Spanish School System

Ana and Carlos have explained a lot to me about the Spanish school system and how it differs from the USA school system.

(^Colegio Felipe II is a bilingual primary school)

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Repeating grades

Apparently it is very common for children to repeat grades in Spain. It isn't looked down upon in any way. Because of this, you will frequently find older kids in grades. I found this interesting because in the states, if you get held behind a grade it is usually a bit of a sensitive subject. However here it's totally normal. Ana thinks there are pros and cons to this, as with anything. She thinks that it is good in the sense that children who aren't ready to move up really get to solidify the knowledge they need to succeed in the next grade. On the other hand, there are children who end up repeating a grade who really shouldn't be.

1-6, 7-10, 11-12 (optional)

Primary school is 1st-6th grade and it is mandatory: escuela primaria

Secondary school is 7th-10th grade and it is also mandatory: escuela secundaria

Pre-University is 11th-12th grade and it prepares children to go to university: Bachillerato. It is NOT required, but many children do continue to go to school to keep their options open (so they have the option to go to university or not)

6th grade importance: Placement Test into English or Spanish Schools (PET)

6th grade is really important for children in Madrid. At the end of the year, they will take a test called the PET (Preliminary English Test). This test will determine if they continue secondary school at a bilingual English/Spanish school or at an only Spanish speaking school. My teachers are not fans of this test. Overall, the bilingual schools are better than the Spanish-only schools. They get frustrated because they can have a student who excels in all of their classes but doesn't perform well on this one test, and then gets sent to a "not so good" Spanish school. Moreover, Carlos revealed that each test costs the government of Spain 100 euros per student, as the test is administered by an outside entity. Especially for a country that is recovering from bankrupt, that is a lot.

This is why I am solely working with 6th grade. Some of the other Auxiliares at my school are working with multiple grades. However, the students need as much practice speaking English as possible so prepare for the test. For now, I will just be engaging them in casual conversation. So far, my conversation topics have ranged from "Evil Siblings" to "Harry Potter" to "Tag/Pilla Pilla". My students have so much they want to day, and I am so impressed with how much they are able to convey at the age of 10-11. Later in the year, I will probably work more closely on test specific topics.

*Pilla Pilla = tag