In Spain, the school day usually starts between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., depending on the students’ age. At my school, students in seventh, eighth, ninth, and 10th grade start school at 8:00 a.m. I teach younger students in the morning, so I start work at 9:00 a.m.
Students go to school from Monday through Friday, just like in the United States. However, many students in Spain do not take a school bus. Most students walk or ride a bike to school. Students in Spain think it is very cool that schools in the U.S. have big yellow school buses.
At my school, there are students from preschool through 10th grade. This format is common in Spain, but some schools have only younger students or only older students. There is one class for each grade, and each class has about 15 to 30 students. In total, there are 266 students at my school.
In Spain, students have to go to school until age 16, whereas in the United States, students have to go until age 18. After age 16, many students in Spain choose to attend bachillerato. Bachillerato is like 11th and 12th grade in the U.S., and it helps students prepare for college and university.
