Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad banner

Education in Spain

56K views 317 replies 49 participants last post by  xabiaxica 
#1 · (Edited)
I've decided to try to get education discussions together in one thread

rather than merge a lot of old threads I've linked to some useful ones & closed them so that further discussion will continue here

there are of course others, so if you come across one you find useful, put a link to it on this thread


http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/5532-how-old-too-old-spanish-state-school.html


http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/60961-more-educational-differences.html


http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/4366-homeschooling-spain.html


http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/58314-moving-costa-blanca-desperate-find-good-state-school-13-year-old.html

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/42708-international-schools-malaga-marbella-area.html


http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/57285-back-school.html


Possibly the most often asked question is about what age children start school here, & will they be held back?

some schools will hold your child back for the first year to help them pick up the language, some will see how it goes & maybe hold back later

the biggest difference in Spanish schools is that the year they are in depends upon the year they were born, regardless of the month

the following is what year your child would be age-appropriate for when the school year starts in September 2012 - going by year of birth

1997 - 4th YEAR SECONDARY
1998 - 3rdYEAR SECONDARY
1999 - 2nd YEAR SECONDARY
2000 - 1st YEAR SECONDARY
2001 - 6th/last YEAR PRIMARY
2002 - 5th YEAR PRIMARY
2003 - 4th YEAR PRIMARY
2004 - 3rdYEAR PRIMARY
2005 - 2nd YEAR PRIMARY
2006 - 1st YEAR PRIMARY
2007 - 3rd/last YEAR INFANTS
2008 - 2nd YEAR INFANTS
2009 - 1st YEAR INFANTS


interesting website with calendario escolar by region, amongst other things

http://www.cyberpadres.com/irescuela/calendarios/home.htm
 
See less See more
#5 ·
Great idea Xabia! I personally am constantly traumatised about having done the right thing so very much like to read as much as possible about it!

I wrote a blog about the school induction process for us in Javea, you can find it here: http://fourgotospain.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/in-a-school-daze/ - hopefully it might help someone...
 
  • Like
Reactions: NatK23
#6 ·
Great idea Xabia! I personally am constantly traumatised about having done the right thing so very much like to read as much as possible about it!

I wrote a blog about the school induction process for us in Javea, you can find it here: In a School Daze Four Go To Spain - hopefully it might help someone...
it wasn't just my idea - us mods do discuss things;)


yes, I think your blogged experiences will be useful:)
 
#8 ·
School uniforms

Don't know if you will need to move this from the sticky but I was wondering about school uniforms (did a forum search and other threads are closed and didn't really answer my question). I really wanted to know if a primary school in Spain has the same school uniform as is in the UK? As in polo shirt/shirt, grey/black skirt or black/grey trousers? We are planning to move in August next year and so I am thinking that I could save some cash (so I have enough to buy pencils, books and stuff :eek:!) if I bought a school uniform as if my daughter was going to school in the UK and then be able to use it for school when we move to Spain? TIA. :D
 
#10 · (Edited)
Don't know if you will need to move this from the sticky but I was wondering about school uniforms (did a forum search and other threads are closed and didn't really answer my question). I really wanted to know if a primary school in Spain has the same school uniform as is in the UK? As in polo shirt/shirt, grey/black skirt or black/grey trousers? We are planning to move in August next year and so I am thinking that I could save some cash (so I have enough to buy pencils, books and stuff :eek:!) if I bought a school uniform as if my daughter was going to school in the UK and then be able to use it for school when we move to Spain? TIA. :D
Most state schools in spain dont seem to bother with a uniform, some have them, but they're not enforced. When my daughter was at state school it was like a fashion show every morning, anything went, teeny weeny shorts, jeans, tee shirts with "slogans" on.......! Unlike the international schools, who IME are obsessive to the point of stupidity about uniforms!!!!

Jo xxx
 
#9 ·
I remember seeing somewhere that a lot of the state schools don't have a uniform, whereas most the international ones do. I suspect what is acceptable varies greatly from region to region and school to school. Probably best to contact the specific school to see if they have any guidelines.

Matt.
 
#12 ·
You'd be better off just buying a lot of cheap leggings, t-shirts and sweats as this is all my girls seem to wear! They do sport at school 3 times a week so need to wear suitable clothing for that. I must say I prefer it at this age as I am a crap mother who never had shirts ironed etc by monday morning!! Their regular clothes wear out a bit more quickly as they wear them all the time. Another thing to spend money on is a good quality book bag/backpack - they carry EVERYTHING around with them, so it needs comfy straps and good stitching!
 
  • Like
Reactions: NatK23
#13 ·
Another thing to spend money on is a good quality book bag/backpack - they carry EVERYTHING around with them, so it needs comfy straps and good stitching!

Oh yes!!!! The school bags! It seems that most of the spanish kids have those "pull along" bags (like the suitcases on wheels - er.... but not quiet as big lol).

Unfortunately you are also responsible for buying the books to go in the aforementioned school bag tho!!!

Jo xxxx
 
#15 ·
Ahhh, the uniform issue...
Here there are 4 state primary schools and all of them have a uniform now. This has been brought in over a 4/5 year period.

The private schools all have uniforms from pre school to 16 years old. After that I don't think they have to wear one. Many private schools don't take students after 16 anyway.

There are 2 state secondary schools and they don't wear uniform and I can't see this coming in - ever!
 
#18 ·
Home Schooling

Article in El País today
Solo la escuela enseña a convivir · ELPAÍS.com
In a case of home schooling in Málaga a family was told that the process is illegal. All children between the ages of 6 - 16 must attend a school to be educated. The court didn't evaluate the level of education the children received, in fact these children speak five languages for example. The sentence is based on the fact that education within the official system is a right that children have and children cannot be denied that right For the moment in Spain the only place where children can receive education is in a school, not in a family.
So this is the latest case, but the case before this gave the thumbs up to home education I believe. Also, as it's legal in many other other european countries Spain will probably follow sooner or later.
Just one last thing, the article does say that more than 1000 children are educated outside the school system at the moment...
 
#19 · (Edited)
Article in El País today
Solo la escuela enseña a convivir · ELPAÍS.com
In a case of home schooling in Málaga a family was told that the process is illegal. All children between the ages of 6 - 16 must attend a school to be educated. The court didn't evaluate the level of education the children received, in fact these children speak five languages for example. The sentence is based on the fact that education within the official system is a right that children have and children cannot be denied that right For the moment in Spain the only place where children can receive education is in a school, not in a family.
So this is the latest case, but the case before this gave the thumbs up to home education I believe. Also, as it's legal in many other other european countries Spain will probably follow sooner or later.
Just one last thing, the article does say that more than 1000 children are educated outside the school system at the moment...

I hope the law doesn't change in Spain. I am totally against homeschooling. I think this law protects the children against being socially deprived but most importantly, child abuse can go easily undetected for many years if the child does not attend school.
A large percentage of child abuse that takes place at home is spotted in school by teachers and educators, enabling to put measures that prevents the abuse from reocurring. If more and more children are allowed to be educated at home, these children many never be listened or protected.
 
#21 ·
Yes, the article was a good read and reasurring to know that the law is still in place and protecting the children from being homeschooled, But I was surprised that the only argument against that the article mentions is the lack of interaction that home schooled children get.
 
#22 ·
remember Valenciano

We came over when my kids were 8 and 10. However, we only planned to be in Spain for two years and so we sent them to LES (an international school where they follow the UK curriculum). Had we known we would be staying we may have put the children in Spanish school as neither of my children are particularly confident speaking Spanish and they would've been fluent within 6-12 months at a Spanish school.

But, and it's a big but - senior schools in our area (Javea) all teach in Valenciano - so kids have the added problem of having to learn yet another language. It seems mad to me and , as a consequence, many children's literary skill in both English and Spanish is badly affected. It's something to be aware of when considering schools!
 
#23 ·
Having moved here with a two year old daughter - we want her to integrate into our local society.

Being close to the Catalan border, Valenciano is another consideration. However, if our daughter can master Castillian, Valenciano, English and French (I teach English and French) - to me that is an excellent start in life!

The whole lifestyle and educational opportunities available here seem to be perfect, or at least better than those which were available in North Wales / Shropshire borders where we used to live.

The Valenciano and Castillian is more or less the same as the Welsh / English set up back where we used to live. However, there is immersion available here in both Valenciano and Castillian which obviously was not available in the UK.

We both think that this area offers linguistic and developmental riches for our little one!!!
 
#24 ·
so refreshing to see that attitude!!!


we live in the Valencian region & my dds are at state school so are taught in both Castellano & Valenciano - in fact my elder dd has opted to have all her classes in Valenciano now - the younger one will, I think, stay in the Castellano line when she stars ESO next September

so many people when they hear that the kids have to learn 2 new languages here are scared off living in this area

my attitude is that it matters not a jot what language they learn in - they are learning the essentially same material - & if they are young enough to learn the languages then the more languages the better!!


my elder dd now also studies German, so knows 4 languages - not bad at 14 eh?

also, because of the Castellano & Valenciano, she can understand quite a lot of written French & Italian - and we were watching a Portuguese speaker on the news one day & had a really good idea of what he was saying!

I think the gift of languages is the best gift we can give our kids by choosing to live abroad

and the more languages you learn, the easier it is to learn more languages
 
  • Like
Reactions: NatK23
#25 ·
Music in Spanish schools

I´ve just read that the British government is cutting back on music education in state schools as an unnecessary luxury, despite evidence that kids who play instruments have higher self-esteem and are less likely to get in to trouble.

Does anyone know the situation on music education in Spanish state schools? Is there any? Is it free?
 
#26 ·
I´ve just read that the British government is cutting back on music education in state schools as an unnecessary luxury, despite evidence that kids who play instruments have higher self-esteem and are less likely to get in to trouble.

Does anyone know the situation on music education in Spanish state schools? Is there any? Is it free?
There are music lessons in state schools here. They are taught to read music and the instrument they first learn is the flauta dulce (recorder). It is a subject taken seriously in that they have to pass it every year (well, here anyway - just like any other subject on the curriculum). For anything else, there are conservatorios, music lessons etc (private) and clubs run by the ayuntamientos for other instruments.
 
#30 ·
Must say we are very impressed so far with Spanish state schools. My oldest - five years old - is in one of the new public (in theory Bilingual schools) in Andalucia. We are very happy, as is he. They call them bilingual - but in reality - they have a few hours of English a week. So far, so good. The teachers are nice and welcoming....and most importantly they seem to really care for the children.

As far as education standards go, its hard to say, probably not quite up to the same levels as some countries in Northern Europe....but as i have always said - the most important education starts and ends at home....besides, at that age, the most important point is that they enjoy themselves and school!
 
#32 ·
Education post 16



Went to a meeting on Friday about education 16+

Talk about complicated! It took an hour and a half to explain all the ins and outs, by which time we were all exhausted - and this is the second time we'vebeen to a talk about this.

The table above shows it as it is.
One of the main things is the PAU Prueba de Aceso a la Universidad which has recently changed from the Selectividad. This you do in June in the year that you finish Bachillerato. You have 4 exams which are Lengua, Idioma Extranjera, one of the core materials from your Bachillerato second year, and I think the other one is History of Spain. That counts for 40% of your total mark. The other 60% is calculated from the results you obtained in first and second year Bachillerato.
Then voluntarily, the student can opt to do (2?) more exams in areas s/he hasn't already been examined in, and this can push the overall mark up to 14 maximum. For some degrees the cut off point starts at 11 or 12 (medicine for one) and so although it's voluntary, a student wanting to go into these areas is forced to take the extra exams.
The other thing that has changed fairly recently is that each university can have its own programme of studies (approved by the dept of Education of course) so a degree can be radically different depending on which university you decide to go to·

FP programmes are vastly under estimated, and some schools barely bother to give information about them.However, the schools are very well equipped, have some excellent courses and, even today, have a very high % of employability, about 75% employed in the first 6 months!!!
 
#33 ·


Went to a meeting on Friday about education 16+

Talk about complicated! It took an hour and a half to explain all the ins and outs, by which time we were all exhausted - and this is the second time we'vebeen to a talk about this.

The table above shows it as it is.
One of the main things is the PAU Prueba de Aceso a la Universidad which has recently changed from the Selectividad. This you do in June in the year that you finish Bachillerato. You have 4 exams which are Lengua, Idioma Extranjera, one of the core materials from your Bachillerato second year, and I think the other one is History of Spain. That counts for 40% of your total mark. The other 60% is calculated from the results you obtained in first and second year Bachillerato.
Then voluntarily, the student can opt to do (2?) more exams in areas s/he hasn't already been examined in, and this can push the overall mark up to 14 maximum. For some degrees the cut off point starts at 11 or 12 (medicine for one) and so although it's voluntary, a student wanting to go into these areas is forced to take the extra exams.
The other thing that has changed fairly recently is that each university can have its own programme of studies (approved by the dept of Education of course) so a degree can be radically different depending on which university you decide to go to·

FP programmes are vastly under estimated, and some schools barely bother to give information about them.However, the schools are very well equipped, have some excellent courses and, even today, have a very high % of employability, about 75% employed in the first 6 months!!!
boy am I glad you posted this - I've been dreading the meeting I knew was coming up next year - mainly because they insist on all meetings being in Valenciano, then those of us who only speak Castellano push for an explanation in that language - & I end up translating for lots of the parents who may have been here years but never got beyond 'dos cafe con leches':mad:

so you can imagine how long that goes on:eek:


I'm going to merge this into the education sticky so that it doesn't get lost
 
G
#34 ·
I remember the first time I saw that whole diagram, just after landing in Spain. Boy, was I ever overwhelmed! Even after three years working with post-16 year old students, I still was a bit confused. Thanks for posting this, it's great to see everything laid out like this (and I didn't even know what PCPI meant!)
 
#35 ·
Well thanks women, I thought it couldn't just be me who found it really complicated... Actually the Spanish in the meeting were just as befuddled and doing smth in your second or third language is never going to help, is it!
BUT... I've just noticed that thet diagram doesn't actually put the PAU in place and there are also exams to take to go to FP superior I think, so if you find a better chart, could you post it please?
 
G
#36 ·
Oooh PW, you're bad, you gave me an excuse to procrastinate even more!

I did, however, manage to stumble across an exhaustive english-language guide to the Spanish educational system that will surely be of interest to any parent bringing children into Spain:
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education...urybase/national_summary_sheets/047_ES_EN.pdf

Here's the "map" that scared me so my first year in Spain. Please note that the yellow stars indicate that an exam is needed to enter the next "step" in education.




One interesting thing to note is that on the far left, music education (in the various conservatories) is included in the public education system!
 
#37 · (Edited)
Yes, I think I saw that and thought it was too complicated, but on second thoughts... that's the system and you can't really simplify it!
I think the idea of putting music education in the conservatories alongside the public education is just so you see where it fits in age wise and level wise.
That PDF is a treasure of info, thanks for posting it!
 
#38 ·
the first year we moved here my son was in a private english school learning no Spanish what so ever wearing a uniform that was super strict and costing m 500 euros a year. We put him into Spanish school and like the spanish - its very low key what thy wear - anything goes - literally. You will also notice the teachers are called by their first name and mainly wear jeans and t shirts to work, as do most bank staff etc. I totally agree with it. I also love the lack of interest the children pay to what each other are wearing - no need to have to have **** trainers or all the latest designer labels...... Laid back lifestyle is what living here is all about. I welcome it with open arms.
 
#41 ·
depends what you mean by a fortune

state education is free - but you have to buy all books & stationery etc - I reckon about 1000€ a year each for my two dds

private school is obviously not free - say 7000€ + a year per child as a ballpark figure

have a good read of the thread
 
#42 ·
Viaje fin de curso... (End of year trip)

Beware of these words my friends because it = big shell out if you're not carefull!!!

Different schools do different things. My daughter has had an end of primary trip in the 6th year to celebrate the end of Primary School Life and will now have an end of Bachillerato trip (aged 17). In some ways the most logical time for this trip would be at the end of the second year in Bachillerato, but as that coincides with PAU (Prueba de Aceso a la Universidad) they put it forward a year to the end of first year Bachillerato. That's what they do in her school anyway. You may get trips like this planned for the end of the first cycle (14 years old) or second cycle (16) of secondary school.
Anyway, in the past these trips were a weekend in Cuenca or at the beach somewhere, but now...
My daughter will be going to Greece for a week for a cost of 650 Euros!! :eek:
In the parents meeting we were told that the students arrange the destination themselves with some guidance from the teachers. We sat back and thought it would be good for them to debate and discuss the issue themselves, but we didn't think about putting some limits, thinking that the teachers involved would be thinking about the cost to the parents.
For what they are going to be doing, the cost is reasonable (Athens, a couple of islands, entry to museums included etc), but I personally think it's an unecessary cost and they could have gone somewhere less exotic for half the cost. I think the experience will be great and valuable - something she'll remember for always, but ...
Another thing - although supposedly they are encouraged to fund themselves there is little support, little creativity and little uumph concerning that. Kids are not used to raising money for charity for example, well not kids nor anybody actually. It's more along the lines of make a donation, but make something and sell it, sponsored activities etc - I've seen hardly anything beyond selling raffle tickets and selling chocolates at Christmas.
Anyway, I've had her making earrings and bracelets, and this week we've had an order for 88 magdalenas from friends and aquaintances!! So far she's made about 150 euros which is a 150 euros that she didn't have in the beginning.

Just thought I'd warn you parents of older children out there
 
#43 ·
oh yes...tell me about it!!

dd1 went on an 'outward bound' trip at the end of primaria - only 4 nights iirc & only about an hour away from us but that was a few hundred euros - mind you she had a fantastic time!!

dd2 is going this year - the same thing but somewhere else a bit further away....

I don't know if it's the brit influence in the school, but all the kids going on the trip run a 'tuck shop' at school to earn money to help pay for the trip - the original stock was bought by AMPA I think, and has been paid for from takings - a brilliant idea - the kids are learning some resposibility & the trip is actually costing us less than her elder sister's 3 years ago!
 
#45 ·
In the Comunidad de Madrid they have put up posters everywhere saying that matricula/ registration at schools is from March 21 to April 11. I presume it's similar in other places.
Down here in Andalucia, it's usually from 1st March to the 31st March - that is for pupils registering for the first time. Of course, the forms aren't always out on the 1st March :rolleyes: but the sooner you get one the better as when they are handed in they are often numbered in case they have a lot of applicants. Of course, it still depends on how many points your child has but if a lot of children have the same number of points then whether your child gets a place could depend on the number written on your form.

For children who are already in the school, you usually dont have to go through the whole thing again but only need to fill in a form to confirm your place in June.
I can remember the anxiety when I was trying to get my son into the local school, it was horrible.
 
#53 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi, I was brought up in Spanish and English schools and I think that what everyone needs to think about is where their children is going to spend their initial working life. If that is in England then you would be better going to an International school that follows the English curriculum. However if they want to stay in Spain then get your children into a Spanish chool as soon as possible.

Clare,
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top