The responsibility for comprehensive school teaching at Turku International School will be transferred from the University of Turku to the City of Turku at the beginning of August.
Turku International School is formally one of the schools run by the City of Turku. The city has purchased the school's teaching and other school-related services from the University of Turku. The school's English-language teaching has been provided by Turku Teacher Training School (Turun normaalikoulu) of the University of Turku.
The operations and teaching responsibility of the comprehensive school at Turku International School will be transferred from the University of Turku to the City of Turku from 1 August. The University of Turku is transferring 11 employees to the basic education service area of the City of Turku.
“Turku International School has played an important role in the activities of the multicultural Teacher Training School. Therefore, transferring the responsibility for the school to the city and moving it away from Varissuo will be a great change for the Teacher Training School, its students, teachers, teacher trainees, and the whole Varissuo area. On the other hand, the upcoming change will allow the International School to increase its capacity to meet the growing demand for student places,” says Vesa Valkila, Rector of Turku Teacher Training School.
“The change is not only significant, but also phased in over the period 2025–2026. Formally, the responsibility for the school will be transferred to the city in August, but it is unlikely that there will be major changes in everyday life immediately. A more significant change will take place in January 2026, when the school moves to the Kupittaa area. After that, it will be possible to increase the size of the comprehensive school. When this happens, there will inevitably be a need to increase English-language upper secondary and vocational education in Turku,” says Timo Jalonen, Director of the Education Division in the City of Turku.
The transfer of the operation has no impact on the International Baccalaureate (IB) line at the upper secondary school of Turku Teacher Training School.
Turku International School, which started operating in 2003, has had 220–250 pupils in recent years.
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> City of Turku Discontinued Agreement with University of Turku on Providing Teaching for International School (News release 26 June 2023)