I've got an interview with my 10yo's headmaster to catch up on the contents of a PTA meeting I didn't attend - it was to clarify the differences in exam/points requirements & levels of languages/subjects if pupils plan on attending uni in Spain vs the UK. In our case there are several years to think about it, but I'd love to hear advice, tales of woe, suggestions, universities with better or worse requirements & results, etc etc.

(failed to mention my son goes to a British international school with about a 85% Spanish pupil ratio hence the meeting!!)

oh, and please no crazy UK v Spain pit-patting, the comparison is required in this case but ONLY educationally!

I can only tell you about my wife's experiences of UK and Spanish universities - she went to both

She thought the work was harder in Spain than in the UK, but the teaching support much better in the UK. The big advantage is that Spanish unis are so much cheaper to attend.

As for employability, that depends on what your son wants to do, and where. Spanish degrees are well excepted in the UK

If your son wants to study a science then I would recommend going to the UK, Spanish universities dont have a reputation for world class scientific research as they dont have the budgets or links with industry

And actually accessing the unis with Spanish vs English/British/UK school qualifications?

That I dont know.

My wife took an Erasmus year in the UK, but then decided to do the final year there too because she had met me . She had to pay the £1k tuition fees (at the time), but was a simple process. So now she has a degree authorised by both a Spanish and UK university

OK Thanks. Will have to hope someone else with young adult/teenage children chimes in!

Your son will be in the enviable position of speaking two languages fluently and having good qualifications in both countries.

Who knows what will happen in education over the next few years, but he should hopefully still have plenty of choice and by then, he'll probably have a firm idea of where he wants to study.

Depending on his chosen career, a degree from either country should stand him in good stead. This will of course depend on subject choice which is another matter.

If it is looking like six of one and half a dozen of the other, I would suggest taking the degree in whichever country he thinks he will look for work in.

I think it is very difficult for good, hands on parents to step back and allow the young person to take control, but I know my three respected me for allowing them to make their own decisions at that point. Bless them, they didn't realise how subtle guidance can be!

I do think that the cost needs to be a consideration. The level of debt that kids these days have when they graduate is frightening. Luckily mine just missed out on the highest fees.

The school will give good guidance, but they do tend to steer kids towards uni when it isn't always the best choice for them. It is easy to think that bright kids should go to uni, but sometimes there are better paths.

I'm not surprised you are thinking ahead. The next few years are going to fly by. I wish I had them to enjoy again.

I agree (through gritted teeth!) about the 'stand back and let them make their own decisions/mistakes' approach.... and about cost, and what's appropriate for a given child may not be uni, and about where jobs may be....

My remaining question relates to the actual entry requirements for unis here and in the UK - ie what will they NEED for Spain and what will they NEED for UK. Subjects obligatory, points, how to accumulate them, etc etc. Obviously there will be different requirements for different subjects/courses/locations etc., but as an 'accurate' rule of thumb?

Have you taken a look here Education in Spain? It certainly helped me to understand what subjects had to be taken and at what level.


My eldest is in Bachi at the moment and we're hoping he will go to Uni here in Spain. For us it's hard to know what is best but having no family back in UK (and not much spare capital) it would be hard if he wanted to go to Uni there.

we are looking at my eldest possibly returning to the UK to do A levels & then uni there

she can follow the bachi route to get to where she wants to be - but if she does the A levels she wants, she'll have a grounding in what she wants to study at uni before she goes - those options aren't available with bachi, nor at the International school here

sadly though, costs will have to come into it

although there would be no charge for the A levels in the UK - we'd have to find money for accommodation & living expenses - that could be the deciding factor in the end

and uni costs are so very much higher there - but at least grants are available - although it would surely be better for her to NOT start life with debts when the actual uni course she wants to do IS available in Spain

If the uni course is not available in Spain one must ask why not?

Spansh employers are very conservative, they expect young employees to have the degree or other qualifications that are exactly relevant for the job. So, for the career that your daughter would like to do in Spain, what qualifications do people need?

Of course if your daughter only wants to work in the UK then the question is irrelevant

I don't know anything about university in Spain, but I can tell you a little bit about the UK.

It's all about UCAS points for university entrance in the UK. These can be accrued by A levels or other qualifications such as NVQs, BTECs or HNDs - possibly others as well.

I'm not sure there is any rule of thumb about requirements - the more points you have, the more choice of course/institution you would have. Students get places within the full range of results - some have 4 A levels as A* and some students get places with the legal minimum which is the equivalent of 2 A levels at grade E.

In terms of cost, you are actually in a good position to consider a university in Scotland as they do not charge tuition fees for Scottish students or students from other EU countries outside of the rest of the UK. Of course, that could well have changed by the time your child gets to 18

There are some great websites to have a look around at to get a feel for things.. here are a few, but there are many more...

UCAS is the website through which you will complete your applications to UK universities.

UK Gov for info on student finance.

A comparison website for searching for courses etc... some good league tables on here so you can see the average amount of UCAS points it might take to get a place.

Fiona - I just remembered that I contacted these people to find out how bachi transfers as far as UK unis are concerned

http://www.ecctis.co.uk/naric/default.aspx

Thanks everyone - some good ideas and sources. Scotland sounds quite a good idea, actually - except that our usual home base in the UK was in the SW!!!! Mind you that shouldn't be cast in tablets of stone, I suppose..

I'm still wondering if anyone in BE has offspring who have gone through this whole Spain/UK Bachi/A levels etc decision on the basis of international school - where of course BOTH are probably available; if relevant to your further educational choices. It's just knowing what's the most appropriate route.

the course is available here, so it IS an option still

University in the UK is absolutely extortionate now. I don't think I'd ever send my kids (if I had any) to uni there. I had support from my parents, worked part time and lived very frugally and I still have a mountain of student loan debt I'll be paying off for decades (and no, I'm not exaggerating. I've only paid off a tiny percentage so far, after 3 years of working full time). Most universities are now charging 9K a YEAR! Just for tuition, not including rent and living expenses. I just don't see how it's worth it. I'd stick with Spain if I were your daughter.