# From ESO in Spain to Sixth Form in the UK



## JCLIF (May 31, 2016)

Hello! 
have my son in 3 ESO in Spain and wanted to know how easy/hard/sensible it might be to try to get him into Sixth Form in the UK to have a break from the Spanish system. IB or A levels. What grades would he need (nota)? He is likely to get a lot of different results, excellent in some, and only OK in others. I am really interested in Hockerill or Dalham to do the IB. He likes the boarding school idea. I would be very grateful for any hints.

Or, would it be better to complete his education in Spain and try for Scottish unis later on? 

Thanks!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

JCLIF said:


> Hello!
> have my son in 3 ESO in Spain and wanted to know how easy/hard/sensible it might be to try to get him into Sixth Form in the UK to have a break from the Spanish system. IB or A levels. What grades would he need (nota)? He is likely to get a lot of different results, excellent in some, and only OK in others. I am really interested in Hockerill or Dalham to do the IB. He likes the boarding school idea. I would be very grateful for any hints.
> 
> Or, would it be better to complete his education in Spain and try for Scottish unis later on?
> ...



My children didn't get notes per subject (well they did but it wasn't a mark as such). 

At the end of 4th de la ESO they just got an overall pass or fail - a pass gave them the certificate. I seem to recall that they could only fail 2 of the 13 subjects in order to get the certificate.


My personal opinion would be to complete bachi here and then to apply for universities in the UK. Well, ideally, they should complete university education here (IMHO) as my eldest son is doing through the University of Valencia.



Why are you contemplating a 'break in the Spanish education system'?


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## JCLIF (May 31, 2016)

He is half British and half Spanish and seems interested in living and studying also in the UK. Maybe Harry Potter is to blame! But the interest is from him.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

JCLIF said:


> Hello!
> have my son in 3 ESO in Spain and wanted to know how easy/hard/sensible it might be to try to get him into Sixth Form in the UK to have a break from the Spanish system. IB or A levels. What grades would he need (nota)? He is likely to get a lot of different results, excellent in some, and only OK in others. I am really interested in Hockerill or Dalham to do the IB. He likes the boarding school idea. I would be very grateful for any hints.
> 
> Or, would it be better to complete his education in Spain and try for Scottish unis later on?
> ...


My daughter, who is Spanish, has gone right through state education in Spain from 6 months at an _Escuela Infantil_ to 22 at university. She has just completed her degree by spending 6 months in Belgium on an Erasmus programme. One of the reasons that we were keen on her doing that was to get out of the Spanish system and to see other education systems. This is especially important in her case though as she has studied a degree in bilingual pre school education. 
Educationally the Erasmus programme seems to have been everything they are cracked up to be - very little studying and lots of discovering who you are, which is OK by me. She has had a peep into another way of life and education system, has had to face up to quite a lot of time on her own (she was not in accommodation with friends and the Belgiums have not been very sociable), sorting herself out and generally growing up a bit which was all part of the plan.
That's my experience. 
I'm really not sure if going from bachillerato and its never ending list of subjects, to 6th form where you study how many A levels is it nowadays, 4??, is very compatible. In theory, it sounds to me like a possibility and something to be looked on positively. (Better doing it that way round than going from the British system to the Spanish I'd say) I suppose that A levels are recognised for entry into Spanish universities should your son decide that he wants to study a degree in Spain?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I'm really not sure if going from bachillerato and its never ending list of subjects, to 6th form where you study how many A levels is it nowadays, 4??, is very compatible.


I did 4 when 3 was the norm. Some I know have done more than 4.

What I fail to understand is how can bachi with 13 subjects equate in any way to 6th form in UK with only 3 or so subjects.

Surely one covers so much more in the subject in UK?

I also haven't quite decided whether a broader education is better that a more 'restricted' one.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> I did 4 when 3 was the norm. Some I know have done more than 4.
> 
> What I fail to understand is how can bachi with 13 subjects equate in any way to 6th form in UK with only 3 or so subjects.
> 
> ...


I did 2 when 2 -3 was the norm. I only know about doing 4 from watching "Educating Yorkshire". (If subjects aren't getting easier then I don't know how come over the years students can do more and more...)
I'm not sure which idea is the best either - pros and cons for both


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> My daughter, who is Spanish, has gone right through state education in Spain from 6 months at an _Escuela Infantil_ to 22 at university. She has just completed her degree by spending 6 months in Belgium on an Erasmus programme. One of the reasons that we were keen on her doing that was to get out of the Spanish system and to see other education systems. This is especially important in her case though as she has studied a degree in bilingual pre school education.
> Educationally the Erasmus programme seems to have been everything they are cracked up to be - very little studying and lots of discovering who you are, which is OK by me. She has had a peep into another way of life and education system, has had to face up to quite a lot of time on her own (she was not in accommodation with friends and the Belgiums have not been very sociable), sorting herself out and generally growing up a bit which was all part of the plan.
> That's my experience.
> I'm really not sure if going from bachillerato and its never ending list of subjects, to 6th form where you study how many A levels is it nowadays, 4??, is very compatible. In theory, it sounds to me like a possibility and something to be looked on positively. (Better doing it that way round than going from the British system to the Spanish I'd say) I suppose that A levels are recognised for entry into Spanish universities should your son decide that he wants to study a degree in Spain?


I am surprised to read your comments about the Erasmus programme. My eldest son did a year at Rennes University in Brittany under Erasmus and they worked him around the clock. The walls of his room in Rennes were plastered with post-it notes quoting Acts of Parliament and EU directives (he was studying law and French) to help him remember enough to pass exams and he always seemed stressed. Mind you, he did find time to meet a young French lady who is now his wife!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

The Skipper said:


> I am surprised to read your comments about the Erasmus programme. My eldest son did a year at Rennes University in Brittany under Erasmus and they worked him around the clock. The walls of his room in Rennes were plastered with post-it notes quoting Acts of Parliament and EU directives (he was studying law and French) to help him remember enough to pass exams and he always seemed stressed. Mind you, he did find time to meet a young French lady who is now his wife!


Well in Spain the fame is for little actual studying and lots of partying, but perhaps that's just Spanish students' philosophy. I don't if it's true or not, but my daughter was certainly not worked round the clock, but neither was she studying law...


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## JCLIF (May 31, 2016)

Thanks for your comments! I think ERASMUS would be a good way to study abroad should he stay in the Spanish system, which he could. But we want to explore our options. Some of the UK boarding schools look attractive, especially the IB programs (rather than the A levels). Hence the original question about what nota he might need. Hockerill and Dalham look particularly attractive to my son, especially Hockerill, which we will visit in June. Any experiences there?


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## T3EYES (Dec 8, 2021)

JCLIF said:


> Hello!
> have my son in 3 ESO in Spain and wanted to know how easy/hard/sensible it might be to try to get him into Sixth Form in the UK to have a break from the Spanish system. IB or A levels. What grades would he need (nota)? He is likely to get a lot of different results, excellent in some, and only OK in others. I am really interested in Hockerill or Dalham to do the IB. He likes the boarding school idea. I would be very grateful for any hints.
> 
> Or, would it be better to complete his education in Spain and try for Scottish unis later on?
> ...


Hi there.

Did your Son complete ESO4 OK and then go straight into 6th form UK? Any issues about age? other?
The reason I ask is that my Son completes ES04 in June and was wondering if we could get him into UK 6th form for Sept 2022.
The problem with the UK is you enter the school year based on your birthday between Sept - August and although my Son completes ESO4 in June 2022. If he was studying in the UK he would be entering the final year of secondary (Year 11) in Sept 2022.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

T3EYES said:


> Hi there.
> 
> Did your Son complete ESO4 OK and then go straight into 6th form UK? Any issues about age? other?
> The reason I ask is that my Son completes ES04 in June and was wondering if we could get him into UK 6th form for Sept 2022.
> The problem with the UK is you enter the school year based on your birthday between Sept - August and although my Son completes ESO4 in June 2022. If he was studying in the UK he would be entering the final year of secondary (Year 11) in Sept 2022.


I have been contemplating similar things but with respect to my son( who also completes ESO4 this June) who wants to go to Scotland to do Highers. It is very frustrating as in Scotland they begin their Higher course after Easter and therefore my son would need to try and catch up on maybe 2 months work. Also I have repeatedly phoned and emailed schools to ask for advice or just explain what might happen etc and not one has replied and phone calls have just left me talking to reception who constantly fail to understand that despite living in Spain we are not Spanish and my son is bilingual ( which one individual seemed to think was a technical term indicating " has learning difficulties "!) Anyway it has kind of put me off a bit and I'm starting to lean toward him completing the Bacheriato here and then hopefully going on to a Scottish university later. It is a hard decision though.


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## T3EYES (Dec 8, 2021)

Oh dear. persevere


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

This is something constantly at the back of my mind, even though my eldest is still only 11. For the time being my plan is for him to do ESO and then decide between IB and Bachillerato, depending on his interests, and my finances. There are plenty of private schools (including international schools) in Spain that do the IB, and I get the impression it is an easier transition than A levels for students used to the Spanish system.

I personally disliked the A level system as I found it forced me to specialise too early (even though I ended up doing 4 of them) but that was mainly because I was a bit of an all rounder. I realise that others at the age of 16 might prefer never to write an essay again in their life, or never have to solve an equation. Horses for courses I guess. However the advantage with A levels for bilingual students is they can easily get an A or A* in Spanish A level, which would help them get into either UK or Spanish Universities. I guess they also have an advantage with the IB and Bachillerato as well, but since you do fewer subjects at A level, that Spanish A level carries more weight.

That said, I spoke to the Head of an established British school in Madrid a few years ago, and his advice was not to choose the education system because you think it helps get your child into a UK University, but simply choose the one you think will give them the best education. He said you can get onto nearly any UK University degree with a Bachillerato (with maybe a few exceptions such as medicine) so it's not really worth doing A levels just to get into a UK university if you don't think your child is suited to them.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Chopera said:


> This is something constantly at the back of my mind, even though my eldest is still only 11. For the time being my plan is for him to do ESO and then decide between IB and Bachillerato, depending on his interests, and my finances. There are plenty of private schools (including international schools) in Spain that do the IB, and I get the impression it is an easier transition than A levels for students used to the Spanish system.
> 
> I personally disliked the A level system as I found it forced me to specialise too early (even though I ended up doing 4 of them) but that was mainly because I was a bit of an all rounder. I realise that others at the age of 16 might prefer never to write an essay again in their life, or never have to solve an equation. Horses for courses I guess. However the advantage with A levels for bilingual students is they can easily get an A or A* in Spanish A level, which would help them get into either UK or Spanish Universities. I guess they also have an advantage with the IB and Bachillerato as well, but since you do fewer subjects at A level, that Spanish A level carries more weight.
> 
> That said, I spoke to the Head of an established British school in Madrid a few years ago, and his advice was not to choose the education system because you think it helps get your child into a UK University, but simply choose the one you think will give them the best education. He said you can get onto nearly any UK University degree with a Bachillerato (with maybe a few exceptions such as medicine) so it's not really worth doing A levels just to get into a UK university if you don't think your child is suited to them.


I agree that you dont need UK qualifications to enter a UK university the B will be sufficient with perhaps a couple of advantages: no need to do Selectividad (PAU) which many find is more stressful and draining than the B which isn't a single examination but spread out over the 2 years. Secondly being bilingual makes you standout from the majority of other students when making your UK application which is important as many universities now are interested in a students overall character than only their academic achievements.


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## Stelen (Oct 7, 2021)

I'm not dissing the Spanish education system as it's my experience that early years schooling in Spain was excellent but he ESO system was failing both of my boys terribly by the end of the 3rd year (try as I might to improve the situation) and it looked like they were set to fail and leave school with nothing. We uprooted, moved to UK and put them back a year into year 10 and WOW....the results were astounding. They found a love of education, got 10 GCSEs, went on to get 3 A levels (as they both managed to get a 2 year Spanish course completed within the 1st year) and one of them went on to Uni whilst the other is now earning at management level. I must also point out that from the many expat AND spanish kids that do well in Spanish education, many will opt to move to the UK for the universities anyway and are able to do a foundation year if required.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I think it is difficult to objectively evaluate the school system as so much depends on the child. My son cam at the age of 10 and the first few years were very hard due to the language and the fact that homework and testing begin in primaria. Once he got to secondary things improved greatly and now he is about to finish ESO. The Bachillerato presents a problem as he wishes to return to UK and hopefully go to university and the fact that more subjects are studied (some redundant) makes it probably harder to get into a UK university. I'm still not sure what the best course of action is!


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