Finnish IB Students Left Without Diplomas After Exam Papers Held in UK Customs
A group of International Baccalaureate (IB) students in Rovaniemi have been left without their diplomas after their final exam papers were delayed in the UK postal system, preventing assessment. The incident has affected around 20 students at Lyseonpuisto Upper Secondary School, including 19-year-old Sydney Vidakovic, who was unable to complete his IB diploma due to missing grades.
The school sent the exam responses to the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) in the UK in early May, as required for assessment. However, the papers were held in British customs, only returning unopened to Finland on 14 July—too late for grading. Yle reports that up to 12 letters containing exam answers, including those for physics, native language, and Finnish, were affected.
Delays Linked to Brexit and Customs Procedures
Posti, Finland’s postal service, confirmed that the delays were caused by the UK’s post-Brexit customs processes. Mikko Hoikkala, Head of Production at Posti, stated in an email to Yle that international investigations and potential returns can take weeks, as the process involves multiple operators and authorities. While Posti acknowledged that the matter progressed normally, it admitted that communication with the school could have been better.
The incident highlights broader challenges in postal deliveries between the UK and EU. Ilta-Sanomat notes that Posti’s website lists typical delivery times for express packages from outside the EU as 2–8 days, but customs delays have become more common since Brexit.
Students Face Uncertainty Over University Plans
For Vidakovic, the delays meant his final German grade was based solely on an oral exam, resulting in an average score that did not reflect his performance. "It feels unfair," he told Yle, adding that the uncertainty had been extremely stressful. While he still received a Finnish upper secondary school graduation certificate, the missing IB diploma has disrupted his plans to study psychology in Australia.
Some affected students have also lost university admission opportunities. Vidakovic has registered to retake the exams in November, but it remains unclear whether the unassessed papers can still be evaluated without requiring students to resit them.
The Finnish National Agency for Education told Yle that such cases are uncommon, though not unprecedented. The school and Posti are discussing possible compensation for the affected students.
