Finnish School of Kingston

Home for the Finnish expat community in the Greater London and beyond.

A warm welcome to Finnish School of Kingston. We are an active hub for the expat Finnish community in Greater London that provide activities in Finnish language for every age group.

We get together approximately every other Saturday morning during school year in Tiffin School in Kingston. Our focus is to immerse our members in Finnish language and culture, support parents in raising bi-lingual children, promote Finnish culture and customs and most importantly provide a Finnish speaking social network for our community.

Get in touch

About us

Finnish School of Kingston caters for all ages, from an active baby group to adult learning and every age group in between. The focus is on learning through play, music and activities that are engaging and enjoyable for our pupils.

Our cafe ran by school parents is one of our main sources of funding. Without the efforts from the parents, our school would not be able to survive. The café is also a highlight for many of the families, with freshly baked goodies and conversations in Finnish. The rest of the funding for the school comes from membership and tuition fees, and grants from Suomi-koulujen Tuki ry and Suomi-Seura.

Finnish School of Kingston has been operating since 1997. Our school is part of a global network of part-time Finnish schools, and we are an independent charitable organisation registered in England and Wales (registration number 1076074). Please get in touch if you’d like to apply for a place in one of our many teaching groups as most age groups have spaces for mid-term admissions. The school is a passion project for all of us volunteers running it, and we want to make sure it’s a welcoming, friendly and fun environment for all children and their families.

Finnish School of Kingston is well connected and a lot of our families come from further afield, such as Surrey, Berkshire and other surrounding counties. So please check what your journey would be like – you might be surprised to see how easy it is to get to. Free parking is available at the school.

Important information

Admissions

Admissions and school fees

Finnish School of Kingston currently has six groups for under 18s, which ensures children can learn in an environment that caters for their age and level of Finnish. We also have a class for children who don’t yet understand Finnish and benefit from teaching in English.

Toddler group Tiuhtiviuhtiset is a club for babies and children under 3 years old. The first half of the session is all about Finnish music and stories whereas the second half is free play. This is a wonderful group where parents get a chance to connect and get to know each other. There is no minimum age for this group, and our youngest participants are only weeks old. You can find the application form here.

Children aged 3 years and over will take part in classes independently. The youngest learn Finnish language and culture through play, music and arts and crafts, whereas more discussions, worksheets and reading are introduced for older children. The group sizes are determined by age, and where possible, by prior knowledge of the Finnish language.

The admission form for 3-18 age groups can be found here.

We also have one group for adult learners. At the moment, this is at an intermediate level so some prior knowledge of Finnish language is required.

The majority of the spaces gets filled up at the start of the autumn and spring terms, but space allowing, we will also accept mid-term entries.

Any membership enquiries and admission forms can be sent to the admissions secretary Anni by email jasensihteeri.fsok@gmail.com

2023-2024 School fees:

The school fees are set by the Board and announced before the beginning of each term. Currently the fees are as follows:
School Association annual Membership fee per family £20; plus the Tuition Fee

Tuition term fees for children: autumn term - spring term
1 child of a family in school/ autumn £53 - spring £63
2 children of a family in school / autumn £84 - spring £94
3 children of a family in school / autumn £95 - spring £105
4+ children of a family in school / autumn £110 - spring £120

Adults:
Tuition Fee £13 / lesson (payable at the beginning of each term).

Toddlers and their parents:
The cost of the toddler group is £25 / autumn term, £35 / spring term per FSOK member family.

As we are a registered charity, you can donate Gift Aid to the Finnish School of Kingston when paying the fees if you are UK Tax Payer. You can find the form here.

Our treasurer Tarja will be in touch at the beginning of each term with payment details. If you have any enquiries, please contact her by email: rahastonhoitaja.fsok@gmail.com.

Calendar

School Year 2023-2024

Autumn term:

Saturday 9.9.2023 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 23.9.2023 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 30.9.2023 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 14.10.2023 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 4.11.2023 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 18.11.2023 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 2.12.2023 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 9.12.2023 at 10.00-12.00 (Christmas Party)

Spring term:

Saturday 13.1.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 20.1.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 3.2.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 24.2.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 9.3.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 23.3.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 20.4.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 11.5.2024 at 10.00-12.00 (sports day)

Saturday 18.5.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 8.6.2024 at 10.00-12.00

Saturday 15.6.2024 at 10.00-12.00 (End of year celebration)

Executive Committee

Introductions

The school is governed by an Executive Committee of Members, which is elected annually. These are volunteer positions, often taken up by parents of our school children.

Chair: puheenjohtaja.fsok@gmail.com

Elina is our fountain of knowledge who makes sure that all the boxes are ticked for the successful running of the school.

Treasurer: rahastonhoitaja.fsok@gmail.com

Tarja is responsible for our budget. She knows everything about our grants, fees and Excel.

Secretary: sihteeri.fsok@gmail.com

Hanne sends us all those important reminders and makes sure our meeting notes are contemporaneous. She often also covers classes if any of our teachers are unwell.

Admissions secretary: jasensihteeri.fsok@gmail.com

Anni deals with membership enquiries and works together with the teachers to make sure our group sizes work to their optimum. She also updates our social media accounts.

Parents’ contact: vanhempainedustaja.fsok@gmail.com

Coffee making specialist Kalevi looks after our café and links up between parents and the executive committee. Please make sure to get in touch with him if you have any suggestions.

Teaching coordinator: paaopettaja.fsok@gmail.com

Anna supports our teachers and is the link between the executive committee and the teachers. Anna teaches our beginners group Nuuskamuikkuset.

Our teaching coordinator, teachers and teachers’ assistants get paid for their work. Our door is always open to anyone who would like to join our pool of teachers: you don’t need to be qualified, just have the right attitude and of course, speak fluent Finnish.