When moving to Spain and taking your children away from their normal educational environment, parents face a difficult decision. A key factor for a child of any age is the language. The Spanish system requires children to use Spanish, however many schools are used to training children of all ages allowing the move to be made effectively. This is often profitable as having two languages could provide your children with excellent employment prospects in tomorrow's globalised world.
The academic year in Spain runs from September to June and school times can vary depending on the area in which you are located. The more traditional areas stop between the hours of 1.00-3.30 for the siesta period and then return to school until 5.30pm.
There are two schooling systems in Spain, state and private. In Spain's state system, pupils are awarded the “titulo de graduado escolar” certificate at the age of 16. This certificate enables them to stay on to obtain their baccalaureate, allowing them to continue studying and gain entry to university.
There is an ex-pat private system which follows the national curriculum which includes GSCE’s and ‘A’ levels. Following on from this, pupils can go onto university as long as they have sufficient grades. Most Spanish universities accept British A levels as an entrance qualification.