School in Spain

@TinaChico Hi! If he is 12 then he will probably go directly to high school, sometimes they hold them back and do a year in primary but I think he’s too old for that. Is is a Spanish state school that he is going to or a private school? If it’s state school he will struggle at first but it won’t take him long to learn. When I moved to Spain years ago my two girls went into state school for a few years and were fluent after 6 months, they had no choice in the matter, they have to learn quickly. After a few years I moved them to private school as I wasn’t happy with the exam curriculum as it’s completely different, it also doesn’t count for anything if they want to go back to Britain and study or work. I moved them both to do their GCSEs so they have that to fall back on.  Love Spain but sadly not the education, it’s really poor. Sorry if this doesn’t help but it’s my experience and many other British people. Nicola.

Hi Nicolaespana, thank you for your quick reply.

Thats a good point about the qualifications. Yes it will be a state school and yes he will go to the high school but we were thinking of putting him back a year as well, hopefully the school will allow that.

My son will start his GCSEs in Sept if we are not in Spain by then. I don't think there is and private schools near to the e area we are going. Are Private schools expensive? Tina

It depends on your long term plans. If you want your son to go to Univeristy in Spain and stay in Spain long term, it is better to get them in the Spanish school system as soon as possible.

The normal Spanish schools usually will help people transition, sometimes they may need to do an extra year just to get their language up. But you can also do online US or UK or enrole them in an international school. I have 1 in the Spanish system and the other doing online UK schooling (GCSEs & A levels) but with plenty of extrascholar activities so they have a good social life (they are both trilingual so that helps).

It is important if they are doing online schooling that they get out of the house as much as possible. I have found the online system final exams to be difficult as they may need to travel to a big city (Barcelona or Madrid or even further afield (back to the UK for the Science A levels) to do the final practical assessments and exams. You also have to know when to get them entered into the exams.

The good online schools help you with all of that. They will also help you with the Univeristy applications. If you want to know more details let me know. We are using https://www.nec.ac.uk for our sons A levels and they have really helped with everything including applying to University in the UK and Holland. But your son has to be good at studying by themselves to cope with online learning, for my daughter it would not work. Alot of the better teachers in Spain tend to work in the public school system as the pay is usually higher (obviously depends on the exact private school).

But there is alot of movement of teachers in the schools which is not a good thing and there is a real focus on finishing the curriculaum rather than making sure the students understand everything. So you can find good and bad teachers in both public and private schools.

There are also the inbetween schools which are half paid by a religious foundation which have lower school fees and offer something in between, so maybe around 400 euros a month rather than 1000 euros a month for the schooling.

Good luck.

On another note. We found the primary school system really good in Spain. I think it is the high schooling that lets the Spanish system down. It is very much memoristation rather than learning to understand. Good luck.

It is the National Extention College that we use in the Uk for our sons A levels.

@Info5250

Hi thanks for the info most useful, me and my husband also planning to move to spain with a 12 yr old son. do you have the names or any info of these religious backed schools please? Thanks Victoria

@TinaChico

Hi Tina where abouts in Spain you relocating too? We're also moving there this year with a 13 yr old son in August hopefully x

Hi all,
We are planning to move to Spain this year but I am worried about my 13 year son. He will be going to a Spanish school in a totally Spanish community. At the time of applying for our work visas and NLV he was only 12, (yes its taken over 16 months to get our application accepted by the Consulate, and we are still waiting for the NLV)
So any advice or has anyone experienced taking teenagers to Spain and settling into the community?
Has anyone reverted to online lessons in English and Maths etc?
-@TinaChico

I would certainly have your son learning Spanish now.

@TinaChico try and get him put back a year into c.e.i.p (primary school) if you can as this will help him massively. I know they take 12 year olds but because he is 13 I think it might be too late. In high school (IES) he will be put back to the primero de la Eso anyway which is equivalent to first year as he won’t have the knowledge to start any higher and he will need that to progress through school. I think every private school charges different amounts but you can expect to pay around 700€ a month plus a  registration fee which is around 1000€. Plus bus fees if needed and then lunches as most don’t allow them a home packed lunch and private schools wear a uniform so you would need that. Spanish state schools don’t wear uniform so that’s a good thing if you are on a budget. State school requires more paperwork but once you get everything you need it will work out ok. Passports, health certificate from a Spanish doctor, padron etc. Nicola.

@vellison There are usually religious backed schools in most towns. There is also the La Salle network across Spain. Some of their schools are good some I am told have had issues, like anywhere. La Salle is offering a joint US high school diploma as well as the Spanish Bax at some of their schools. Good luck.