Spanish System
Education in Spain is regulated by the Ley Orgánica de Educación (LOE, Organic Law of Education) that expands upon Article 27 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978.Education is compulsory and free for all children aged between 6 and 16 years, and is supported by the national government together with the governments of each of the country’s 17 autonomous community.
In Spain, the education regulating body is “Ministry of Education”. It is the “Law Of Education” that makes the regulations. According to this law, education in Spain is compulsory and should be free from “six years to sixteen years of age”. This is supported by the government of the Spain. From 6 to 16, the school attendance is compulsory for every child.
A Look to the Education System
The education before 6 years is termed as pre-primary education or kindergarten education and is divided into two groups. First is up to 3 years and the second is from 3 to 6 years of age. From 6 to 16 years of age, the education in Spain is divided into two groups. 1) The first group, called primary education, is for students between the ages of 6 and 12. 2) 12 to 16 years ( called secondary education) The primary education is divided into three cycles 1) 6 to 8 years (first cycle) 2) 8 to 10 years (second cycle) 3) 10 to 12 years (third cycle) During this stage, the average number of students in a class is around 25 in the Spanish schools.
- Pre-primary school, structured as two cycles:
- First cycle : 0 to 3 years of age
- Second cycle: 3 to 6 years of age
- Primary school, structured as three year cycles:
- First Cycle (6 to 8 years of age)
- Second Cycle (8 to 10 years of age)
- Third Cycle (10 to 12 years of age)