STUDENT EXCHANGE SPAIN – LONG TERM

Spain is well-known for its very rich and diverse history, natural beauty and of course culture. From Flamenco in the South to the fjords in the North West coast, Spain has so much to offer. Spending a Term, a Semester or an Academic year in Spain will give you the opportunity to have a glimpse of Spain, and experience some wonderful celebrations unique to this amazing country. You will also improve your Spanish skills enabling you to communicate with many other parts of the world.

You will live with a Spanish host family who will help you discover everyday life in Spain. You will also attend a nearby school, where you will study like a Spanish student, completely immersed. Spanish people are very welcoming so you will be ‘part of the crowd’ in no time at all.

Best efforts will be made to find a host family with a child the same age as you. The families are always eager so welcome an Australian student. You may be expected to help your host-sibling with his or her English studies as well.

Students with special diets, eating habits or allergies may not be able to participate in this program. Any special diet or allergy must be discussed with Nacel before any booking is made.

We use our extensive network of fully trained local coordinators to select throughout the country host families who want to welcome Australian students into their homes. Our families are carefully selected and inspected, friendly, welcoming and open minded and are eager to share their language and lifestyle. Both our local coordinator and staff in the main office in Spain (Nacel España) are always there to support our Australian students.

Homestay and High School Matching

• Students accept to be placed anywhere in Spain depending on where the best match is found.
• The placement is made by matching a student with a family according to various criteria including their common interests, hobbies and activities.
• The student will be given the chance to go to a Spanish school, likely with a host sibling (the Spanish student and the participant may not be in the same class)

School System

The secondary schools take students aged 12 to 16 years old, while the Bachillerato takes students from 16 to 18. In secondary school, core subjects include mathematics, Spanish and literature, natural sciences, social sciences, foreign language (English), physical education, plastic and visual arts, music and technology, while in the “Bachillerato”, students must take philosophy, Spanish and literature, foreign language, history and physical education. Three more optional subjects can be added, based on the school’s offer: technical drawing, biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, Latin, old Greek, etc. Students can choose optional subjects based on their interests. Grades and subjects chosen depend on availability and on Principal’s decision.

All students will need to be officially registered in high schools which will allow students, who decide to take the whole academic year program, to be validated officially with the Ministry of Education in Spain. For those doing only a term or a semester, schools might issue a certificate, but this is at the Principal’s discretion.

The school year starts in mid-September and finishes around mid-June. There are 3 terms. At the end of each term, students will have exams not only before Christmas and before Easter but also before finishing the course in June. There are no national examinations in Spain, except the “Selectividad”, used for the admission to a Spanish University.

The school day usually starts at 8:00am and goes to 2:45pm (with a 30 minute break at 11:00am. Some schools offer optional workshops/extracurricular afternoon activities which may be at an extra cost.