I worked in two schools in Almería for five months and I noticed some differences between the school systems in Spain and Scotland.
The first very noticeable difference is that pupils in Scotland are obliged to wear school uniform every day whereas Spanish students are allowed to wear whatever they want. High school children/teenagers will typically wear a white shirt, a tie, trousers or a skirt, a blazer and black shoes. We even had a uniform for PE (Physical Education). I liked wearing a uniform in school because it meant I didn’t have to decide what to wear to school everyday. However some students would prefer to wear whatever they wanted and we would sometimes have debates about this in English class.
Another difference I have noticed is the timetable. In Almería classes would begin at 8:15am and finish at 2:45pm but in Scotland high school begins at 8:45am and finishes at 3:35pm. I found it strange that there was no lunch break in between classes in Almería. In Scotland we have 2 classes then a break for 15 minutes. Then another 2 classes followed by the lunch break which lasted 45 minutes and then another 3 classes. However in my old high school we would finish at 2:45pm on Wednesday and Friday. On Monday,Tuesday and Thursday we would finish at 3:35pm.
In Almería students would stay in the same class for a lot of their classes. Teachers would go to their next class depending on what lesson they were teaching next. However in Scotland it is the students that have to walk to their different classes and the teacher stays in the same classroom.
Questions
- Do you think Spanish school students should wear a uniform? If yes/no, why?
- Which school timetable(Scottish or Spanish) do you prefer and why?
- Would you like to experience school in a different country? If you could choose a country to go to school in for a month, which country would you choose?