State schools in Spain are almost exclusively co-educational and entirely free, from nursery school through to university (and includes the children of foreign residents).

Over 90 percent of children aged four or five attend nursery school and over 55 percent of students remain in full-time education until they’re 18, with around 25 percent going on to vocational training and 30 percent to university.

School attendance is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16, though children often attend state pre-school before the age of 6. The families of children in state education are expected to pay the costs of school books which are only free in exceptional cases.

Critics of the Spanish education system complain that its teaching methods are too traditional and unimaginative, with the emphasis on learning by rote. It has also been plagued by poor teacher training, badly motivated and poorly paid teachers, and a high student failure rate, although all have improved in the last decade.

The private Spanish school education system is not as expensive as in other countries as it is partially subsidised by the state. A large proportion of the private system is run by the Catholic Church.

All the international schools in Spain are private - many follow a UK curriculum and examination procedure, although there is a collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Education and Culture and The British Council in which students who study in certain Spanish school educational centres can simultaneously obtain the academic titles of Spain and their own country.

In 2006, during the general election campaign, the Socialist candidate Zapatero, promised that all students would be given the opportunity to become fluent in English by the age of 16. The socialist government does now seem to be delivering on this promise and has come up with a fairly radical plan to use English to teach parts of the primary and secondary school curriculum. They seem to be determined to raise the standard of English proficiency in Spain and there are now 1,000 infant, primary and secondary state schools in Spain that teach bilingually.

Details on all aspects of schools in Spain (state and private) can be obtained from the Spanish Embassy Education Office in London or the Ministerio de Educacion in Madrid.

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