Do you put your child into the Spanish state system or do you opt to put your child into an International school in Spain?
This is one of the biggest dilemmas that parents face when they have decided to move to Spain.
Even when you live here in Spain it is still an on-going question that you will ask yourself as you hear many different things about schooling in Spain from both parents who have their kids in the Spanish school system and from parents who have their kids in International schools.
We examine a lot of the Spanish school versus International school issues elsewhere on this site but the article below is unique in that it interviews two girls who are at an International school on the Costa del Sol. So you actually get to hear what they think of life (and school and education) in Spain.
We also have a video below that interviews English children about their experiences of life in Spain and how they view the Spanish children/kids.
A KIDS VIEW OF MOVING TO SPAIN
Schools & education is still a really big discussion point when moving to Spain or anywhere abroad because in many cases there will be children and children need to go to school.
I receive many questions about schooling in Spain and on most Expat Forums there are discussions and questions about people thinking of moving to Spain with kids asking what schools they should choose.
Many articles have been written about education in Spain and we all have our own opinions, some stronger than others. I had very strong opinions about schooling and I was completely set on either a Spanish State or Spanish Private School…now my daughter is in a Private Bilingual International School. When it gets to the nitty gritty things change!
I have been in Spain for 5 years now and I have seen numerous scenarios when it comes to kids schooling. I have seen a number of people move here and what I would call “dump their kids in the Spanish State School”.
Now, there is nothing wrong with Spanish State School at all, but even a child of 8, 9 or 10 years old has feelings. Imagine being a little 9 year old girl, just moved to a new country and thrown into a huge Spanish School and she can’t speak a word of Spanish, because her parents didn’t prepare her.
Just a few Spanish lessons back in the UK before moving here may have made life a little easier but instead a house, car and nights down the Port are sometimes more important than a child’s schooling.
Yes, it is true, children adapt. I went to 3 primary schools and 2 secondary schools, but I still had feelings and hated having to be the new kid all the time. I do believe changing schools has affected me too.
Just being the new kid was bad enough, imagine being the new foreign kid that can’t speak or understand anything just like this little girl. I watched this little girl get more and more introvert and couldn’t believe that the parents couldn’t see what was happening.
It doesn’t have to be like that and if your kids are already at a school in the UK and you are thinking of moving to Spain then they could just slot straight into the English Curriculum. The only agony would be to make new friends.
Schools aren’t cheap here and I would say more and more British people are putting their kids into State Schools because they can’t afford it or just don’t want to pay for it. But for a moment just try and imagine how you would feel being thrown into a new school in a foreign country.
I’m not in favour of Private nor State Schools, I just wish more people would take kids feelings into account. I once met a German woman who had moved to Spain with her son who was 14 years old… they didn’t speak a word of Spanish and she put him into a Spanish State Secondary School and didn’t even know the name of it…I was completely astonished…14 years old is such an important time in a child’s education.
We have never heard anything from a kid’s point of view so following is an interview with 2 girls I have known for 5 years now. They moved here when they were just 6 and 10, they are now 11 and 15 years old and at an International School on the Costa Del Sol.
We will call the 11 year old Laura and the 15 year old Sara.
——————————————————————————–
Do you remember when your parents first told you that you will be going abroad? How did you feel?
Sara, I was just 10 years old. I don’t think I completely understood what was about to happen but it felt a big adventure when the house was getting packed up.
Laura, well I was just 5 nearly 6 years old. I don’t really remember much about it, just a lot of moving things around.
What