lostinspain

I am visiting two schools next week and considering one other that is not in Valencia. The schools I am visiting are: Cxton college in Puzol and British School of Valencia in Valencia itself. And the other for which I would need to relocate is Lady Elisabeth in Javae. The last would have a space for sure and the other two are subject to parent and child "interview".

Does anyone have any feedback o any of those schools please. Also considering possible move to Javae, for eg. what is it like to live and raise a small child there. I am in tourist location at present (not have a permanent apartment yet as school is the priority) in Alboraya north of Valencia.
Thanks again for any help.

spain

I have a friend who lives in Benitachell and whose son goes to Lady Elizabeth - their main issue is that he is not learning Spanish quick enough but or course its an English school so Spanish is a second language as is English at my sons Spanish school

lostinspain

Oh thank you. I don't mind about Spanish as we will be here only 4 yrs max. So it is important for us to have a British school system. If I consider that school, I wouldn't like to be in tourist type place so I would need to be in a residential area really. Is Benitachell residential or one of those places where we would normally go "to have fun in our 20s". Just kidding, but you know what I mean...I guess, it comes to all of us!!!

spain

my friend is moving from Benitachell as it is too "eldorado" Brits been there a long time and stuck in a time warp is how she described it !!!!! and she said Moraira is known as "Jurassic Park" as there are so many oldens there so not really her cup of tea

Cumbre de Sol where she is, is a large urbanisation if you dont know it - LOTS of holiday rentals so people coming and going all the time - its a lovely place but I wouldnt want to live there personally

There is another English school, I think its in Alzira or near there so you might want to check that one out too

lostinspain

yes, El Alzira is full, I wrote to them two months ago.
No, I definitelly wouldn't like to live in the come and go place. need to feel "home" somehow...I don't mean "England" I mean, to feel at home and not in Spain on Holiday.
What about javae itself?

montgomail

I'm sure Lynnxa will advise you, she has kids of school age and has experience of spanish and international schooling.

lostinspain

oh thank you. How great all of you people are. I am finding it challenging at present to get a cab, to set up anything, but somehow, between english, german and spanish managing for the moment

searcher48

What age is your child as Lady Elizabeth secondary is in Jalon so even further from Valencia ( if you need to live near there for work) If you are only here for 4 years it could be a good oportunity for your child to learn in a spanish school before going back. I think you will feel "at home" where ever you are, its up to the individual to find friends and enjoy the spanish lifestyle in their area. We live 12 mins from Benidorm yet only visit rarely so are not bothered by the tourists etc. But our urbanization is residential rather than holiday homes and I think thats important.

lynnxa

my 10c worth.....

We live in Javea - like most coastal towns it is pretty 'touristy' - but not in an 18-30's way! It is a very international community...massively busy for a couple of months a year, but with a strong local community, so that it doesn't become a ghost town in the winter.

I would be interested to hear why you are not considering Xabia International College - it is where we sent our 2 girls the first year we came - Lady Elizabeth was too 'english' if you see what I mean. After the first year, when we decided to stay at least a few more years, we decided to put them into the state system......it seemed like such a wasted opportunity for them not to really experience living in Spain, as a spanish child, rather than as an english child in an english community in the sun.

All 3 schools you mention have a good reputation, but one important thing to bear in mind is the age of your child, and whether you are keen to integrate into the local community. If your child is as young as s/he sounds (under 8?), I would seriously consider the spanish State school system.

You say you want an 'English' education for your child, because you will be here for only a few years. If your child is as young as I think, it will make little if any difference to him/her what language they are educated in, even if you don't plan to stay here. IMO the Spanish system is superior to the english one in any case, certainly the teaching of maths & language/grammar is far superior at that age.

My younger child is just 8, and from September has the opportunity to learn English or French as a third language (much sooner than in the UK) the second language being Valenciano which is taught right from age 3, alongside Castellano. We have, in fact, opted for English, because at our school it is taught at 'english school level' to those who have English as a first language.

Another thing to bear in mind is that you will be paying for what is effectively an english state education - obviously that is not what the schools will tell you, but having experienced it, and I still have friends whose children are at the 'english' schools in Javea, most people will tell you same thing.

Obviously if your child is older, and will be heading for GCSE age when you return to the UK, that is a whole different ballgame, and if my child was say 11 or 12 (when we arrived) I would almost certainly opt for an 'english' school, or preferably a truly bi-lingual school.

lostinspain

Thank you again. My childis 7 and will be year 3 this Sept. The main reason I want him in the "English" school is that he was also in the UK private school system since age 4 and is used to the routine of uniforms and discipline. Absolutelly nothing to do with the education as I know that european state school system is great for most part. I am a product of European state system and so are all my brothers..We all did fine. It is just easier to keep the routine we know as our transition to Spain was not planned and was very sudden.

I didn't know about another school you mentioned as I am not in the area and just got a list of schools of the internet. I will check it out. I just need a place for him and I will move wherever I need to. I have to find a permanent apartment as living in a "holiday" place is getting very unsettling right now for both of us.

I wanted to stay around Valencia (still seeing two schools next week there) as I know some people there I worked with in the past in London, but Javea is not far and I met a girl from Lady Elisabeth school who seemed to be very happy at the school, so I decided to ring them up. Also their year 3 will be only small, about 10 children, so I thought that was a good value for the money.

Thank you again. This is great help for me. Would you mind teling me, IF I decide to go to Javea, which part I should rent apartment in?

lynnxa

just avoid Javea Park area

lostinspain

Just rang Xabia International College and they are ringing back..re: spaces. Thank you.

lynnxa

it's a lot more 'international' in outlook than LadyE. not so 'english' if you know what I mean - if you like one, you probably won't like the other, but as far as educational standards are concerned I believe they are pretty much equal

the uniform is now compulsory (it wasn't when my girls were there), but is quite casual