The regional government by Castilla-La Mancha enables, in the 2025/2026 school year free participation in the exams for the B1 language certificate for around 3,800 pupils. The Castilla-La Mancha Education Ministry has published the measure, along with registration deadlines and procedural guidance; the details are available in the DOCM and accompanying documents. The aim is to formally confirm the language skills already attained and make it easier to move on to further training or enter the labour market.
Eligible participants include learners in the 4th year of ESO and in the 2nd year of the Ciclo Formativo de Grado Medio, provided they are enrolled during the relevant school year in a recognised bilingual or plurilingual project at their school. The exams follow the regional examination regulations and are aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. They assess reading, listening, written production and oral communication; the exams comprise written and oral components at centrally coordinated examination venues.
The Castilla-La Mancha Education Ministry provides a detailed candidate guide and sample exams. These documents explain the examination arrangements, assessment criteria, evidence requirements and deadlines. School heads register participants through the designated administrative channels; the final examination centres and dates will be announced by the education authority.
Receiving official B1-level accreditation gives participants formal proof that is increasingly required by universities, vocational training programmes and selection processes. According to the regional government, free certification is part of a longer-term strategy to strengthen foreign language skills in Castilla-La Mancha. Many pupils in previous year groups have already obtained relevant certifications; the current call continues this programme and is intended to keep the entry threshold as low as possible.
The administration stresses that only the groups defined in the examination regulations are entitled to take part free of charge. Schools, parents and guardians are urged to meet internal registration deadlines so that examination places can be allocated on time. Further organisational steps, including publication of the final participant lists and scheduling of the oral exams, will be announced once registration has closed.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).