Hi everyone. Considering moving to Spain. Thanks for reading my post.
There are a number of areas that we need to look at; one is schools. Kids are bilingual.
I wanted to get thoughts on the quality of public schools in Spain relative to public schools in UK?
I read that there is a higher percentage of private schools in Spain that the UK. Does this mean that public school is seen as a second best rather than standard option?
Also, if we apply in March to start in September, do we have to be there in person in March, or could we visit the schools at another time (e.g. January) and apply remotely in March?
What about entering mid year? How realistic is that to get a place? e.g. apply Jan/Feb to start this March 2020 (Assuming some flexibility and willing to consider multiple schools.)
Most likely Andalucia, but could be anywhere, because I work remotely.
I read somewhere that there was a ranking of academic performance of schools, does anyone know a link for that?
Finally, how easy is it to go straight from Spanish public schools to Universities in UK and other countries?

Answers will be wide ranging. There is no definitive answer qualitatively about the two systems as they apply different approaches. Private schools exist in many countries and are more an indication of wealth than excellence. Everyone is entitled to a place in a state school but available places affects which school. This means access will be given at any time but might require alot of phone calls and various paper work. Anyone can enter a UK university provided they meet certain educational requirements and are willing to pay. One final thing: if you and your kids dont speak Spanish ( they and you might) everything will be alot harder.

I have two bilingual kids at a school in Madrid so I can offer some thoughts to begin with...

Firstly there are two types of private school in Spain. One is fully independent and the other type is called a concertado. Concertados are privately owned but state funded, and have to follow the Spanish curriculum and other standards in order to qualify for funding. They were originally all tied to the Catholic church but these days many have been bought out and are non-religious. They are very common and are what causes such a high proportion of private schools in the data. But really there isn't much difference between concertados and state schools. One big difference between the Spanish system and that in the UK is that in Spain the government gives both state schools and concertados a list of textbooks that they need to teach from. So there is much less scope for variation in teaching methods and content between schools. A much bigger indicator of quality is simply the area the school is in. That said, many Spanish people seem to consider concertados as being better in general.

Secondly, and the main thing you need to consider in my opinion, is most if not all publicly funded schools in Castilian speaking regions implement some kind of "bilingual" program in English. That is, many classes are taught in English, often by teachers whose English isn't that good. Personally I can see some benefits in doing this in primary schools, but not in secondary schools, where I feel teachers need to be speaking in their native language to convey more advanced concepts in an engaging way. It gets even worse if your children are already bilingual, because their English ends up being contaminated by the lower level of English spoken in the classroom.

Also, if you are considering sending your kids to uni in the UK you need to be aware that if Brexit happens, students from the EU will no longer qualify for home status, and will default to having to pay even higher international student fees. Of course there might be some agreement that prevents this, but my understanding is this is what will happen as things stand. As far as getting your kids into UK universities is concerned, they should all accept the Spanish bachillerato but you might be better off sending your kids to schools that do A levels or International Baccalaureate. Generally that means sending them to a private school for sixth form at least, although in Madrid at least there are a few state schools that implement the International Baccalaureate.

Thank you very much to both for your posts.

Our kids are bilingual and have British nationality. I'm assuming the British nationality would entitle them to avoid higher international Uni fees even if they are living abroad prior to coming to the UK for University, but I haven't looked into this.

From a google search, it looks like you could argue that some of the concertados are subsidized private schools. It looks like you might end up paying 1,000-5,000 euros per student per year in some cases according to some sources. Let me know if that's way wrong.

Be it public or private, it's the actual school/social environment and teaching that counts. Most Spanish people I know here in Ireland went to public schools and all seem to be decent human beings today (Fully Employed, no criminal offences).

My kids have British nationality but it seems to count for little. To achieve "home status" they need to have spent the 3 years prior to going to uni in the UK. However students can also achieve this by residing in any EU country for those 3 years, since the UK apparently is not allowed to discriminate on that basis, while it is a member of the EU. But if it leaves? If you find out any other information please let me know, because it is a right pain for me.

Yes concertados are state subsidised private schools. My kids go to one and we pay about 50 euros a month, which seems to be the going rate in Madrid. 1000 euros a year seems quite a lot to me but I guess it varies. The schools in central Madrid where I am don't have expensive facilities, so maybe they are cheaper. In fact for us concertados work out cheaper than state schools because the kids usually leave at 5pm whereas in state schools they leave at 4pm or even earlier, which makes it difficult if both parents are working. Often parents of children in state schools end up paying for extra childcare, or one of them takes a reduction in working hours in order to pick up the kids.

Thanks for that. I had no idea; I had wrongly assumed that being a British national would qualify you for being a home student and avoiding the international fees.

Chopera, you say your kids go to a concertados in madrid and you pay about €50 a month. Do you mind telling me which school that is so I can check it out. Sounds perfect for my daughter. Thank you.

I have sent you a PM.