Outdoor LABS

Finland

The Labs are primary and secondary schools in Hungary, Spain, Finland and Ireland that agreed to test the OTTER Education Outside the Classroom methodology. Each Lab will keep track of the outcomes and take note of the results.

School name: The Finnish International School of Tampere (FISTA)

Students age: Lower Secondary School
Location: Tampere

Description: The Finnish International School of Tampere (FISTA) is a comprehensive school providing preschool and basic education for grades 1-9. It currently has around 1000 students enrolled and 110 staff members and is located in central Tampere. The main language of tuition is English.

School name: Atala school
Students age: Primary School
Location: Tampere

Description: Atala School is a primary school for about 400 students (grades 1-6 and pre-primary classes) in Tampere, Finland's third largest city. It is located in a suburb surrounded by forests and nature reserve

The Finnish education system

In Finland, comprehensive basic education lasts 9 years. Children start school at the age of 7 and the first 6 years they are taught most of their subjects by one teacher. During grades 7-9 (age 12-15 years), students start learning with different teachers for different subjects. In total, there are more than 20 subjects. The Finnish educational system doesn't have any mandatory, high-stake national tests and the latest curriculum puts a strong emphasis on transversal skills and teaching multi-disciplinary learning modules.