Children began returning to classrooms in at least some parts of Finland on Wednesday morning.
Schools in the cities of Tampere, Oulu, Rovaniemi and Hämeenlinna opened their doors once again as the autumn term began.
Kids in Helsinki, Espoo, Turku and Jyväskylä, among other cities and towns, get one more day of summer holiday as they are scheduled to return to school on Thursday.
According to the Finnish National Agency for Education, a total of 54,000 first-graders will begin their basic education this autumn — a record low number.
That figure was over 60,000 just four years ago.
The agency noted that the number of kids starting school has been gradually falling every year, reflecting Finland's falling birth rate, as many rural schools around the country face the prospect of having to close.
Many schools across the country will introduce a partial or full ban on the use of mobile phones, as the Finnish government drafts legislation aimed at restricting the use of mobile devices in the classroom.
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