Any students here who took ESO instead of GCSE's?

Don't be silly, 9 out of 10 is gorgeous
I only sent the grades of 4th ESO and those of bachillerato ^^

Hi!
I'm Swedish but lived in Spain for a bunch of years and did all my under 18 education there.

I can tell you I got 8.9 in 4th ESO, working very hard, but also bullied by the atmosphere and those kids who never got more than a 6. Then I moved to another school to do social sciences bachillerato and I have recently graduated Cum Laude.

The thing is, while kids in the Uk or Sweden are aware of the necessity of getting good grades even when you are 14, in Spain nobody cares until they are in the two last weeks of the second year of bachillerato.

Personally, I think Spanish education itself is not as bad as many Europeans tend to adress, then if you strive hard and commit yourself you get a broad knowledge in the arts and sciences. For example, in bachillerato it is mandatory to read history, philosophy and Spanish language although you are doing straight sciences. I am positive certain that the problem lais within the fact that teachers are usually unmotivated and that students don't have the "pressure" that English or German people have to get a place at university.

As a consequence you can ask in the street a 16 year old which year was the French Revolution, and he most surely won't even know what you're talking about


PD: Where in Spain did you live, if I might ask?

I have done my ESO in Catalonia and am currently studying el Bachillerato. I have applied to four different universities in the UK (Kent is one of them) and would love to know if they would accept my 9/10 in 4th ESO mathematics as a C in maths?
Extra info: I'm a British national who moved to Spain during year 8 (1 ESO), this mean my marks until 3rd ESO were not that great.
Are the marks from 4th what they would take into account? if not will my bachillerato title suffice?

I'm starting to panic now because my application to South bank has been rejected :/ the entry requirements were CCC, my bachillerato marks easily cover that. I'm gunna call up the uni and see what they say as the reason they gave for my unsuccessful application was: "Your application does not demonstrate that you meet the minimum academic requirements for this course."

Maybe they don't recognize the bachillerato title?!

UPDATE: haha soI phoned them and they seem to think bachillerato is a GCSE equivalent... I have emailed them with my qualifications attached, hopefully they reconsider...

Are you kidding me?

All UK universities should be aware of international qualifications and on the UCAS application there's an entire list that you can choose from. That they wouldn't know what Bachillerato is seems astonishing.

Good luck anyway with your application.

Thank you! I emailed them and they gave me an offer in the end.
I've been reading up on South bank and it seems to have a very bad reputation. It's my last choice so hopefully I get into one of my other chioces (Kent, KCL and QMUL)...

It's strange how there are so many people who say GCSEs are rubbish etc. yet the UK has some of the best universities in the world and many more great universities. So the education system must be doing something right..

How is the quality of the universities in the UK relevant to the quality of GCSEs? American pre-university education is pretty much rubbish as well, but their unis are top class...

You guys seem to have had bad experiences - must say my school was fine & I still go back to see my Spanish schoolfriends.

I agree, I've been to two different schools so far while here and both have been fine(apart from the odd "guiri" remark at my first school, but you get dickheads everywhere...).

most annoying thing ever!

even my family calls me that sometimes in an "affectionate" way and they think they're not being offensive...i feel like saying "**** you, go have a siesta"

Ha ha yeah. I remember on my first day at my second school here I heard one kid say to another: "ohh mira, hay guiris en el insti". They shut up soon after I spoke to them in Spanish :L. My personal favorite was when I was out drinking and talking to one of my dutch friends in English, this drunk girl and this guy were watching us and starting going omg look there's some guiris, as soon as we heard them we switched to Catalan, it blew their mindsXD

I didnt think it made much difference to them whether you speak the language or not.

Dunno about that, well at least where I am. I haven't been called it in ages! I guess it's because in Catalonia most people are very passionate about their culture and language, so when they see I can speak Catalan and not just Spanish, they probably just appreciate the fact I've taken the time to learn their language (well, it's either that or they just call it me behind my back xD).

yeah.

i guess people notice that i have a really heavy accent. it doesnt help that i'm beginning to forget the language a bit. plus i've got fair hair and clear eyes and pale skin so I stick out like a sore thumb.

I stick out a lot too when i speak Spanish, as my accent also sucks and I look like a guiri to them 8blonde hair, green eyes...):/. Although I've finally managed to get the 'r' down! . Hopefully I won't forget the language when i come back to the UK this summer to go to uni. I shouldn't because i'm going to do Hispanic studies and i'll make sure to practice my Catalan a lot.

Do you live in Spain then?