A law change introduced last year means upper secondary school students can now take classes and sit the end-of-school matriculation exams in English.17-year-old Aakash Gamage moved to Finland less than two years ago from Sri LankaYle News14:19The first students to study Finland's upper secondary school curriculum entirely in English began classes on Thursday in six cities across the country.The new track follows a law change introduced last year, which permits upper secondary school students to take all subjects and sit the end-of-school matriculation exams in English.The reform is aimed at attracting foreign skilled workers with families to Finland, as well as encouraging Finnish expats to return to the country with their children.The first cohort of English-language curriculum students is due to take the matriculation exam in English in 2028."I've been struggling quite a bit"The new English-language tracks are being rolled out initially in six cities: Vantaa, Helsinki, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Oulu and Pori. Espoo will join the list next year.At the Aviapolis upper secondary school in Vantaa, 17-year-old Aakash Gamage told Yle that the option to study the upper secondary school curriculum in English is a very welcome development for him."I've been struggling quite a bit when I've been doing my studies in Finnish, and it will be much, much easier when I do it in English, and I hope to get better grades," he said.Gamage moved to Finland with his parents from Sri Lanka less than two years ago, and he completed ninth grade at a Finnish secondary school. The English-language track is open to students who have studied in a Finnish school for less than three years.The first cohort of English-language track students at the Aviapolis upper secondary school in Vantaa. Image: Kristiina Lehto / YleGamage's classmate, 24-year-old Eoghan Donnelly, wants to study at a Finnish university — but he must first sit and pass the Finnish matriculation exam."There are a few paths I want to go down. It will be either history, philosophy, or engineering. They are my main choices at the moment," he said.Donnelly is originally from Ireland but went to school in the UK, and he moved to Finland about 18 months ago."If this option hadn't been available, I would have had to completely learn the Finnish language first," Donnelly said.Aakash Gamage and Eoghan Donnelly sitting in class. Image: Kristiina Lehto / YleLack of material concerns teachersAlthough classes have now started, the teachers responsible for providing the curriculum in English have expressed concern about the lack of study materials in English.Juho-Kustaa Mäkinen, who teaches history, social studies and ethics at Aviapolis, noted that education publishers have seemed reluctant to produce English-language materials that cover the Finnish curriculum."Publishers have settled for translation tools. I'd prefer the material to be in English from the start," he said, adding that he has translated the existing material into English himself and finds articles from English-language media to support it.