The school year in Spain runs from mid September to the third week in June and is divided into three terms. Although there are no set ‘half term’ breaks, each school allocates days off throughout the academic year, normally tagged onto either national or local festivals, depending on the area the school is situated. At the start of the school year the school will issue a list of applicable holiday dates, in particular those covering local fiestas. The school calendar for the Junta de Andalucía can be found by following this link

School hours in Spain vary from area to area, and occasionally, from school to school. In some areas the children go home for lunch around 1pm returning at 3pm for a further 2 hours; however primary schools in Andalucía generally operate from 9am to 2pm, with the secondary schools starting earlier, at 8.30am, and finishing at 2.30pm.

The procedure for enrolling your child in a Spanish school varies from school to school; some require a medical to be performed, along with an assessment of the child’s Spanish language skills. Documentation such as copies of birth certificates, passports and NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) numbers, along with proving where you are living are examples of what the school, at their discretion, may request, but more often than not, it is merely a case of completing a form and providing the school with 3 passport size photos of your child.

Compulsory education in Spain starts at aged 6, but many parents opt to start their children, from the age of 3, in the nursery attached to the school of their choice. From there they would move seamlessly into the primary school. In Spain, State Education is free, but parents are required to pay for school books and materials. Again this is dependent on what funding the individual school receives from the government.

Until approximately ten years ago, the age children started secondary school was 14; it is now normal practice for children to leave the primary school at age 12 to move to their local secondary school (El Instituto), however there remain some, more often rural, areas where the first two years of Secondary Education are still accommodated in the Primary School.

The first four years of Secondary Education in Spain are called "la E.S.O." (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria). Children are able to leave school either at the end of this time or at the age of 16, if they reach this sooner. At the end of the four-year ESO course successful students obtain a certificate of pass. Those who choose to stay on at school may go on to the two-year Bachillerato academic course, or enrol on practical training courses called modulos.

Further information on the State Education system in Spain can be found here