Public (free) primary schools in Barcelona and surrounding areas.

Jan 4, 2012 · lucyeh · 3 replies · 2630 views

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Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have any experience of the public school system in Barcelona? I am moving out there in April with two kids, one 18 months, the other 5 years old. We can't afford private school so we are looking for a public primary school for our 5 year old boy.

I am really worried about how he will cope in school with everything in Catalan, and we are thinking he might find it easier to settle in if a few of the kids speak English. Are there any areas where there are significant populations of expats that send their kids to public schools?

My boyfriend is currenly living in Gracia, and likes it there but it's apparently very Catalan. Other areas we have considered include Poble Sec, Poble Nou, or maybe further out in Castadefels or Sitges.

Any help on this or general advice on the public school system in Barcelona would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

PS Neither my boyfriend or I speak any significant Spanish at the moment and no Catalan at all, although we fully intend to learn!

Nov 22, 2013 · nikita88

Hi,

It looks like you may not have gotten much help from this forum. I am moving to Barcelona in summer 2014 with a three year old. I don't know anyone in Spain. I will be attending the Autonomous University of Barcelona. I am interested in probably putting him in a public preschool as I doubt I can afford the International schools, but I can't seem to find information on what is in the area. I am wondering how the process went for you. How long does enrollment take? Anything you could tell me would be appreciated.

thank you,

Nikita

Nov 23, 2013 · lucyeh

Hi Nikita
We ended up living in Poblenou which is an area I would reccommend for families and it is a good place to meet new people.
Kids here start school in the September of their 3rd year. It is not compulsory until they are 6 but most people take up the places because they are free and also if you don't you won't get much choice when the child is 6 and school is obligatory.
As we arrived in May last year and my son was 5 there were no spaces left in the 10 nearest schools so we had to wait till the Sept for him when the state was obligated to provide him with a place. It has meant that the school is further from our house than I would like and it we had no choice over which school to pick.
If your child is already 3 you will also just have to apply and see where younget placed but it is possible to change later.
If you look at barcelona village .com if I remember rightly, this was a very helpful blog detailing the processes you have to go through. Like everything here it was a bepureaucratic nightmare.
I would learn Spanish now if you don't know it already as that probably makes things much easier.
Good luck.
Lucy