Aragon begins the 2026/27 school year on Tuesday, September 8, with 193,391 students enrolled and a vocational education system offering more than 600 active programs. Vocational education begins with nearly 2,000 more students than a year earlier and adds 21 new courses, many of them linked to technology-related fields.
The 2026/27 school year begins in Aragon with 193,391 students
Classes begin on September 8 for preschool, primary and compulsory secondary education, which together enroll 153,136 students: 99,093 in preschool and primary education and 54,043 in compulsory secondary education. A total of 8,588 three-year-olds are entering the first year of preschool, 257 fewer than in the previous school year, in line with the declining birth rate.
The schedule is staggered throughout September and October. Upper secondary education begins on the 9th; vocational education, on the 10th; sports education, on the 11th; and visual arts and design, on the 14th. Higher arts education, along with music and dance programs, begins on September 21, while Official Language Schools, specialization courses and online vocational education will begin on October 1.
Schools welcome students with 17,083 teachers already in place, including 10,875 permanent civil-service teachers. In addition, 963 temporary teachers will join from September 7 following the first weekly substitute-teacher placement round, brought forward to late August to ensure their arrival before classes begin.
Teachers will complete a 4.5% pay increase this school year, divided into two 2.25% installments applied over the past two years. Teachers in compulsory secondary education, upper secondary education, Official Language Schools and vocational education joining in September will have a maximum of 18 classroom hours per week, while primary school teachers will teach 23 hours, two fewer than in 2022/23.
Vocational education gains students and expands its technology offering in Aragon
As of September 4, in-person vocational education had 25,407 enrolled students, around 2,000 more than at the same point in the previous school year. The figure is provisional, as it does not yet include online and blended-learning enrollment, late registrations or specialization courses.
Advanced-level programs account for 11,041 students, followed by intermediate-level programs with 10,879, and basic-level programs with 3,203. Administrative Management, Business Administration and Finance, and Networked Computer Systems Administration rank among the most sought-after programs.
The offering adds 21 new programs and 495 places, nearly half of them linked to technology or STEAM fields. New additions include Jaca’s first advanced vocational education program, an intermediate-level Machinery Electromechanics program in Huesca, and a Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Installations program at IES Miguel de Molinos in Zaragoza.
Specialization courses related to technology, data centers and artificial intelligence will also be introduced at the Digital Campus. Overall, Aragon now offers more than 600 vocational training programs across 112 publicly funded schools, while Calatayud is opening its Professional Conservatory of Music.
More educational support, two-year-old classrooms and family services
The network adds 17 new priority classrooms for students with autism spectrum disorder, 11 special education classrooms and four early-enrollment classrooms. The new autism spectrum disorder classrooms are distributed among Huesca, with four; Zaragoza, with 12; and Alcañiz, with one. Diversity support will have a record 796 special education aides, 26 more than in the previous school year, in addition to 125 health care professionals.
The first preschool cycle will have 62 classrooms for two-year-olds serving 731 students, after adding four new units in Zaragoza, Vicort-Isuela and Utrillas. The 11 Government of Aragon nursery schools, meanwhile, will serve 852 students. In rural areas, 61 schools with fewer than 10 students will remain open.
School transportation is organized through 661 routes serving 13,292 students. At the same time, 11 new school kitchens, financed with €1.8 million, will begin operating, serving around 1,600 students and making it possible to prepare more than 280,000 meals a year.
Meal assistance will reach 9,992 students, while aid for learning materials will benefit 9,781, for a total of 19,773 support recipients. The textbook bank has 65,857 users across 437 schools, and 289 publicly funded schools will offer early-morning care classrooms. In infrastructure, the Aulas que respiran program has launched initiatives to improve climate comfort, with an initial investment of €2 million.
