Schools in the Mazarron Area



	*Schools in the Mazarron Area*
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Schools Information

The following general information applies to education in the region of Murcia.Other regions are probably similar, but as control of education was recently passed to the Autonomous Communities, there will almost certainly be some variation in other areas in matters such as school hours,dates of holidays etc. In some regions where there is a second official language such as Valencia and Catalunya children are required to learn this language as well as Castilian Spanish

Bilingual schools

Shoreless Lake school at Totana is a private fee-paying school for boys of all ages which follows the American curriculum, with all teaching conducted in English.

State Schools.

State education from three to sixteen years is free in Spain, but parents have to buy all their childrens' books and materials. Schools supply a list of what is required at the start of each school year which will include art and craft materials as well as text and exercise books. Expect to spend a minimum of around fifty pounds per child

Compulsory education is from 6 yrs old, but the infantil or pre-school stage is regarded as an integral part of the education system with infantil classes in almost every primary school. There are some separate Colegios Infantiles or nursery schools.

The Spanish name for a primary school is a Colegio, and for a secondary school, Instituto.

The stages of education are often referred to by their initials, eg. ESO or Education Secundaria Obligatorio for secondary education.

Secondary schools are effectively neighbourhood Comprehensives, with no second layer of Grammar schools such as still remain in parts of Britain.

School Hours

Primary school hours at present are 9.00 until 12:30 and 3.30 until 5:00, except during June and September when they work mornings only, 9:00 until 1:00. There is a move towards a single session day in primary schoolswhich would bring them in line with secondary schools. To achieve this each school has to submit a programme of extra curricular activities to be offered in the afternoons to the education authority, and if this is approved the proposal to move to a single session day is put to a vote by the parents for their approval.

School Terms

Broadly similar to the English three term system, but with slightly shorter holidays at Christmas and Easter, and longer in the summer, this year the summer holiday runs from June 21st until September 1st.

The English half term holiday doesn't exist, but there are frequent odd days and long weekends relating mainly to religious holidays and regional and national holidays.

Religious Education

Takes place in all schools in accordance with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic church. Parents are asked when they enrol their children whether or not they wish them to take religious education.

Availability of Schools

All but the very smallest villages have their own primary school, and there is widespread coverage by school transport.Small village schools are grouped together under the auspices of their local teacher's centre for the provision of specialist teachers for subjects such as music, english, etc.

Arrangements for foreign pupils

Many schools have a specialist teacher to help immigrant children of all nationalities learn Spanish. Generally speaking the younger the child, the more quickly they learn the language and integrate.

It is quite common for secondary pupils to be placed in the class a year below their actual age in order for them to learn the language and cope with normal school work.

A pupil who does badly in end of year exams, especially if the staff feel that they have made insufficient effort, can be required to repeat the year, but this can only happen once.

If you have questions that aren't answered here, visit our Local Schools section of the Bulletin Board and we'll try to give the answers.