Advantages of the British education system vs. the Spanish system

Many people wonder what is the fundamental difference between the Spanish education system and the British system.  More than a difference, we could say that it is a great advantage: the emphasis that the British curriculum places on the development of skills as opposed to the memorisation of facts, so common in Spanish education.

Education is nothing more than a reflection of the DNA of Anglo-Saxon culture, more practical than that of the rest of Europe, and this, applied to its education system, implies a conception of learning. The British system is based on teaching students to think and, above all, to learn by doing.

With all this in mind, we are going to unravel the six main advantages between British and Spanish education.

The advantages of the British education system

Academic demands and diversification by levels. The structure of the British education system is divided into primary, secondary, A-levels and vocational education or university. In the UK there is an exam to pass to what would be equivalent to our Bachillerato, whereas in the Spanish system there is no such control. In the same way, there is no diversification by levels and skills, which is encouraged in British schools, making teaching individualised and personalised and adapting it to the abilities of each student.

Teamwork. Although we are also finding this characteristic more and more in the Spanish education system, the British began to implement teamwork earlier and as an essential part of solving problems together and dealing with the way of studying and working of others, when doing work or presentations in class, which helps them to prepare for their future work, in which it will be difficult not to have to share and distribute tasks with other colleagues.

Work by objectives. In schools that follow the British system, each pupil knows the objectives to be achieved by the end of the year and works, with due effort, to achieve them. Working towards a goal provides self-esteem and an increase in their ability to excel. The great advantage of working towards objectives is that they are applied in a personalised way, according to the level of each pupil.

Personalised education. The creativity and potential of each student is taken into account in the British system classroom. It is not a question of standardising learning; on the contrary, what is sought is that each pupil can develop a series of personal skills, based on basic knowledge throughout each stage of education.

The implementation of the British system of education in schools in Spain has an important impact on pupils' language learning. Unlike other schools, English is the vehicular language in British schools, which means 100% immersion in English from the first day of school.

Do you like the British education system? Ask for more information. If you have any questions, leave us a comment.