The Spanish Educational System

The educational law of 1990, the Ley Organica de Ordenacion General del Sistema Educativo (LOGSE) (Law on the General Organization of the Educational System), established a new system which started in the 1991-92 school-year. The main points of the new system are the following: 

1. Basic education is compulsory and free of charge, and it is extended up to the age of 16, the legal age for starting work.
2. The educational system includes general and special education, i.e. the different levels of education are adapted to suit students with special needs.
3. All students have basic vocational training, which is given in secondary education. Specific vocational training is organized at two levels, the first at the end of compulsory secondary education, and the higher level at the end of the 'Baccalaureate'.
4. Improvement in the quality of teaching must be achieved via the renewal of the contents of the courses, improvement in human resources and material resources, and better use of the various instruments of the educational system.
5. Religious instruction must be available at all schools, but it is voluntary for pupils.
6. Special systems are applied for artistic education and language learning.

Secondary Education 

Secondary education (ESO) is compulsory and lasts four years. It follows six years of primary education and leads to the graduado en educacion secundaria. Studies leading to the titulo de bachillerato take another two years. Students take examinations and must pass all subjects. To enter university, they must take the entrance examination (selectividad). 

Higher Education 

The Spanish university system dates as far back as the Middle Ages.  The present system, however, is actually descendant of the 19th century liberal university, inspired by the centralized French model. 

Higher education is provided by both public and private institutions. Universities are divided into departamentos, facultades universitarias, escuelas tecnicas superiores, escuelas universitarias, institutos universitarios, and other centres, notably the colegios universitarios. 

The existing plans of study, are intermediate degrees (three years) and superior degrees (five years, six for medicine) which are being replaced by two different types of studies: the single cycle, runs for three years and is directly professional; and the three cycles in some cases, receiving diplomas which are professionally valid; the BA's (always with various specialties) and the doctorate (two years and a final thesis). 

In certain studies, the student will be able to pass from the short cycle to the bachelor's degree (with a new major) after a course of transition. In addition to the doctorate, in many faculties, such as medicine, there are areas for specialization and at present, there are many types of master's degrees for graduates in law and economics. 

The basic plans of study include required subjects, grouped in courses, that the students will have to follow consecutively and also elective courses. The courses taken may be mainstream courses (at 30% of the total in the first cycle or 25% in the second), which are those that the University Councils declare obligatory; or electives, chosen freely by the student (at least 10% of the total). 

Spanish or Private?

Alternatively, there are international schools in this and most other areas of Spain some better choices than others, which are identified later. Our eldest son Jamie attended The British School of Alicante which he got to via a bus which ran through our town, as it does so many others all across the Costa Blanca. We thought this situation best for him as he was 15 when we moved to Spain and preparing to do his A levels. It would have been a bit too much to expect him to cope with this and take on board the difficulty of learning another language at this stage of his life. Although having said this he did in fact pick up the language quickly and relatively easily and has enjoyed his two years at the Internationals School very much. The ratio of Pupil to teacher is very low and he shared most classes with only a handful of other pupils. Having said this the year he attended was the first year they had a 6th form! He passed all his A levels and is now living and working back in Spain after a short time training with Nottingham County Football Club in the UK. Was he mad to give up that opportunity to be back at home with us...lets see............

If you have a child that would like to email Jamie to find out his take on Spanish life then email me and I will pass on his address. I would like to add that Jamie has his own hard work to thank for how well he has done but I do not doubt that he would not have done so well had we stayed in the UK with all the distractions that were there.

Also if you want to ask my other two children Emma & Danny any questions on how they find the Spanish State School then you can email me and I will pass the questions on.

Other Schools

In Spain, there are a very wide range of private schools. There are parochial schools, international schools, bilingual schools, American Schools and British schools. Most are co-educational and between them they educate just over one third of all children in Spain. 

Most are catholic day schools but some British and American schools take weekly or full term boarders. Private schools follow the same pattern as the state schools, operating a Monday to Friday timetable, with no Saturday morning classes.

It is generally believed by many foreigners that all private schools in Spain are under foreign ownership and control, this is not so. There are numerous Spanish Private Schools teaching  Spanish and of these, many are subsidised by the State. Some international schools are also subsidised and follow the Spanish state-school curriculum. Others are also state-subsidised and follow a bilingual English/Spanish curriculum and are authorised to accept Spanish pupils. 

If a private school is to receive a state subsidy and be able to accept Spanish students, at least 25 per cent of a school's total number of pupils must be Spanish and have at least 20 per cent in each class. Conditional on receiving state funding is that schools with Spanish children accept inspection by the Spanish school authorities. 

With many private schools, as anywhere, fees in Spain vary considerably and are determined by many factors among which are: reputation, quality, location, examination results and probably the most relevant of all as with property - what the market will stand. In regard to the cost of private education in the UK and USA, fees for private schools in Spain can be described as moderate, however as you would expect, schools in major cities, particularly Madrid and Barcelona are amongst the most expensive. 

British and American private schools may have smaller classes and a more relaxed regime and curriculum than Spanish state schools. Further, they often provide a much more varied approach to sport, culture and art and offer a wider choice of academic subjects. Most of the private schools that advertise on the Internet claim that their aim is the development of each child as an individual and the encouragement of his/her unique individual talents. The results from many of these schools indicate that this policy is successful in that they have a very high university placement rate. 

When it comes to the education of any child, there is much to consider. Your move to Spain will require careful thought in regard to your child's education because if you get it wrong the result will be his to carry for the rest of his life. Happily, most parents seem to get it right.

Please visit the local & international schools section of my website for more information

Conclusions

In terms of the sums spent on education by the public sector the main area of social change in Spain during the eighties was the educational system. Spain's education system has now entered the Information Age.

Basic education is compulsory and free of charge, and it is extended up to the age of 16, the legal age for starting work. The educational system includes general and special education, i.e. the different levels of education are adapted to suit students with special needs. 

All students have basic vocational training, which is given in secondary education. Specific vocational training is organized at two levels, the first at the end of compulsory secondary education, and the higher level at the end of the 'Baccalaureate'.