Student Counselling

All teachers are in charge of ensuring student counselling for students throughout their whole basic education. In grades 7-9, student counselling is its own subject taught by a student counselor. Student counselling in classroom in provided 0,5 weekly lessons in grade 7, one weekly lesson in grade 8 and one weekly lesson in grade 9. 

Student counselling supports a pupil's personal growth and development by developing their social skills and preconditions for learning and increasing their life management skills. It provides pupils and their guardians with information on studying skills, elective subjects and their significance for learning and the future, different professions and opportunities for further studies.

Guidance and flow of information are especially emphasized during transitional periods of studies, for example when a pupil moves from elementary school to lower secondary school or from comprehensive school to an upper secondary level institution.

Introduction to working life

An important task of student counselling is the collaboration between the school and the working and economic life. The aim of the collaboration is for the pupil to retrieve information on different lines of work, professions and working life and to gain a touch to entrepreneurship. A good example of this is TET, the introduction to working life for pupils.

During a TET period a pupil will gain a personal experience of working life and professions in an authentic professional environment. Introduction to working life in grades 7-9 is organized, at the minimum, in the following manner: one day in grade 7, three-five days in grade 8 and five days in grade 9.

Read more about introduction to working life, TET.

Pursuing further studies through joint application process

Student counselling provides pupils with information on further studies and on applying for them. Pupils apply for post-comprehensive school studies through the national joint application process in Opintopolku website. Applying for studies beginning in autumn happens annually in February-March.

Information on individual comprehensive schools' student counselling practices can be found on the schools' websites.  You can view the individual websites of the comprehensive schools in Oulu by clicking this link.