How are the schools in spain?

Question

im going to move to spain and want to know everything about the schools there. what time does it start, what time do the kids come back home, how long are the classes, everything.... i appreciate it . thanks

Answer 1

Times depend on where you are moving to, My kids go to school from 9am until 12.50 then back to school at 3pm till 4.30 this is during the monthe October to end of may then 9am until 12.50 during june and september. You can arrange for them to join commador which is like a lunch club and they have the advantage of the school bus. This way they are at school from 9 am until 4.30 pm we were lucky and i am able to collect them as they do get tired. In our area it costs approx 40 euros per term.They have 12 weeks of during the summer 2 weeks during christmas and two weeks during easter, there are no half term holidays but ther are fiesta days. There are quite a lot of trips organised so put some money away every month ready for them as they tend to let you know at the last minute. At the start of each year you have to provide the children with the text books and a ream of paper a file and excersise books on top of the usual pens and pencils etc. The text books last september came to approximately 150 euros per child. Where we are the children learn regular spanish language and valenciano although the second is optional as is religion. For the first year I signed for my children to opt out of these lessons but now in their second year they do all lessons. Religion is solely catholic and I chose for them to do valenciano due to job oppertunities in the future. The teachers are great with the kids joining in with games etc and getting down to their level. The language was a worry at first but the school my 2 go to do extra spanish classes for the non spanish children on top of this i arranged for them to have private spanish lessons for 5 euros per hour with a local spanish neighbour. Both childrwen an now hold a conversation, the eldest now on avarage level with her classmates the youngest still needs a little extra help but is getting there. This information is based on a primary school secondary schools are different, they start at 8 and finnish at 3 or 2 pm again this may differ from school to school or area to area.

  For international schools in my area the school day is quite similar and they work on the english curriculam doing spanish lessons daily the cost of these kind of schools can range from around 5000 euros per year, then you have to buy the books etc and the uniform then pay for any examinations which adds up. we did consider this option but decided if they were to live in spain they needed to be around the language as much as possible so threw them in the deep end with the option of the international school as a backup if they showed signs of struggling.

   Hope this helps, let us know where you are going to live and I may know where you can get more direct info from or you may be better going to the area and talking to parents.

Answer 2

Hi,

Nice to hear you are moving to Spain. I am from Sweden and moved here 10 years ago. Then my daughter was 3 years old. To tell you the truth I was terrified! All I knew was Swedish schools and I thought that the system here in Spain might not be too good.

Now my daughter is 12 and attends a public school. I also have a son aged 6 that goes to the same place. We live in Bilbao. The school is just 5 minutes walk from where we live.  I must say that all my fears were unfounded. The kids are happy in school and the quality of the education is very high. In my daughters class there are only 10 students - that is unheard of in a Swedish school!  The school is small with only about 500 students and it is like a big family.

The kids start at 9 in the morning and finishes at 16:30. They have the option of eating lunch at home if they want.

Good luck with your move to Spain.

Ingrid from Bilbao

Answer 3

depends what type of school.  If you send your kids to a state school the hours are 8:45 till 2pm for primary and secondary finish at 3.  so the kids will be home early in the afternoon.  Although the schools also run various activity classes. the standard of education in spain is very very high.  Much better than uk.  For private schools (fee paying) english, spanish or bilingual the times are 8:45 till 4 or 5.  However, if your children are young I would suggest sending them to a spanish school so they learn the language.  if they are older they may find it hard to ajust. Many of the schools and teachers do not speak english (some do a little) all the clases will be taught in spanish and a lot of the time classes will not be held up while a teacher tries to explain everything to a non spanish speaker. all in all the schools are excellent