Overview:
We promise our international students that we will welcome you with an open heart and open arms and will do our best to make sure that you will have a wonderful time here. Welcome!
Kristinestad Swedish-speaking High school provides you with:
– Good study results and professional teachers.
– Individual and flexible solutions for the students.
– Extensive selection of studies.
– Safe, familiar and inclusive learning environment.
– Cooperation and networks with other high schools and universities/universities of applied sciences.
Study Line:
We provide the general study line, with the following special studies:
Physical education/Sports – you can during every year of study take extra studies in physical education. This study program is a unique cooperation project between our school and the Finnish high school in the city. This means that students from both these schools can participate in these studies. You can take at most 10 courses in physical education during your study time.
Music – if you are interested in music you have an opportunity to enlarge your knowledge in song and instruments or music production and sound technology. The music study program is organized in cooperation with the folk high school Lappfjärds Folkhögskola which has educated many skillful and competent musicians over the years. Our students have access to a high technology music studio in word class. You can take at most 10 courses in music during your study time.
Economy and entrepreneurship – if you would like to start an own company and become an entrepreneur this study program is perfect for you! Kristinestad is a pioneer in renewable energy and one of the largest wind power producers in Finland. There are also advanced plans for a hydrogen gas/methane gas factory. In our study program in economy and entrepreneurship you can enlarge your knowledge in the future branches and technology. You will learn about circular economy, marketing and communication and entrepreneurship. In this study program we implement projects in which the students can make contacts and networks to the business world. You can take at most 3 courses in economy and entrepreneurship during your study time. However, we constantly develop this study program and hope that we can offer more courses in the near future (e.g. concerning video game development and renewable energy).
Internationalism and multilingualism – this study program is a multidisciplinary entity with separate courses in history, English, French and German. Many of the courses in this study program include interesting study excursions abroad. Our students have had the opportunity to visit e.g. USA, Great Britain, Iceland, Portugal, Israel, Bosnia, Croatia and Germany. You can take 16 courses in internationalism and multilingualism during your study time.
Our students typically continue to Åbo Akademi University after high school. Our students can complete courses in many different universities and university colleges during their studies in our high school.
Entry requirements:
Motivation Video: You can start sending motivation videos by 13.3.2023. In the video you can use English or Swedish language, approx. 5-10 minutes. Tell us about: what the major motivators are to study at Kristinestads gymnasium, where do you see yourself in 5-10 years, how will you ensure that your Swedish knowledge is good enough when the school starts in August, etc. Send a video link to e-mail: peter.grannas@krs.fi. Deadline for videos is 21.3.2023.
Lower Secondary school certificate(ages 13-16) : please send your lower secondary school certificate to e-mail: peter.grannas@krs.fi. Deadline for the school certificate is 21.3.2023.
Entrance Interview: at most 20 candidates will be invited for an interview and the candidates will be selected based on motivation videos and the lower secondary school certificate. The interviews will be held in English. We send an interview invitation earliest 13.3.2023 to your e-mail. The interviews will be held 15-24.3.2023.
No GPA requirement
We send preliminary information to selected students earliest 27.3.2023.
The town of Kristinestad
The best decision of my life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ec9CKDCp4
The school is located in the middle of the city on the highest point from where you can see the entire city centre. Most of the service you need is within walking distance from the school. The bus station, restaurants, shops and gym are only a 500 metres walk from the school. There are two beautiful parks 300 metres from the school, and a sports area and a public swimming pool, athletics area, tennis courts, football fields and a sports hall 500 metres from the school. The school health care is available on the school two days a week, and the health care centre is located in about 2,4 kilometres distance from the school. The school building itself is a historic and beautiful building, it was built in 1925 and it is considered one of the most beautiful school buildings in Finland. The city is surrounded by the sea which offers good recreational opportunities. In the city centre there are two beaches, and the sea gives us an opportunity to many various water sports like kayak paddling, SUP, jet skiing and fishing. The actual city centre, which is connected to the mainland with the longest stone bridge in the Nordic countries, has a traditional marketplace where there has been market trade for almost 400 years.
https://www.visitkristinestad.fi/english/
https://www.businesskrs.fi/en/live-and-work-in-kristinestad
Distance to larger cities:
98 km to Pori (1 hour)
102 km to Vaasa (1 hour)
178 km to Tampere (2,5 hours)
343 km to Helsinki (4 hours)
Weather and seasons:
In Kristinestad you can enjoy the four seasons. There is often plenty of snow in winter, but the weather is not too cold. The day temperature is usually between -2 and -10 °C in winter. Winter turns to spring quite fast because Kristinestad is situated by the sea. The snow usually begins to melt in March when we also get to enjoy the bright spring sun. During the spring months March, April and May the temperature is between 0 and +15 °C. June, July and August are considered as summer months. Then the temperature is at highest and we can enjoy many beautiful and sunny days. It is not a coincidence that a renewable energy park with solar panels is being planned here in our city, because the west coast has most sunny days in Finland. The sea breeze also feels nice during the hottest time in summer. During the autumn months September, October and November when the summer heat has turned to autumn humidity we can enjoy the beautiful colours of the nature. Tree leaves becomes yellow and red, and the sunshine makes the colours sparkle even more. The autumn forest offers many delicacies like mushrooms and berries – easy to pick for everyone. From autumn to spring we can also admire another spectacle, that is the Northern lights in the sky. Kristinestad is located so far north on the globe that you can see the Northern lights now and then. During the autumn months the temperature is about between +10 and 0 °C.
Expenses
Studying in Finland is free of charge.
Free: tuition, laptop, lunch, learning materials, textbooks, e-learning environment (Itslearning, Microsoft Teams and Google classroom), student healthcare.
Accommodation
The school has no own accomodation. The students are required to search for an accomodation on their own. The standard of the accommodation in Kristinestad is good with a cost of approximately 300−400 euro per month for accommodation with an own bedroom in a shared appartment.
Most of the accommodations are located in the center of the city and the distance to stores, the school and hospital is mainly shorter than one kilometer.
