Around 4,500 students begin PAU exams

Around 4,500 students in Vigo and Pontevedra began the PAU university entrance exams on Tuesday, joining 13,441 candidates registered across Galicia for the three-day test that helps determine access to university places. The exams are being held on June 2, 3 and 4 under the 2025/26 rules set by the regional government. In Vigo, 3,026 students were registered for the tests, while Pontevedra had nearly 1,500 candidates. COPE reported on Monday that candidates in Vigo and Pontevedra were heading into the first session with a mix of nerves and calculation about which subjects could shape their final marks. Candela, a student from Vigo who wants to study nursing, told the broadcaster she was most concerned about mathematics and literature, while other students said they were hoping for philosophy questions on Plato. (cope.es) ### How many students are sitting the exams in Vigo and Pontevedra? Vigo accounts for 3,026 of the registered PAU candidates in Galicia this year, making it the largest exam location in the region, according to figures published by La Voz de Galicia and reproduced by the University of Vigo. Pontevedra has 1,494 registered students, local reports said. Together, those two cities account for roughly one-third of Galicia’s 13,441 candidates. (cope.es) The University of Vigo said candidates in Vigo are spread across nine exam venues. In Pontevedra, Faro de Vigo reported that four sites were prepared for the tests, including the Facultade de Ciencias da Educación, the Facultade de Comunicación and the Escola de Enxeñaría Forestal. ### What is happening at the ONCE center in Pontevedra? (lavozdegalicia.es) Pontevedra’s ONCE educational resource center is again serving as a PAU site for students with disabilities. COPE said 20 students with severe disabilities were due to take the exams there this year. La Voz de Galicia reported that seven of them are blind or have limited vision and that the center has been used as a PAU venue for 32 years. (uvigo.gal) La Voz said the center adapts testing conditions for students who need them. The report did not describe any broader incidents on Tuesday morning, but it highlighted the center’s long-running role in the province’s exam logistics. ### Why are students focused on subjects like mathematics, literature and philosophy? (cope.es) The PAU combines a compulsory phase with optional subjects that can raise admission scores for competitive degree programs. Faro de Vigo said the voluntary phase can add as many as four points to a student’s admission mark, which helps explain the attention students give to specific papers. (lavozdegalicia.es) Candela’s comments about mathematics and literature, and other students’ hopes for a philosophy topic such as Plato, reflected that subject-by-subject pressure before the first day’s papers. COPE attributed those remarks to students interviewed ahead of the exams in Vigo and Pontevedra. (farodevigo.es) ### What rules and timetable are governing this year’s PAU? The Xunta de Galicia set the ordinary PAU session for June 2-4, 2026, and the extraordinary session for June 30 to July 2, according to the resolution published in the official gazette. The same resolution says the exams run over three consecutive days. Faro de Vigo reported that provisional grades for the June sitting are scheduled to be published on June 11, with definitive marks due on June 18. (cope.es) Those dates are the next milestones for students waiting to confirm whether their scores are high enough for their chosen degree courses. ### What comes next for candidates after the first day? (xunta.gal) June 3 and June 4 are the remaining exam days in the ordinary PAU session in Galicia, according to the Xunta calendar. Students who want to improve their admission score can also rely on optional subjects within the process, and those who miss the June window or need another attempt have the extraordinary sitting at the end of the month. (farodevigo.es) June 11 is the next date many candidates in Vigo and Pontevedra will watch, when provisional results are due to be released. Final grades are scheduled for June 18, after which university admission decisions will come into sharper focus for candidates such as Candela and the nearly 4,500 students testing in the two cities. (farodevigo.es) (xunta.gal)