Education in Javea

When making a decision to emigrate and you have school age children, education is a major consideration. Luckily both Spanish and English curriculum schools can be found in most regions of Spain in order to accommodate most needs.

Javea State Education

The Spanish system is in three parts, pre school age 3 to 6, primaria 6 -12 and secondaria 12 – 16/18, all of which are mainly non fee paying and local. Pre-school is spent building vocabulary and sounds which are then used as a basis for reading when they enter primaria.

With this system most children will learn to read fluently within 3 months of entering primary. The children come under continual assessment in all subjects during primaria years and if the teachers feel the child is struggling they would be asked to repeat the year in order to improve their abilities. Children are only allowed to repeat a maximum of 2 times per level and then move to the instituto for secondary education (ESO). Here the students are given a wide range of subjects, with Spanish and mathematics compulsory throughout. The school year is divided into 3 terms and exams are taken in all subjects each term. Passing 2 out of the three exams is considered a pass in the subject. Should a pupil fail more than 3 subjects they are asked to repeat the year. At the end of 4 completed and passed years they receive a certificate of completion, with which they can go on to study for their baxillerat -baccalaureate or enter into vocational courses in technical colleges.

The baxillerat years are tested in the same way, but as education is not compulsory after the age of 16 if the staff think a pupil is continually failing, they can ask them to consider other options. This system is not as restricted as our British ‘A’ levels but students opt to follow a science or art based curriculum depending on their future career. Having passed both first and second year baxillerat they are entered for external exams in the June and these are marked and returned within a week when the students can get on with applying for university places. For those who fail by a small margin there is an opportunity to retake the exams in September.

My own children used this system and have followed it all the way through to university. The main philosophy seems to be that the students are building and understanding the knowledge with continual assessment.

The school entry year is from 1st January to 31st December, the year the child is born. I would recommend any child under the age of 11 to go into the Spanish system but beyond this age they would have to have a fair knowledge of Spanish or a high attainment level. Often new non Spanish speaking students are placed in a year lower when entering the system after the age of 10. However at the level of ESO the student needs not only a sound knowledge of the Spanish language and its vocabulary but also a good understanding of the cultural background in order to progress all in subjects. At this level the student is expected to be self disciplined and motivated to complete educational projects but at this age they may not find it as easy to develop new friendships which could affect their development both socially and educationally.

Unfortunately the Spanish system does not provide the extensive backup for learning difficulties which is found in the UK, if it is available the teaching medium is Spanish and generally students have to be referred by a school and local psychologist.

Private Education in Javea

For those who don’t wish their children to enter the Spanish system there are two fee paying English curriculum schools, both based in Javea.
Students who have already begun their GCSE syllabus may have difficulty even in English schools if the syllabus followed is not the same as in their local area. This needs to be investigated thoroughly with the UK school; alternatively the students are put into year ten and restart the syllabus.

These schools are monitored by an international body and are subject to inspections like UK schools. To check is there is a school near your selected area you can log onto http://www.nabss.org Alternatively, there are the international schools in Spain which sometimes follow both an English and Spanish curriculum and the educational standards in these schools are excellent. It is worth noting that if the student is following a British curriculum their university education may have to be in UK, depending on the career chosen.

With my children in the Spanish system and having taught in the English schools in Spain, I feel both systems have a lot to offer the students. I have often suggested for those who are not sure to start in the Spanish system and then change to an English system later, this way the student also gets a good grounding in the Spanish language. Obviously as a parent, you must take into consideration your children’s point of view also because if they are unhappy, they will not find it easy to learn in any system.