We are looking to move to costa blanca area, we have a 7 year old daughter that will go into second grade, she has no spanish so she will require english school or at least 50/50.
In our research all we see is private schools that cost over 10K a year and we just can’t find a decent english speaking school without paying $10,000 a year.
What do average, regular people do? where do they send their kids to?
Please help me figure this out.
Isaac

Hi Isaac,

Perhaps this isn’t the answer that you’re looking for, but a good friend of mine had his kids in private school - for a year. The expense of it was just too much so they enrolled their kids in regular Spanish school the following year. The kids are now trilingual after 3 years (Catalan, Spanish, English) and doing quite well. There’s some risk of later development of communication skills but it’s a hump that they seem to go through, after which everything is great.

I don’t have kids myself however, so take this with a grain of salt. There’s been a lot of talk on this subject throughout the forum over the years so search around.

i know kids bounce back and adopt fairly quick to anything however, I am still sort of shocked that with the amount of english speaking people in spain there are no mixed schools or schools that offer affordable education.
I just couldn’t find any but then again, I am looking on the internet and not living there.
So, bottom line it’s either private school $10,000 a year or spanish school, free but in spanish?

Thanks,

Hi there,

We’ve just returned from a reccy to northern Costa Blanca and looked at two good private schools, both iro E5-6k annually for primary school kids.  This is a lot in US$ I know (getting bad enough in ?), but compared to private schools in the UK its very cheap… and yes, we have weighed the pros and cons extensively and decided that an international (ie private) school is the way to go, for us and our daughter (8).  Yes she would probably be bilingual in 6 months etc at a Spanish school, but she is of the character to find that 6 months of serious trauma, on top of the challenges of the move itself, so we have made this decision.  A Spanish school may work well for other kids.

Anyone PM me for more details re the schools we visited and what we found,

Cazzxx

You bring a great point which is avoiding a shock to the young child system.
and that is why we are considering this BUT, 7,000 pounds is still nothing to take lightly anywhere in the world.
I will PM you for more details as this is a big issue for us.
Cheers,
isaac

I’m in the same boat, planning on a move to Spain next year. Do I homeschool, American school, International school, or Spanish school?

My best friend moved from Argentina knowing very little English when he was 14. He distanced himself from Spanish-speaking students and immersed himself fully. His grades were fine, he did quite well, and within four months he was comfortably up-to-speed. Now, he’s 34, very successful, and other than some pronunciation issues speaks and writes in more impressive English than the vast majority of Americans I know.

A high school friend moved from India to Brazil when she was 6, to Germany at age 9, and the U.S. at age 11. She was in accelerated classes in high school (except in English until she kind of bullied her way in), got a 4.0 GPA in college, and got a medical degree at Harvard. And she speaks a number of languages.

I know this is anecdotal, and these are smart people, but it seems like when given a challenge, kids can rise to it.

The American School in Madrid would be great - it has 800 students, the size of a regular American high school. But the price tag - $24,000 to 28,000 for middle school and above, not to mention the enrollment/application fees which total about $10,000 to start - too painful. Homeschooling sounds a little lonely and limiting of their immersion experience. My vote? Spanish school. Sink or swim.

If you give your kids a chance to learn the language a little first it helps.  I lived with a Spanish family the summer I was 13 before I started school.  I must say that Spanish school is a lot more challenging than any US school. 

I wouldn’t try homeschooling as it is still very new here and still on the edge of legality.  I had some American friends who almost got their children taken away from them for homeschooling in Sevilla.

I forgot to mention that I would be spending a year teaching the kids Spanish ahead of time. My Spanish is very strong. Their father is a native speaker but he doesn’t speak to them in Spanish almost ever. I’ve got to change that as well!

Thank you for your warning about Spanish schools being tough and homeschooling being dangerous!

My husband and are self-employed in the US (web designer and mediator/trainer).  We have two teen girls who already know some Spanish and are eager for a total immersion experience.  We would like to spend the coming school year in Spain as a family.  What would it take to enroll our children in public school?  I’ve read up on all the red tape associated with work and self-employment visas in Spain.  Is it possible to enter the country as tourists and enroll our children in school while we work on getting settled?  How else can we accomplish this?

Thanks much for any advice you can offer.

Hi,

We are an American family and will be moving to Madrid. My husband will start working there next fall and reading and talking to other friends already in Madrid, about different choices (and prices) of education in Spain, we decided to home-school our two daughters, 10 & 5. At least try.
They are both bilingual (Spanish/English) and we have always had head start at home even though they were enrolled in schools here in the USA but I didn’t know that the government can take action against one for not sending one’s kid to school.
Can someone explain that a little bit more?

Thanks,

Jess

Hi Jess.  The problem is that there aren’t definite laws covering home schooling in Spain yet.  It’s still a matter being dicussed in the courts.  Since its neither legal nor illegal, the local school can basically say that you aren’t really educating your child.

What happened to my friends is that they tried to homeschool after sending their kids to private school and not liking it.  She was actually a teacher from the States.  The local school accused them before the town hall of not educating their children and a social worker was sent to look into it.  In the end, they had to send all the kids to public school.  They’re doing fine now. 

Just to avoid problems, I would go with public school.  Or in Madrid there is a American School and ECA, a Christian American School.

Hi guys,

I realise this thread is quite old now, but as many parents use this forum and its information as a useful resource I thought I would let you know of a new education option in Spain - the Nisai Virtual Academy.

The Nisai Virtual Academy is a school that exists 100% in the internet. Students interact with REAL teachers and classmates and can study from years 7-13, completing GCSEs, Alevels and BTEC courses. All the support expected from a school is provided (mentors, tutors etc) and results at GCSE level are well above the UK average. The school already looks after the educational needs of over 600 students in the UK and now offers it?s tailor made educational services to students here in Spain. All that is required is a minimal internet connection and the students are ready to begin classes.

Students using the Nisai Virtual Academy enjoy an extremely flexible study timetable, develop their ICT skills to professional levels within months and are able to use their free time to attend clubs and organisations run by local ayuntamientos (townhalls) where the can immerse themselves in the local communities and still gain their UK recognised qualifications.

For more information have a look at the links in my signature, good luck with your life in Spain. Matt.