COMENIUS PROJECT

GREEN SKILLS FOR GLOBAL CHANGE

SLOVENIA MEETING
2014 May 21th-25th
Education syst! in S"ain
T# $a%
Education in Spain for children is compulsory from the ages of six to 16,
ith primary education !primaria" lasting six years folloed #y four years
of compulsory secondary education !E$S$%$" at the end of hich a
&ertificate of Education is recei'ed$
Sc#oo$ ti!in&s
(imings ill 'ary from one region to another and ill #e affected also #y
hat a child is studying, their le'el and their particular school$ So, the
folloing should #e treated as a guideline that needs chec)ing carefully
hen you in'estigate a particular school*
(he school year is di'ided into t#' t'!s ith a long summer holiday
#rea) of almost three months
- +inter term !Septem#er to ,ecem#er"$
- Spring term !-anuary to Easter"$
- Summer term !.fter Easter to late -une"$
(he school day for primary schools can 'ary #ut is normally from 0/$00 0
12$00 and 15$00 0 11$00$
2or ES% or 3achillerato, the school day is usually from 04$00 0 15$00 or
04$50 0 14$00 and 15$50 - 11$50 !162 days a ee)"$
Sc#oo$s
7i)e most countries, there is a ide range of schools in Spain$ 8ere9s a list
of type of schools and hat they offer*
:rimary state schools
:rimary education
Secondary state schools
E$S$%$ 0 3achillerato 0 &iclos 2ormati'os
Semi0pri'ate schools
:rimary 0 E$S$%$ 0 3achillerato
:ri'ate schools
:rimary 0 E$S$%$ - 3achillerato
Sometimes pri'ate and semi-pri'ate schools offer some &iclos 2ormati'os
Stat "'i!a'y sc#oo$s(si) ya's to *+ ya's,
(hese are )non as escuelas or colegios !although the latter term is
applied sometimes to semi-pri'ate and pri'ate schools that ta)e pupils
from primary to 3achillerato6&iclos 2ormati'o"$
;irtually e'ery 'illage of any si<e ill ha'e a primary school together ith
all tons$ (hese 'ary considera#ly in si<e and sophistication #ut often
pro'ide a stri)ingly caring and )indly en'ironment for small children$
Most ill ta)e children from the age of three although there are some
exceptions$ &hildren younger than three !preescolar or infantil" are not
usually catered for #y the state and are loo)ed after only #y pri'ate
)indergartens$
Some state schools in some areas of Spain only teach in the dialect of the
gi'en region - as opposed to in Spanish$ So, in &atalonia, =alicia, ;alencia
or the 3as>ue country su#?ects are taught in respecti'ely ;alencian,
=allego, &atalan or 3as>ue$ (his is not alays the case #ut is something to
in'estigate carefully - as it ill mean that your child ill #e taught in the
regional dialect #efore learning Spanish$ (hat said most children master
#oth the local dialect and &astellano !Spanish" as part of their general
schooling$
Entry to a primary school depends upon the catchment area in hich you
li'e$ So, ma)e sure you find a satisfactory school for your children #efore
#uying a property - otherise you may find that your child is not eligi#le
to go to the school of your preferred choice$
Stat sconda'y sc#oo$s (*+ ya's to *- ya's,
.ll tons and cities ha'e secondary schools hich are generally )non as
@nstitutos$
(here are excellent state schools and others that are Asin)9 schools ith a
proportion !for example" of recently arri'ed immigrants here Spanish is a
second language$ (his can place considera#le stress upon a school
!particularly in the #ig cities" and can result in the normal academic
progress of classes #eing held #ac)$ 8oe'er, the standard of teachers is
generally good, the school curriculum impressi'ely rigorous and all state
teachers highly >ualified$
7i)e primary schools, some secondary schools teach su#?ects in the
regional dialect rather than in Spanish$ (his can create pro#lems as it ill
mean that your child ill ha'e to learn to languages simultaneously
hilst also underta)ing increasingly difficult academic or)$
Entry to a secondary school also depends upon the catchment area in
hich you li'e$
E.S.O
Secondary education up until 3achillerato6&iclo 2ormati'o le'el !see
#elo" is )non as E$S$%$ So, a child of 15 !ho has not failed a year"
ill #e in Second E$S$%$ and a child of 15 ill #e in fourth E$S$%$ and so
on$
.t the age of 16 a child should attain a &ertificate of &ompletion of
Secondary Education !(itulo de =raduado en EducaciBn Secundaria" if
they ha'e successfully passed !apro#ado" his examinations !examen or
control"$ @f they ha'e not #een successful then they ill lea'e school ith
a &ertificado de Escolari<aciBn$ @f a child has achie'ed their (itulo de
=raduado en Educacion Secundaria then they can decide to*
La/ sc#oo$
&ontinue their education #y studying for the 3achillerato !essential for
uni'ersity"
&ontinue to attend their school #y ta)ing a 'ocational course !&iclo
2ormati'o"
Bac#i$$'ato
(he academically-demanding 3achillerato ta)es to years and is roughly
e>ui'alent to CD A.9 7e'els although it is considered to #e more rigorous
and is certainly more highly-regarded$ (here are se'eral computations of
3achillerato each one of hich is #iased toards a gi'en area, for
example, the arts or the sciences$ Some nine su#?ects are studied ith the
yearly exam results of each su#?ect aggregated to pro'ide an o'erall mar)
up to 10$
So a student on their first year may !across all their su#?ects" achie'e a
medium grade of 1$4 and then on the folloing year a medium grade of
4$2$ @n this case, their final 3achillerato grading ill #e a 'ery credita#le
1$4 !1$4 E 4$2 F 15$6 G 2 F 1$4"$
. pass at 3achillerato ill allo a student to ta)e uni'ersity entrance
examinations !Selecti'o"$ 8oe'er, the o'erall grade gained at3achillerato
is important and, su#?ect to ho ell a student does in their Selecti'o
examinations, ill define hat they can study at uni'ersity$
Selecti'o is attended after the completion of 3achillerato and is super'ised
#y the state$ (he student ill ta)e 164 examinations o'er three days that
mimic their 3achillerato examinations$ (hey ill #e pro'ided then ith an
aggregate score up to 10 !li)e the 3achilleratosystem"$ (his ill #e
com#ined ith their 3achillerato score to pro'ide the o'erall uni'ersity
grade - although their school 3achillerato exam results ill account for 60
percent of their final aggregate mar) and their Selecti'o 40 percent$
Cic$os Fo'!ati/os
(he 'ocational courses pro'ided #y the @nstitutos are intended to pro'ide
practical training for a or)ing s)ill such as plum#ing, electrical or),
hairdressing etc$ (he 'ocational courses last four years and result in
>ualifications uni'ersally recognised across Spain$ (here are to parts to
the &iclos 2ormati'os*
G'ado Mdio 0 this lasts to years and pro'ides a #asic le'el of training$
G'ado Su"'io' 0 this lasts a further to years and can only #e started
hen a student is 14 years old$ @f a student passes his =rado Superior he
o#tains access to the uni'ersity system$ =rado Superioris open also to
direct entry from students ho ha'e passed their3achillerato$
Stat uni/'sitis and "o$ytc#nic uni/'sitis
(here are state uni'ersities throughout Spain that pro'ide Adegree9
!diplomatura" and professional >ualifications !licenciatura" and post
degree education$ &onfusingly some uni'ersities are called polytechnic
uni'ersities hich can indicate that they are #iased toards the sciences$
8oe'er, this is not alays the case and there is no difference in the
respecti'e status of either a polytechnic uni'ersity or uni'ersity$
&urrently, the Spanish system is #eing harmonised ith the rest of Europe$
(his is li)ely to result in a system similar to that of the CD ith three- to
four-year-degrees and 2-year-Master9s >ualifications