High School Immersion in Spain – 15 -18 years old – 1 month to 1 academic year
Why Spain?
One quite often says that there is not only one Spain, but several. With its rich and exciting long history, the Iberian peninsula offers a strong diversity of landscapes, cultures, languages, home produce, cities and gastronomy.
Every region boasts its own cultural and historical identity. While discovering Spain, one can only fall in love with such a diversity, but also with their inhabitants’ kindness and joy of living.
This programme places students all over Spain, including Balearic and Canary Islands.
For students who wish to choose their area or city of stay, we offer two options at an extra cost.
Option 1: guaranteed area
To be chosen between:
- Eastern Region
- Southern Region
- Central Region
- Barcelona Region (but not in the city)
Option 2 : guaranteed city
- Cities 1 : Seville, Zaragoza, Valencia, Alicante, Cádiz, Murcia, Huelva
- Cities 2 : Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga
If you wish to choose this option, please mention 2 destinations on your booking form.
During your stay, our local partners organizes group trips for all participants to the Madrid, Málaga and Seville programme. All necessary information will be provided on site.
This programme is open to motivated students aged 15-18 with a good command of Spanish who wish to study for 1 term, 1 semester or 1 full academic year in a Spanish “colegio” (secondary school), while sharing the life of a host family.
This programme places students all over Spain, including Balearic and Canary Islands. For those who wish to choose their host city or area, such an option is possible at an extra cost.
Lessons
You will attend a local public high school where you will be placed in the grade appropriate to your age, academic achievement and Spanish ability. However, the final decision will be made by the school’s headmaster and the Spanish Ministry of Education. You have to attend all classes, such as any Spanish student.
The subjects taught vary according to the class and usually include: maths, Spanish, English, a science course (physics, chemistry or biology) and physical education.
You will be placed in the same classes as your Spanish peers and will stay with the same group for the majority of the day. In Spain, teachers move from one classroom to another. Usually, lessons take place from 8 – 8:30 am to 2 – 2:30 pm with a 30 or 45 minutes break before noon. Students buy a snack at school or bring it from home. They have lunch when they return from school at around 3 pm.
The Spanish way of teaching is close to the one encountered at university. It means that teachers deliver a lecture course and that students have to take notes and do the homework requested. A Spanish student dedicates 2 to 4 hours a day to self-study, mainly in the afternoon (note revision, assignments to submit, projects). Yet, teachers are extremely open to advising you in order to overcome any potential difficulties.
Students are handed their school report in December, March and June. Grades (between 0 and 10) display everyone’s performance obtained throughout the term for each subject. Foreign students have to strike a 5 for each subject, which is considered a very decent performance, taking into account the language barrier.
Schools
You will attend a local public high school where you will be placed in the grade appropriate to your age, academic achievement and Spanish ability.
In Spain, Spanish students take priority over international students. Due to this, the placement of international students can only be confirmed definitively once all Spanish students are enrolled in the school. Therefore, placement in a specific school cannot be confirmed early.
Timetables vary according to the schools, either 08.00 to 15.00, or 09.00 to 13.00 and 15.00 to 17.00.
Education in Spain is divided into three stages: primary school (6 to 12 years), secondary school (12 to 16), and Bachillerato (16 to 18).
The Bachillerato corresponds to the last two years of secondary school, it completes the four years of “compulsory secondary study” (enseñanza secundaria obligatoria in Spanish). International students will enrol in the following grades:
- 3 ESO: 14-15 years
- 4 ESO: 15-16 years
- 1 BACHILLERATO: 16-17 years
- 2 BACHILLERATO: 17-18 years
The Spanish education system is based on continuous assessment. There is no national exam that marks the end of study, the end of school diploma is given depending on the results obtained throughout the year.
The academic year is split into three terms:
- 1st term: September to December
- 2nd term: January to March
- 3rd term: April to June
Exact dates of each term depend on the region of Spain. There is a winter holiday (about 2 weeks) and an Easter holiday (1 week to 1 week and a half)
Spanish Host Families
Your host family is the defining feature of your study abroad experience, helping you become fully accustomed to Spanish culture and feel part of the local community.
Families take an active interest in choosing a student to host and sharing their homes, lives and culture with their guests, through which they can get to know a new country.
75% of the families have already been hosts to foreign students and most of them have children of their own. All families are of Spanish nationality.
Students will be placed in single or shared room with a same-sex and same aged-child. The family provides all the meals, except those taken at school.
The Spanish way of life is typically Mediterranean, and the mealtimes are extremely different from Northern Europe. Lunch is taken around 3 pm and dinner around 9 pm.
The local correspondent is an experienced staff member who knows the host families and is in regular contact with the students and their Spanish parents throughout the programme.
They regularly organize meetings to ensure that your experience is going smoothly, both with your host family and at school. Your local coordinator is on hand to lend assistance in case of any issues and should be your first point of contact on the ground.
A 24hrs emergency hotline is available for any urgent issues that arise during your stay.
Upon arrival, students attend a pre-orientation meeting in Barcelona (2 nights on site), which takes place from September to January, from Friday to Sunday. This is a mandatory meeting concerning all participants to programmes of 1 term, 1 semester and 1 full academic year. This weekend will be an amazing opportunity to meet all international students taking part in the programme while visiting Barcelona and accustom yourself to all aspects of the forthcoming experience.
You will head for your host family on Sunday morning. Transport to your final destination is organised by our local partner.
Dates & Prices 2021-2022
Dates 2021-2022
- 1rst term: 10/09/21 to 09/12/21
- 1rst semester: 10/09/21 to 23/01/22
- 1 full academic year: 10/09/21 to 26/06/22
1 and 2 months stays are possible between September and late January
- 2nd term: 28/01/22 to 27/04/22
- 2nd semester: 28/01/22 to 26/06/22
Orientation weekend in Barcelona (for 1 term, 1 semester and 1 academic year stays)
- 10/09/21 to 12/09/21
- 28/01/22 to 30/01/22
Prices 2021-2022
| Tuition & full-board board accommodation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | € 3.795 | ||
| 2 months | € 4.295 | ||
| 1 term | € 4.950 | ||
| 1 semester | € 5.495 | ||
| 1 academic year | € 8.195 | ||
| Optional extras | |||
| Guaranteed choice | 1 term | 1 semester | 1 academic year |
| Region (East, South, Barcelona) | € 450 | € 450 | € 450 |
| Cities 1 and Community of Madrid | € 400 | € 600 | € 1.200 |
| Cities 2 | € 450 | € 750 | € 1.500 |
| Other extras | |||
| Special diet (per month) | € 100 | ||
Prices include :
- Interview
- All enrolment, lessons and exam fees in our partner schools
- Full-board accommodation in a host family
- Personal assistance and support from your local coordinator throughout your stay
- Regular contact and progress reports
- Detailed, personalized information on all aspects of your stay
- Certificate of completion
- School reports at the end of each term
- Outward transfer from Barcelona airport (except for 4 or 8-week stays) to the host region
- Pre-Orientation Meeting in Barcelona (except for 4 or 8-week stays)
- All documents required to apply for a visa (for non-EU residents)
- 24 hour assistance
Prices do not include :
- Outward journey to Barcelona
- Return journey from your host family to your country of origin
- Local transportation
- Pocket money: about €150 per month
- Course materials (between €150 and €300, depending on the school)
- Travel and medical insurances
- Visa fees (if applicable, only for non-EU residents)
