Hi to all,
Just hoping someone can help as I don’t know where to start.
Moving to Spain with 10 and 12 year old and I need to know the first step in sorting schooling.
I have read that first you need to get in touch with the Dept of Education for all school reports etc, whar exactly do they do, is there a cost to it and where do I find phone no or address?
Then what is the next step, do we find somewhere to live armed with this information or do we have to already be in Spain.
Someone who has recently done all this woud be a great help.  They could maybe take me through a step by step approach.
Many thanks to anyone who can help.
Danbec

Hi
We made the big move in May this year with our four daughters aged 15, 13, 11 and 10.  The eldest is ready for her GCSE’s so we have enrolled her in an International school where we will have to pay fees of approx 5600euros a year.  The other three however are going to the local village school.  We live in a small village called Cuevas de San Marcos (an hour inland from Malaga).  We don’t speak any Spanish but luckily another English parent offered to come to school with us to enrol them.  The haven’t started yet as the schools broke up two weeks after we got here for the summer.  All we had to do was complete a form and then they gave us the start date. They didn’t ask for any school reports from UK, the only documents we had to show was their passports and residency forms.  So all in all relatively easy… 

If you are lookin for International schools (all are fee paying though) we used a site http://www.nabss.org.  While we have been here we the girls have been having Spanish lessons and to be honest they are picking it up so quickly.  I can’t give you any info on how the local schools work as I am still in the dark regarding this.  All I do know is that my girls are starting back a year which will give them a chance to get the language….

If you need any more info on anything let me know and if I don’t know the anwser there are plenty I can ask.
Good luck
Sherryl

Hi to all,
Just hoping someone can help as I don’t know where to start.
Moving to Spain with 10 and 12 year old and I need to know the first step in sorting schooling.
I have read that first you need to get in touch with the Dept of Education for all school reports etc, whar exactly do they do, is there a cost to it and where do I find phone no or address?
Then what is the next step, do we find somewhere to live armed with this information or do we have to already be in Spain.
Someone who has recently done all this woud be a great help.  They could maybe take me through a step by step approach.
Many thanks to anyone who can help.
Danbec[/quote]

Hi to Sherryl,
Thanks for that info, everything I have read seems to make out it is harder than it actually is and gets a bit daunting.
Did you move over there first and then get the girls registered?
My problem is really that my daughter will be going into the second year of high school and my son the last year of primary so they will be at different schools and I think they would rely on each other quite a lot.
Did you make the descision to put the girls back a year or did the school suggest it?
Sorry for all the questions this site is so big it’s quite hard to get a reply sometimes so I am making the most of it.
Just one more question, did you have friends there already and are there a few xpats there?
Thanks so much
Regards
Danbec

Hi

We moved at the end of May and we went to visit the school the first week of June which meant that they wouldn’t register us until the new term which is 16th September.  They have 3 months off for the summer.  The school suggested for them to start back in a lower year and they will assess them during that time and will move them up if they feel they are coping.  We are quite happy for this to happen as are the girls.  We have found out that they take end of year exams and if they don’t pass them then they stay behind in that year and don’t move up with their peers so in some years there are a mixture of ages…  Not sure if this applies to primary or just secondary.  Something else you might need to consider is that not all school books are free.  Last year in Cuevas de San Marcos they introduced free books for the primary school and this is again the case this year but in the secondary school it is actually means tested and we don’t know if we qualify yet.  They apperantly put money into your childs bank account then the bank give you a slip to go to the book shop??? 

My husbands Auntie lives here but to be honest my husband has done most of the leg work and we have been lucky as the few English that live here are more than happy to help.  I think the town has a population of around 2,000 with 200 english owning properties here but only probably around 50 living here full time.  I am hoping once the girls start school that we will be able to meet some spanish couples so we will have to wait and see..

Where about are you thinking of moving to? 

Kind regards
Sherryl

danbec - 22 August 2007 08:37 PM

Hi to Sherryl,
Thanks for that info, everything I have read seems to make out it is harder than it actually is and gets a bit daunting.
Did you move over there first and then get the girls registered?
My problem is really that my daughter will be going into the second year of high school and my son the last year of primary so they will be at different schools and I think they would rely on each other quite a lot.
Did you make the descision to put the girls back a year or did the school suggest it?
Sorry for all the questions this site is so big it’s quite hard to get a reply sometimes so I am making the most of it.
Just one more question, did you have friends there already and are there a few xpats there?
Thanks so much
Regards
Danbec

Hi Sherryl,
We are looking at around Benalmadena because we pretty much know that area.  I am willing to look a bit further inland but I don’t drive so need to be central forschools etc.  Also on the job front I thought it might be easier on the coast.  My husband is an HGV driver and I currently work in Admin for the Civil Service but we have both run a couple of pubs in the UK so are prepared to do most things even if just seasonal for the time being. At the moment I am the only one learning Spanish but very slowly (a lot harder the older you get).
Any advice you can give me would be great, I am at the mo looking for somewhere to live, we will be renting long term but this is proving quite difficult as there seems to be so many places and little villages to look at.
Jane

Hi Jane

I know the feeling with regards learning Spanish.  We are having lessons with an English girl who is fluent in Spanish as her partner is Spanish.  Needless to say the girls are picking it up a lot quicker than me.  I am struggling with all the verbs etc but I am putting that down to my age…....... well that’s my excuse anyway.

I don’t know many places around Benalmadena but an English girls here works for an Estate agency so I will ask her for you with regards to rent as I know she travels to Benalmadena etc.  I have just enrolled on-line to do my TEFL course which gives you a certificate to teach English abroad.  It was just something I though might come in handy however I do think you need the native language too so it may be some time before I start taking on any pupils.  In our village the charge is only about 5 euros an hour but it’s better than nothing.  I will keep you posted how the course goes.  THe website I used for the TEFL was I-to-I.

As for schools I couldn’t find any in relation to spanish schools but http://www.nabss.org does list all the international schools but they are all fee paying. 

The one thing I will say is that moving has given us a much needed quality family time and we don’t have the worry or danger when the girls want to go out.  That is a plus…..

I will let you know when I have spoken to my friend re renting somewhere. 
Speak to you soon
Sherryl

danbec - 22 August 2007 09:36 PM

Hi Sherryl,
We are looking at around Benalmadena because we pretty much know that area.  I am willing to look a bit further inland but I don’t drive so need to be central forschools etc.  Also on the job front I thought it might be easier on the coast.  My husband is an HGV driver and I currently work in Admin for the Civil Service but we have both run a couple of pubs in the UK so are prepared to do most things even if just seasonal for the time being. At the moment I am the only one learning Spanish but very slowly (a lot harder the older you get).
Any advice you can give me would be great, I am at the mo looking for somewhere to live, we will be renting long term but this is proving quite difficult as there seems to be so many places and little villages to look at.
Jane