Education in Spain

Pre-school education

From 2 to 4 years old, children at the request of their parents go to Jardin de enfancia - an analogue of our younger groups in kindergarten.

From 4 to 6 - in Escuela de parvulos - as senior groups of kindergartens in Russia.

Schools (colleges)

Primary education

A primary school in Spain accepts children from the age of 6 and up to 12 they receive Educacion Primaria.

The average literacy rate in countries around the world is about 69%. Data at the end of 2018

2022: Influx of schoolchildren from Ukraine and Russia

The regional leadership of the autonomy of Valenciana (Comunidad Valenciana) published information that educational institutions for school-age children and preschoolers from 3 to 6 years old were in the face of such an increase in the number of students from Ukraine and Russia, which has never happened before. Moreover, 40% of all children who arrived from Ukraine after February 24, 2022, ended up with their parents on the territory of the Valencian community.

After the opening of a special military operation in Ukraine by Russia, 6555 Russian schoolchildren and 13,400 Ukrainian students were added to educational institutions in the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon. The newspaper notes that the attitude of children from Russia and Ukraine who speak the same Russian language is friendly and not subject to fluctuations in the political situation.

Average

Secondary education is called Educaion Secundaria Obligatoria. It is usually received before the age of 16.

The education system in Spain provides for three types of comprehensive schools:

• public schools (colegios públicos),
• double co-financing schools or parastatals (colegios concertados),
• private colleges (colegios privados).

In accordance with Law 2/2006 on Education, primary and secondary compulsory education, i.e. from 6 to 16 years, is mandatory and free of charge. Of course, free education applies only to public schools, although here it is very relative, because the form, textbooks, extracurricular excursions and other related expenses are paid by parents, the price of which can reach several hundred euros per year.

As for private colleges in Spain, in this case, the state finances only a part of school expenses, the remaining part is paid by the owner of the school. 60.4% of such schools are schools funded by the Catholic Church, the so-called colegios católicos, in the Spanish common people called colegios demonjas, monastic schools. It is important to note that these schools are not strictly religious and they teach subjects of the general education program, but the church controls the process of choosing teachers, while in public schools teachers are accepted based on the results of compulsory exams (Oposiciones). Parents again pay the costs associated with training, which are often higher than in public schools, because, for example, parents may be obliged to buy a form only of a certain brand, etc. Additionally, as a rule, "mandatory" donations to the school are introduced, which can reach up to 100-200 euros per month.

Teaching children in Spain in private colleges is certainly an order of magnitude more expensive than teaching in public and parastatal schools. However, many private colleges in Spain provide the opportunity to study in joint Spanish-English or Spanish-French programs, which allows you to receive education simultaneously in two languages ​ ​ and subsequently enter higher education institutions in England or France. Spanish-English private colleges prevail. The most famous is: Caxton College International Europa (a suburb of Valencia), whose diploma is recognized in the United States.

2022:28% of young Spaniards have only a school education

As of 2022, in Spain, 28% of young people aged 25-34 years do not have a diploma in full secondary education. In other words, more than one in four young people have only an ESO (secondary education) diploma.

This is double the average for, OECD which is 14%, and comparable to (Colombia 25%), Italy (23%) or (36 Turkey %). The national average European Union is 11.8%.

About 20% of Spanish youth do not study or work, one of the highest rates in EU countries.

2020: Half of schoolchildren study with tutors due to shortcomings in the state education system

About half of Spanish families take additional private lessons for their children. This was reported by The Guardian with reference to the report of the Esade analytical center.

The study covered a two-year period (2019-2020) and focused on the so-called "shadow education," which means Spain's private education sector.

It turned out that parents paid 1.7 billion euros for the services of tutors and private educational centers - a colossal amount demonstrating the demand for this area among residents of the Pyrenean country.

Even more interesting is the fact that virtually every second Spanish family turns to private education: 47 percent of Spanish households with school children prefer not to limit themselves to the school curriculum.

Foreign languages ​ ​ are the most popular among private classes, mainly English. Moms and dads do not spare money for their children to master this language with high quality: they believe that mastering English is actually a ticket to a bright future, a prerequisite for a successful career. It is logical that parental investments in language courses are directly proportional to the level of family wealth: wealthy Spaniards invest more in foreign languages ​ ​ for their offspring than representatives of the middle class. In general, languages ​ ​ account for 46 percent of all private lessons of Spanish schoolchildren.

The study also demonstrated several other indicative features. Approximately two-thirds of the above private sector income comes from families whose children are enrolled in public schools.

The remaining third are parents whose children go to private or semi-private schools (concertados). On average, 300 euros were spent on private classes for one concertado student, 235 euros for a "state" child, and 606 euros for a private school student.

Another curious trend is for what purpose parents and their children choose private lessons. According to the researchers, the lion's share of students of state schools and concertados come to classes to fill the gaps in the school curriculum - and its key disciplines.

However, there is also the reverse side of the coin for the entire educational system of Spain. The heyday of private lessons also indicates that parents are increasingly concerned about the careful preparation of their children.

Upper Secondary and Professional

Next, you can get:

• upper average (Bachillerato) or start
• professional (Formacion Profesional I) - in two years.

International students

2023: The number of students from Russia in Spain has grown to 4.5 thousand

Spain has updated the record for the number of students from countries that are not in the EU, according to the Ministry of Integration, Social Security and Migration. This is due to the fact that since the middle of 2022, students from abroad are allowed to combine training with work up to 30 hours a week. Prior to that, the student depended on his savings or the economic opportunities of the family. 

At the end of 2023, almost 76 thousand students from non-EU states were registered in Spain. The most noticeable annual growth (by 73%) against the background of the conflict in Ukraine was recorded among Russians - up to 4.3 thousand people. But most of all are still students from Colombia, the United States and China.

Education costs

2022:34% of respondents spent money on online courses

Survey data conducted from July 2021 to June 2022

2017: Share of education costs from GDP

Доля затрат на education GDP from countries in 2017. Blue: primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education. Blue: higher (tertiary) education

Business schools

According to The Global Competitiveness Report 2012, Spain ranks fourth in the world ranking of business schools. In total, 148 countries are represented in the ranking.

The first place is occupied by Switzerland. It is followed by Belgium and the United Kingdom. The fourth place, inherited by Spain, indicates that "the country's business schools are among the best in the world," said representatives of the Institute for Economic Research (IEE).

The top ten also included France, Singapore, Qatar, the Netherlands and Finland^[1].

Study of religions

According to a report presented by the Foundation Ferrer y Guardia (Fundación Ferrer y Guardia), in December 2016, the popularity of religious lessons in schools is falling.

In primary school, 30.7% of students prefer alternative subjects to religious education, in secondary school - 47%, in high school - 66.5%.

At the same time, in public schools, the number of those who do not want to study religions is noticeably higher compared to private ones - 60% versus 22%.

Notes