High School in Spain

Experience a culturally rich, historic and modern country that has shown its importance in world affairs. A love of food, big sports, openness and socialising make up the passionate Spanish spirit. Come join in!

Spanish – a world language

Almost 500 million people around the world speak Spanish. To have this language on your future CV opens many doors. Previous studies in Spanish is not required to be an exchange student here, but some basic knowledge is strongly advised.

No matter how well you speak Spanish today, an exchange year in Spain will perfect your language skills through non-stop conversation and multiple high school classes that will reinforce your vocabulary in many different subjects.

Spain will leave you smiling

Whether it be the warm weather, friendly and talkative Spaniards, siesta time or late night tapas with your host family, Spain will captivate you and leave you smiling.

Population: 47 million
Area: 504 782 km2
Language: 72 % Spanish, the rest Catalan, Galician and Basque
Official name: Kingdom of Spain
Capital: Madrid (3,2 million)
Currency: Euro
Country code: +34

School life in Spain

Some basic Spanish skills and a curious mindset; that’s all you need to apply to high school in Spain. Up until year 10, school in Spain is called ESO, short for Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. Year 11 and 12 are called Bachillerato. These two years are more university oriented and not mandatory for Spanish teenagers. Your placement as an exchange student will be decided by the school and depends on your previous grades and Spanish skills.

Spanish, literature, English, maths and sports are often compulsory subjects. Physics, chemistry, biology, crafts and music are examples of other subjects that may appear on your schedule

A typical school day in Spain

School hours vary between schools. One type of schedule would be classes from 9 am to 5 pm including a two hour lunch break. Another typical schedule would be classes from 9 am to 2 pm, with no lunch break. You will be seated in the same classroom all day, but the teachers will be different depending on the subject.

Your Spanish host family

Your host family will be an important part of your exchange year in Spain and if you are open, social and talkative you will have a great time. Even if that’s not really who you are today, that’s who you will become after living a year in a Spanish family. Our host families are carefully selected. They will open up their home to you because they are interested in people from other cultures.

Late and loud dinners.

Through your host family, you will get an interesting inside view of Spanish daily life, traditions and culture, especially around the tasty dinner table. It’s common to have long, late dinners, often as late as 9 or 10 pm. These are usually gatherings with a lot of high-volume and passionate discussions. Spaniards love to tell stories and all communication is straight-forward and sometimes temperamental. You will soon get used to it. And love it!

Spanish families have a typical Mediterranean lifestyle, however, there will be differences across the country. Spain is divided into different regions and they all have their unique traditions.

Leisure in an inviting climate

The wonderful weather in Spain makes outdoor activities inviting. Many host families live near the sea and for those, water sports are of course a great alternative. Your local contact person and your host family will help you find a sports team or club you could join.

There are usually many options if you want to play soccer, handball or basketball. Another popular sport is golf and golf courses can be found pretty much everywhere in Spain. When summer ends, there are some parts in the country where you can go skiing!

Flamenco and being outdoors

Want to try something typically Spanish? If you like dancing you should definitely sign up for a passionate flamenco course. In general, social life takes place outside the home and you will soon learn from your new Spanish friends how to be spontaneous. Look forward to lots of fun times with your friends just hanging out on the square or at a café. This is arguably the best way to improve your Spanish!

See more of Spain

Take some time to travel. During your year in Spain, we will offer additional trips within the country to all our STS students. There are usually weekend trips, which is a perfect break from school. Follow us to the capital Madrid or to Sevilla. The travel program can differ. Therefore, you will get more information about prices and travel dates from your local contact person in Spain. 

For you that wish to stay shorter than 5 or 10 months we also have shorter programme lengths. Please call us!