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You are here: Home Education Pre-school Finding the best schools for your children

13/10/2005Finding the best schools for your children

Spain’s education system can offer a lot to the expat family, but do your research and find the school that is best suited to the needs of your children.

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A young pupil hard at work

When you reach the grand old age of five in Spain, it's time to go to school. But should your parents want to hand you over earlier, you will find nursery schools for children from as young as nine months.

Parents usually need to register their children for the September intake in May, either directly at the school or via the local town hall.

Nursery education (3-6 years)
(Educación Infantil, EI)

Children usually receive three years of nursery education to develop their physical and mental skills. From the age of four they learn to read and write and by the time they complete their EI they will know the alphabet. Emphasis is placed on learning about various aspects of different cultures, the environment and road awareness skills

Primary education (6-12 years)
(Educación Primaria, EP)

The six years of primary education are split into three two-year periods. If the child has not reached the required standard by the end of any period they may have to repeat the second year of that stage.

Pupils learn Spanish language, maths, Conocimiento del Medio (which includes history, geography and biology), Physical Education, Art and a second language, usually English. Religion is also taught at this stage in most schools, focusing on Catholicism.

There is no streaming in Spain; classes are all mixed ability, and parents can see teachers once a week to discuss their child's progress and problems. Children are introduced to exams from around the third year of primary school, but there are no national level testing exams as is the case in the UK.

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