The Andorran schooling systems have improved in variety, curriculum and teaching methods greatly over the last decades. The systems act as launching pads to prepare adolescent children to be accepted into Universities in France and Spain, which in both cases have very high standards of education and strict admittance requirements that emphasize the importance of organized scholarly practice. There are currently four different systems of education in Andorra which will be briefly described below:
The Spanish system – Self explanatory, in this system the curriculum is taught in the Spanish national tongue. Due to the large immigrant population, the Andorran Government saw it necessary to create Spanish Institutions so that children could be taught in their natural language, and not create further hurdles for migrant students. The curriculum is a direct transfer of the Spanish system, but as the local environment requires, there is an extra emphasis on the Catalan and French languages.
The French System – Historically this was regarded as the best educational system in the country and was implemented under the same grounds as the Spanish System. At the time of foundation, the French were considered to have one of the best educational systems in the world; hence it was inevitable, especially considering the countries ties to France and its French population, that the Andorran government would host a local French School (Lycee) within the countries boundaries. Of course under this system, classes are taught in French, but again there is a strong emphasis on Spanish and Catalan. Over the last decade English has become increasing popular in both schooling systems
The Andorran system itself has become more and more advanced over the past decade and now hosts the largest number of students in Andorra. The main reason for this is the stringent curriculum which directs students to further their education (post graduation) at either the Spanish or the French Universities while not rallying for one or the other. A good balance of Spanish and French is also taught in the classrooms, (this is not really necessary, as children from a very young age are exposed to French and Spanish in everyday life, television, press, friends etc). The majority of the classes are given in Andorra’s national tongue, Catalan, which contrary to popular belief, is a reviving language and continues to grow throughout the region between Perpignan and Barcelona.
The International School in Aldosa. (Collegi Internacional del Pireneu) is a completely private school which accepts children from pre-school to graduation. There is a restriction on local (Andorran) students as the school runs on a strict policy of integration and education. The result of this policy is that the school houses the majority of children of Passive Residents in the country. English is used throughout the campus as a third language and a great emphasis is given on the younger international students to assist them to learn Spanish which is the chosen language of the school. Apart from the classes you would expect to find in the other schooling systems throughout Andorra, the Collegi Internacional dels Pireneus has recently adopted further languages such as Mandarin and German.
The various school systems place great importance on sports for which there are plenty of resources throughout the country. In the winter season, the children will have at least one class of ski school per week, whilst throughout the Autumn and Spring months, there are a variety of sports from football to baseball.
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