Repeating a school year happens when you do not achieve the minimum passing grades for the subjects you are taking. This is something that can happen in the various existing academic stages. If you as a student think that it is simpler to just repeat a course, it is time to learn more about it.
Over the last few years, many efforts have been made by government bodies and educational institutions in Spain to encourage students to complete their studies. Although changes have been made gradually, there are still a large number of students who prefer to abandon their studies altogether.
As a result, there is also a large percentage of students who repeat their school years over and over again. There have been many discussions about not allowing students to have the option of repeating, but this is a very sensitive issue that has not yet been resolved.
This is why, unfortunately, Spain is among the top countries in the list of nations with repeating students in the whole of the European Union. Various studies have calculated that at least one in three Spanish secondary school pupils has repeated a year. This is equivalent to approximately 31% of students at Secondary level.
Although various actions have gradually been taken to reduce this percentage, it is still a reality. And it is well known that it is these students who are most likely to drop out at some point.
Similarly, thanks to the aforementioned studies, it is also known that students tend to repeat grades more frequently in the first year of Secondary School and in the second year of Baccalaureate. This should come as no surprise, as these are the academic stages most feared by all young people at school.
The decision to make a student repeat a year varies according to the academic stage in question. In both primary and secondary education, this is in accordance with the LOMCE (Ley Orgánica para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa - Organic Law for the Improvement of the Quality of Education).
While in Bachillerato the decision is made by the tutor in charge of each subject. Likewise, you should know that within each stage there is a maximum limit to the number of times a student can repeat a course. These are explained below:
Primary students who need to repeat a year can only do so once. In the event that the situation of not passing the subjects is repeated, the tutors' council can evaluate the option of non-promotion.
In case a student has to repeat a year during the Secondary stage, he/she will have two opportunities to repeat during the first and second year. On reaching the fourth year, he/she may only repeat once and, at most, twice. The latter if the student has not repeated a year during the first three years.
Since students take a larger number of subjects in the baccalaureate, they may repeat only once in each subject. Only in very special cases can the tutor evaluate the option of allowing the student to repeat it a second time.
Although talking about repeating a course may sound really negative, we cannot deny that there are some remarkable advantages. However, you should not take these advantages as an excuse to decide to stop studying and repeat the course.
If you have not really been able to give your best during the school year, for one reason or another, you should take a positive view of the possibility of repeating it. Especially because, if the tutors support you in this, it is because they really believe that you can improve by repeating it. In addition to this, some of the other advantages of repeating a course are:
· You will be able to reinforce much more what you have learnt in order to consolidate all your knowledge in the right way.
· By agreeing to repeat a course you will be giving yourself the opportunity to overcome your academic difficulties.
· Making the choice to repeat the course will allow you to avoid the dreaded school failure that worries students so much.
· If you were not comfortable with your academic environment, you will be able to change it once you have to repeat a year.
· Repeating a year gives you a new opportunity to learn more, learn better and make noticeable improvements in your performance.
While the recommendation is to take this kind of situation in a positive way, you have to be aware that it has its disadvantages. These disadvantages involve various types of factors such as time and money. Some of the most notable disadvantages of repeating a course are:
· The possible academic discouragement of the student who has to repeat the course.
· The extra expense that parents will have to incur to support an extra year of study that was not in their plans.
· It implies, in a way, spending valuable study time that could mean progress rather than repetition.
· The country, in general, is also inconvenienced by repeating students. It is estimated that Spain pays around 20,000 euros for each student who repeats a course.
· Repeating a course means, both for the individual and for the country, a wasted future working year.
As a parent of a pupil, at any academic stage, who has been informed to repeat a year, you have the right to study the case. To do so, you have the right to request all assessment documents, including the respective assessment instruments.
With them, you will be able to study in depth, together with your child and the tutor, how correct the decision is that your child should repeat a course. As a representative, you have the right to decide whether to accept or deny the fact of repetition.
If you feel that it is entirely your child's fault, then you should accept the fact that your child has to repeat the year. However, if there have been demonstrable personal reasons for your child's failings, you can simply deny this and allow your child to continue to progress in his or her studies.
It is well known that as we move up the academic ladder, subjects become more difficult to understand and assessments more difficult to pass. However, this does not mean that you should give up from the start because you prefer to repeat the course.
If you feel you need help to pass your subjects, then go for it. For example, at WeSmartly we are fully ready and prepared to help you with this. We have the presence of a wide variety of private tutors, each and every one of them is ready to help you with this kind of complex situation.
It doesn't matter if you feel you need help in general or with specific subjects. We have tutors available who specialise in a variety of areas who are fully prepared and willing to help. So don't let the course pass and you will have to repeat it, take charge of the matter and start studying to the maximum with a private tutor.
