HOW THE SPANISH SCHOOL SYSTEM WORKS
Secondary education in Spain is split into two stages: Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) and Bachillerato or professional training. ESO is compulsory, whereas Bachillerato, or preparation for university, is not.
Compulsory secondary education in Spain (ESO)
All children must attend school in Spain until the age of 16. Between the ages of 12 and 16, most students attend a secondary school called an Instituto. The four compulsory secondary years (cursos) are divided into two stages (ciclos) 1st to 3rd curso and 4th curso. In the first (ciclos) students can repeat two years, but they can only repeat the 4th year if they have not repeated any of the other years.
At the end of the compulsory stage, students receive a certificate to confirm that they have passed compulsory lower secondary education (Título de Graduado en Educación Secundaria Obligatoria). However, if they don’t pass their subjects, they receive a report showing how long they have studied and their results for each subject.
Public secondary schools in Spain
While public secondary education in Spain is free, students might need to pay for textbooks and other learning materials. Although secondary education in Spain doesn’t rank as highly as primary education, the pass rate for upper secondary education has increased in recent years.
At public secondary schools, students study core subjects – including mathematics, science, Spanish, and a first foreign language – as well as several other specific and optional subjects. These include business, culture, music, religion or ethics, physical education, and a second foreign language. In areas of Spain that have a co-official language – such as Catalonia, Galicia, Valencia, and the Basque Country – schools might also teach in that language or offer it as an extra subject.
The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MEFP) sets the base curriculum in Spain, and regional educational authorities complete it. Each school can then adapt it to meet their students’ needs, and teachers can decide how they teach it.
