SYK Today
Even today SYK is a highly respected educational institution. It offers education from 3rd to 9th grade as well as the three high school years. The matriculation examination results have been the best in Finland for several years. According to a 2010 survey, compared to most other secondary education institutes, a disproportionate amount of alumni continue with university-level studies, especially in fields such as engineering, economics or legal studies.
SYK is noted for its internationality. It is one of the 15 schools in Finland which offer the IB Diploma Programme in the equivalent of the 11th and 12th grades. After the PISA (2004 and 2005) results came out, Chinese headmasters have been a familiar sight in the corridors. Traditionally, SYK has a big rivalry with another school, Helsingin normaalilyseo, that was originally situated in central Helsinki.
Unlike other schools in Finland, SYK recruits its students from all over the Helsinki capital area. There are only a limited amount of places so second graders have to pass entrance tests to get in. Later, the students are required excellent academic standards to get into the equivalent of year ten.
Read more about this topic: Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu
Famous quotes containing the word today:
“In 1600 the specialization of games and pastimes did not extend beyond infancy; after the age of three or four it decreased and disappeared. From then on the child played the same games as the adult, either with other children or with adults. . . . Conversely, adults used to play games which today only children play.”
—Philippe Ariés (20th century)