The Department of Education will subsidize 532 places for f…

The Department of Education will subsidize 532 places for language courses in English, French, and German abroad in the summer of 2027, for students in the 3rd and 4th years of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) and the 1st and 2nd years of Baccalaureate. The call was formalized by the Minister of Education, María Begoña Pedrosa Lobato, through the Order of October 13, 2026, and was published on October 28, 2026, in issue number 206 of the Official Gazette of the Basque Country, with official reference 2026/4539. The stay will last two weeks, and the total budget for the call is 1,033,571.48 euros.

The call is part of one of the lines of the Strategic Grant Plan for 2026 approved by the Department of Education, approved by the Order of February 24, 2026. The legal framework is based on Decree 77/2023 —regarding the Basic Education curriculum— and Law 17/2023, on Education in the Basque Country, both of which define the system as linguistic and intercultural. The department considers the development of language competence to be essential, as it is the basis for other key competencies.

The offer is not new. The Department of Education launched the program of places to study languages abroad for scholarship students in the summer of 1989; in 2005, minimum academic performance was introduced and it was somewhat expanded to students who did not have scholarships; and since the 2012 call, students have paid a participation fee based on family income. The implementation of this call is subject to the 2027 budget allocation and the contract signed with the organizing company, as specified in the additional provisions of the order.

Number of places by language and destination

The numbers are closed for each country and language, and the offer is distributed among academic levels and brackets:

English in Ireland: 198 places.
English in the United Kingdom: 264 places, plus up to four additional places.
French in France: 50 places.
German in Germany: 20 places.
Total: 532 places, or 536 places including the additional ones.

The first bracket includes 390 places and the second 142. The Order states that places remaining vacant in one bracket will be moved to another bracket within the same country and education level.

Who may apply

All conditions must be met simultaneously:

To be enrolled in a public or concerted center of the Basque Government during the 2026-2027 academic year, in the 3rd or 4th year of ESO or the 1st or 2nd year of Baccalaureate.
To be a maximum of 19 years old in 2027.
To have studied the requested language in the previous two academic years (2024-2025 and 2025-2026), and the latter in a secondary education center supported by public funds in the Basque Country.
To have achieved a grade of at least 7.00 in that language and a total score of 16.00 in the previous academic year, as the sum of the average grade and the language grade.
Not to have previously held a language place abroad called by the Department, except for those obtained in the Eduardo Chillida Olympiad.

The procedure is based on a competitive merit system: minimum grades are not sufficient, and an order number must be obtained to remain within the number of places available for each bracket and level.

Student’s financial contribution and covered expenses

Two brackets have been established, regardless of whether a study scholarship was received in the previous academic year. The first bracket will pay 140 euros and the second 560 euros. Covered expenses include round-trip travel from the capital of one of the historical territories of the Basque Country, a two-week stay with full board, tuition and school materials, round-trip transport between the residence and the school, travel, accident, and civil liability insurance, socio-cultural evening activities and sports activities, and two full-day weekend excursions.

Four special places for the Eduardo Chillida Olympiad

Four additional places will be added to the competition for places in the United Kingdom for those who occupy the first four positions in the Eduardo Chillida Mathematics Olympiad in the 2026-2027 call. In this case, the condition of not having previously held a place will not apply, and the same exception applies cross-referentially to other articles.

How the adjudication is carried out

The Dirección de Aprendizaje e Innovación will be responsible for the instruction and management of the procedure. The provisional resolution will be published for each bracket, level, and country, according to the order of results —average grade plus language grade—; in the event of a tie, the lower family income will be decisive in the first bracket, and a computer lottery in the second. The final resolution will be issued by a resolution of the Políticas Educativas vice-ministry and will be published on the electronic headquarters notice board of the Public Administration of the Basque Country, with an appeals period of 10 business days. If there is no resolution within six months, the requests will be considered withdrawn, according to the administrative procedure law.

The call places the pursuit of language learning abroad in a context that is not within the reach of many families due to the high cost of travel and stays; indeed, with a mixed quota model, more places are reserved for students with lower incomes. 532 places open the 2027 summer competition, and the number of places is adjusted according to academic levels, as qualitative grades are used in compulsory secondary education (DBH) and quantitative grades in Baccalaureate.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Basque Country, number 206, October 28, 2026, Other Provisions, pp. 1-15 (official reference: 2026/4539).