During yesterday's political and social debate aimed at reaching an agreement about the way forward in education, Ángel Gabilondo, Minister for Education (pictured), introduced the idea of "compulsory schooling up to the age of 18".

The PP confirmed that it was not against an extension of compulsory schooling, but said that it was not a priority for the party.

The PP and representatives of various educational groups are in favour of making the 'bachilerato' a three year course instead of the current two year programme, with the option of spreading it over four, but stressed that it was not necessarily a good idea to make people stay on at school longer than they wanted to.

The current education laws (Ley Orgánica de Educación or LOE) states that education is compulsory from 6 to 16 years, the last year being the fourth and final year of compulsory secondary education (ESO).  Pupils who fail to graduate from the ESO at the age of 16 currently have the right to keep trying for another two years, up until the age of 18.

Graduating from ESO, i.e. completing the cycle of compulsory secondary education, allows a student to carry on with the 'bachilerato', to embark upon vocational courses or to "enter the labour market".

Thus any change to the school-leaving age would also imply the raising of the age at which a young person can access the labour market.

currently, approximately one in four pupils fail to complete their compulsory secondary education successfully by the age of 16, and some 30% of young people aged between 18 and 24 have no further education or training.

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Parents' Associations (CEAPA), Pedro Rascón, said that his organisation agreed in principle with the ideal of raising the age of compulsory education, but said that the two extra years should not simply be an extension of the current secondary education system, but rather should be used to teach new and different skills.

The Student Association, UDE, warned that if pupils were obliged to stay on until the age of 18 to study for the 'bachilerato' it would become simply an extension of the ESO "in terms of people dropping out and failing".