Are you thinking about moving to Spain and have children? Of course, children need an education, and if possible, a good one, or even the best. Where should you send your child to study? In what language? How expensive is it?
If you have such questions, then this article is for you!
You might be interested to know that in Spain, in addition to schools within the Spanish educational system, there are also British, American, Dutch, Italian, and Swedish schools. Their numbers are much smaller, but they do exist. In this section, we will consider Spanish and British schools, as the most popular.
The Spanish secondary education system:
Compulsory secondary education in Spain begins at age 6, but many send their children to school as early as 3. (Not to mention that there are also crèches for very young children, as many mothers cannot or do not want to stay home with their little ones. Most simply cannot afford not to work.)
In such schools - kindergartens for little ones (they are called escuela infantil) the child spends time playing and walking, and also undergoes preparation for school, most often in the school itself, where he will then study, getting to know its rules, habits, and children.
Periods in secondary school in the Spanish secondary education system:
Age: 3-5 years
Name: Infantil
Duration: 3 courses
Required or optional: No
6–11 years old
Primary education (Primaria)
6 courses
Compulsory education
12 years old
First grade of secondary school (1st grade E.S.O.)
Compulsory education
13 years old
Second grade of secondary school (2º E.S.O.)
Compulsory education
14 years old
Third grade of secondary school (3º E.S.O.)
Compulsory education
15 years old
Fourth grade of secondary school (4º E.S.O.)
Compulsory education
16–18 years old
Final stage of secondary education - Bachillerato
Duration: 2 years
This stage of secondary education is not compulsory, but is required for admission to university.
There's one important detail that's useful to know. A child's age is determined by their year of birth, not their full age at the start of the course. This means that in September, a child born on January 1, 20XX, and another born on December 31, 20XX, will both start in the same class, even though they're one year apart. However, based on their year of birth, they will always be placed in the same course.
Starting in the fourth year of secondary school (4º E.S.O.), the curriculum is divided into three tracks: natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, or arts. The last three years before university, or the year before vocational school, focus on subjects that will later form the basis for university or vocational education.
To enter university in Spain, you must:
1. Complete upper secondary education (bachillerato)
2. Pass the Selectividad (Unified Entrance Exam)
School Classification in Spain:
There are three main types of schools in Spain: public, semi-private (concertados), and private.
Public schools are free for everyone, including children of foreigners living in Spain.
Private schools are typically very prestigious, and tuition is fully paid. Private schools also include institutions with a non-Spanish education system, as well as those using specialized teaching methods (for example, Montessori).
Colegios concertados are former private schools run by Catholic communities; they are also known internally as escuelas religiosas. Until recently, Spain was a deeply religious country, and more than half of Spaniards born even in the 1960s and 1970s were educated by actual monks and nuns.
With the 1985 reform, almost all of these schools gradually became semi-private, meaning they transitioned to almost complete state funding in exchange for a commitment to a secular education, in accordance with new education laws.
From then until recently, Spanish society has been engaged in a fierce debate about the place of religion in education.
Today, religion is taught as a compulsory subject in semi-private (concertado) schools, starting at age three, for approximately two hours per week (by comparison, religion is an elective in state schools).
The teaching staff in these schools are ordinary secular teachers, although members of the religious order to which the school belongs are always present on the board of directors or the board of trustees. Interestingly, not far from Marbella, there is a well-known and highly prestigious single-sex secondary school run by the Opus Dei order. Yes, the one from the bestseller "The Da Vinci Code."
Despite their strong emphasis on religion, concertados in Spain, on average, offer a more rigorous preparation for students in the secondary education system. Private and semi-private educational centers traditionally rank among the best schools in Spain in terms of the level and quality of education and extracurricular activities. Public schools, for the most part, lag significantly behind in the rankings, especially in the upper grades. This is largely due to the fact that private and former monastic schools still maintain traditions of discipline, and foreign languages are taught by native speakers with strict requirements, while most public schools have a more liberal atmosphere.
Almost everywhere, students of all ages address teachers informally. Although this occurs in both private and semi-private schools, respect for teachers is generally instilled in the latter.
Tuition Costs in Spanish Schools:
Secondary and primary education in Spain is free in public and semi-private schools. However, the latter always require a so-called monthly volunteer contribution, as the state does not cover school bills 100%. Also, in semi-private schools, the last two years of pre-university education (bachillerato) are always tuition-based.
Tuition in private schools is fully tuition-based, starting at age 3.
Admission to public and semi-private schools (concertados):
Places for children in a particular school are allocated through city authorities on a competitive basis. Registration status is the primary consideration, as are the presence of siblings in the same school, and whether any parents or close relatives attended the school. Applications are submitted in March, and the final lists are published in June.
Enrollment and admission to private colleges, both in the Spanish and any other educational system, is carried out according to their own criteria, sometimes with exams or interviews, depending on the child's age or preparation.
