Education in UK
Differences between UK and Spain
Education system in General
UK: The British education system is overseen by the Department for Education. It is divided into four stages: early years (between ages 3-4), primary education (ages 4-11), secondary education (ages 11-18) and tertiary education (18-).
Currently, full-time education is compulsory for all children until the age of 17. The 2008 Education and Skills Act raised it to 18. The English variant for the Baccalaureate Diploma received after successfully completing secondary education, is the A-level qualification. A-levels require studying an A-level subject for a period of two years, and sitting an examination after each year. However, most students study 3 or 4 subjects simultaneously in their final years of secondary education.
Spain: The compulsory educational period in Spain starts at the age of 6 and ends at 16. We have two separated levels: firstly, there is the primary school (between ages 6-12 ) it is followed by 4 years of secondary school. In these years, students don´t have a real chance to choose the itinerary they want to follow; the main number of subjects is obligatory and just two from the total can be selected by them.
After it, there are 2 possibilities: continuing your studies in the baccalaureate, which are focused on preparing you to the university, or going to the vocational education which is composed of workshops that teach you to be a manual worker in different fields.
Oxford university
Granada university
Cambridge university
Public vs. Private
UK: The tuition fees, rent and prices are generally higher than in the majority of the EU countries: largest costs in the European educational system.
Spain: The prices were doubled last year, and the government is thinking about increasing them again. The costs depend on the type of degree and the university.