France

Teksti

2026-07-22T14:01:53+03:00

Studytours in France

Our school offers French as a long-term language program starting from the first grade. As a result, our cooperation with French-speaking countries is very active. Almost every year, 8th- or 9th-grade students who study French as a long-term language travel to France to put their language skills into practice and to learn more about the culture.

To make these trips possible, students and their guardians raise funds collectively over several years. The teacher plays an important role in coordinating information and events, but the responsibility for fundraising lies with the guardians, for the benefit of all students in the group.

Job shadowing in our school (Erasmus+ or Nordplus - funding)

We welcome approximately 4–8 teachers each year from French-speaking regions through Erasmus+ programmes. These teachers and staff members come to our school from places such as Belgium, France, and the islands of Réunion and Guadeloupe (as was the case in 2026).

During these visits, which typically last five days, students play an important role. They introduce the school to the visitors and help them become familiar with everyday school life. These exchanges are highly appreciated, and students’ language skills and self-confidence develop significantly as they take on responsible roles in supporting and hosting the guests.

Short term exchange in France

Our French students also have the opportunity to participate in independent exchange programmes lasting two or three weeks, offered by the French Institute. These exchanges are coordinated by the French Institute, but families are expected to take an active role in organising travel arrangements and hosting a French exchange student in return, following the principle of reciprocity.

Experiences from these exchange programmes have been overwhelmingly positive. They provide students with a valuable opportunity to improve their language skills, gain cultural understanding, and build confidence through authentic everyday interactions in a French-speaking environment. Read more: Lukion vaihto-ohjelma Ranskassa - Institut français

Exchange and cultural encounters with Collège Mont Roland, Dole, France in 2019

In April 2019 Puolimatka school welcomed students and teachers from France.
We thank our French friends for their lovely visit and we wish to welcome them again soon.
Here an article about their visit in their local newspaper:

article.pdf

Muutama tunnelmakuva viikon kulusta:
Odottamassa pääsyä Tallinnan laivaan.

Ryhmäkuva Hyvinkään asemalla ennen lähtöä. Au revoir !

Liikuntahetki YouMovessa

More stories: Timéo's trip to Hyvinkää.pdf

Teacher-trainees from France

2018-02-12T15:17:00+02:00

Hello everyone !

We are Marie and Cassandra. We are French students and we study at the university in France to become teachers. We are here for three weeks: from the 26th of January until the 16th of February 2018. We visit mostly classes between the first grade and the sixth grade because we want to see how does the Finnish educational system work in primary school.

Since we arrived, we have the chance to see lot of difference things and we can say that it is very different from the French system. Children use lot of games to practice whereas in France we don´t. Moreover, it was very suprising to see that school in Finland starts between the age of six and seven whereas in France, children go to school at the age of three!

We see different kind of class, specialy the one of Art and Craft, the one of sewing class and the one of Home Technology. And we really liked it! It was really nice to see these class because we do not have these one in France: we only have basic class like mathematics, french, sciences, languages…

The time schedule is also very different. Indeed, Finnish students and French students start at the same hour that is to say 8 a.m. but here students finish always before 2 p.m. whereas in France we always finnish between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The meal hours are also very different. In Finland the lunch is between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. and in France is between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.! And it is the same with dinner : in Finland we eat between 4 p.m and 6 p.m. (in France it is the time of snack !) and in France we eat between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

We also have the chance to participate to physical education class and we tried ice skating and cross country skiing ! We really enjoy it ! And we really like to see the snow and to walk in with the perfect choose of course!

Friends in Dinard

2018-02-12T19:28:06+02:00

FRIENDS IN FRANCE

Our school has constant co-operation with different international institutions. In March 2017 we received 17 French students and two teachers who wanted to learn about our school and our country. This friendship continued in June 2017 when 22 students from Puolimatka-school visited La Bretagne (France) . More information about the exchange projects: veera.toivonen@edu.hyvinkaa.fi.