Ressu Upper Secondary School also known internationally as Ressun lukio IB World School, is a secondary school (or gymnasium) located in central Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1891, Ressu is one of the oldest Finnish speaking schools and considered to be one of the most prestigious schools in Finland.

Ressu is one of the most difficult upper secondary schools to gain entry to in Finland, with admission typically requiring grade point averages above 9.3 on the Finnish scale of 4.0 (the lowest) to 10.0 (the highest). Students in Ressu have a reputation of moving onto illustrious careers in further education, in a range of top universities both in Finland and abroad.

Curriculum

Ressun lukio offers the Finnish upper comprehensive programme held in Finnish, as well as the English IB Diploma Programme since 2002. Their first IB graduates graduated in 2005. About 120 of the 700 students are in the IB section, and the rest are taught in Finnish. The International Baccalaureate students tend to continue their education in Higher Education abroad, typically the United Kingdom and the United States.

Students of the International Baccalaureate in Ressu have the option to study the following subjects:

• Group 1 (Language A): English A Language and Literature, Finnish A Literature (or a self-taught language A literature)
• Group 2 (Language B): Finnish, French (or another language A from group 1)
• Group 3 (Human Sciences): Economics, Environmental systems and societies, History, Psychology
• Group 4 (Experimental Sciences): Environmental systems and societies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics
• Group 5 (Mathematics): Mathematics analysis and approaches, Mathematics applications and interpretations
• Group 6 (Electives): Another subject from groups 2, 3, or 4

Extracurricular activities

The Ressu Chess Club is one of the top-performing chess clubs in the Helsinki regional area. In their second year the students also have the possibility of partaking in Vanhojen tanssit (resembles the U.S equivalent of prom), and perform traditional ballroom dances in the White Hall (Valkoinen Sali) in the center of Helsinki, next to the Presidential Palace. Other extracurricular activities include the school choir, debate club, and the school newspapers.