language skill level and continue forward
- Declare if you are applying for a school other than your local.
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If necessary, ensure all guardians have given their consent
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Tell us if the pupil needs support for learning
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Preview the application and make sure that the information given is accurate. Click the ‘Submit’ button to send the application.
You can enrol to school by visiting your local school on Wednesday 21 January 2026 at 8.00–10.00 am. Note that even if you visit the school in the enrolment day, you need to enrol electronically via the Asti online service. School will help you with the process. Remember to bring the compulsory education note and identification such as your Finnish online banking credentials for the e-identification process.
If you have already enrolled the child to school electronically on Asti, you do not need to visit the school.
You cannot enrol to a local school via the Asti online service if:
- the child lives outside Helsinki
- the child moves to Helsinki or within Helsinki after December 2025
- the child was not born in 2019
- the child or guardian has a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons.
In this case, you can enrol via a separate online form or by visiting the school on Wednesday 21 January at 8.00–10.00 am. Link to the electronic enrolment form.(Link leads to external service)
If you move within Helsinki just before or during the enrolment period, the new local school will not be updated in Asti on time. If you wish to enrol to the local school, you can visit the school 21 January between 8 and 10 am or register using
the electronic enrolment form(Link leads to external service)
. For the other enrolment options, apply via the Asti online service.
If you move or are moving to Helsinki after early December, you can register using a separate online form. Applicants living outside Helsinki should also use
the electronic enrolment form(Link leads to external service)
. However, priority will be given to applicants living in Helsinki.
If you move later in the spring or summer, please contact your local school principal.
Applying for weighted-curriculum, English-language and bilingual education
You can apply for a place for your child who is starting school in weighted-curriculum, English-language or bilingual education. These options are available for first-graders at certain Finnish-language schools. The is an aptitude test for weighted-curriculum education, and a language test for English-language education. There is no language test for first-graders' bilingual education in any language or school in 2025.
Helsinki-based children starting first grade can apply for these options using the Asti online service(Link leads to external service) . If you are unable to use Asti, please use the separate electronic application form(Link leads to external service) .
Important dates
Find the important dates for comprehensive school enrolment for pupils born in 2019 below.
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November 2025
We will post the Tervetuloa kouluun ('Welcome to School') guide at the beginning of November to children born in 2019. Version in English will become available as an online pdf version.
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17 November 2025 –
Schools may hold information events. School-specific times will be published on each school's own website in autumn.
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12-25 January 2026
Online school enrolment takes place at asti.hel.fi. In addition to enrolling to your local school, you can apply for weighted-curriculum and bilingual education, as well as to a school other than the local school. If your child is about to start school in 2026, we will notify you with a compulsory education note that will be posted to the child’s home address in 7 January 2026.
If the child does not enrol in education provided in a local school organised by the city (for example is enrolling to a private school or home-schooling), let us know via the Asti online service. It is important to report this information because the city monitors compulsory education attendance.
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21 January at 8–10 am
You can also enrol by visiting the school on Wednesday 21 January at 8–10 am. Bring the compulsory education note with you. If you have enrolled electronically on Asti, you do not have to visit the school.
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25 January 2026
If you wish to enrol the child to a school other than the local school according to the child's home address, make sure you have all guardians' consent. Consents must be given by 25 January 2026.
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26 January 2026 -
If you move to Helsinki after the enrolment period has ended, please contact the principal at your local school. Check your local school with your home address at hel.fi/servicemap.
If you move to Helsinki after the enrolment has ended and want to apply for a place in English-language or bilingual education, apply for any available places in the supplementary application round starting in May. Information about the supplementary application round will be available on the schools' websites between April and May. You may not apply in this application round if you have been living in Helsinki during the actual school enrolment period in January.
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6 March 2026
The decisions of those who have been granted a place at a local school or in Swedish-language immersion will be sent on 6 March 2026. The decisions of those who have applied for other options will be posted from the schools on 6 March 2026. No information will be given by telephone about posted decisions.
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March– April 2026
Application period for after-school activities (exact dates coming soon). The decisions for after-school activities will be posted at home by July.
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29 March 2026
The period of providing additional information related to the child's instruction in school on Asti ends.
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Spring 2026
School organise introduction sessions for incoming first-graders. For more information, please visit the schools and their websites.
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August 2026
The first day of the school year will be published later this year. Here you can find the term dates and holidays for the school year.
Wilma – contact between home and school
The Wilma system provides you with information on your child's education and arrangements in school. You can contact teachers and the principal directly through Wilma.
Morning and after-school activities
We offer many types of voluntary guided activities to pupils in our primary schools both before and after the school day. They offer children meaningful activities in a safe environment.
Starting school a year later or a year earlier
A guardian may apply for their child to start school either later or earlier well in advance before the child is supposed to start school.
Extended compulsory education
A child is entitled to extended compulsory education if they will not be able to achieve the prescribed goals of education in nine years because of a severe disability or illness.
