woodypup

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst myself and BEVS moderate Europe. Please read the Site Rules Site Rules British Expatriate Community adhere to them so that the site runs smoothly. Moderators are there to ensure that the rules of BE are maintained. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

bob_bob

Do the children speak Spanish? If not at their age they need to go to a private school. They will be too old to learn the language and get an education.

woodypup

bob_bob

They will be 11 when you get there...they will fail in the education system.

woodypup

dmu

Hi from the France forum, where potential expats have raised the same question. The general consensus is that 10-11 is a bad age for a child to move to another country without knowing the language. Not only in order to communicate (and in secondary school write essays in all subjects), but also they wouldn't be able to keep up with their peers due to the lack of that country's culture (literature/history/geography, etc...). It's often advised to send children of that age to an International School to continue the UK Curriculum, but one drawback is that they won't integrate and make Spanish friends, another is how will they sort out their further education and/or search for work in Spain. Not to mention the fees.... If you're going to live in Spain forever more, it would be best to send them to a Spanish school, and pay a Spanish tutor after school hours, but it would still be very difficult for them at the beginning and their workload would be heavy.
Is there a particular reason for moving to Valladolid at this particular time of their lives?
Good luck with your decision!

woodypup

bob_bob

You may have the perfect house but your children will not get a perfect education. Their only realistic hope is for them to attend an international school if you can afford the fees. The children will not thank you ten years down the line when they can't get into higher education.

MikeJ

Don't be too pessimistic - it really depends on the child. If they are positive and keen to learn then it can be done. We have friends who moved to Spain with kids around that age and they settled in well after initial worries and now ( a year later) speak and understand Spanish well and are actually enjoying school, although they are a class behind their contemporaries at the moment. If however, the kids are typical teenagers who already know it all then they will struggle.

There have been a number of threads about Spanish education system (QV) but the consensus seems to be that the Spanish system is at least as good if not better than the UK's.

woodypup

bob_bob

Overall the Spanish system is not better than the UK system.

Would you take two 11 year olds to the UK who had no English language skills and really expect them to thrive? Doubtful that would happen.

dmu

Colegio Internacional de Valladolid | Colegio Internacional de Valladolid
might be of interest to you. I haven't read the site, and don't know whether "Colegio" means secondary school alone (as in French Collège) or both primary and secondary.
You might consider putting your children in last-year primary school to ease them into the Spanish Education System rather than throw them in the deep end in a Spanish secondary school....
You're right to enquire about your children's education, which IMO takes priority, but there may be other questions that you haven't brought up or even thought about.
For example, you haven't said whether either of you will be working (salaried or self-employed), and, if not, how you'll be sorting out healthcare coverage. Give more info and the Spain folk will advise on what you can expect.

MikeJ

I think I have a higher opinion of kids than you do

bob_bob

I have a high regard for children, both mine are graduates and the grand children are thriving in school but they have no language problems and can be easily supported by us in terms of helping with studies. The OP does not speak Spanish so how will she and her partner help their children who at age 11 will be struggling like crazy to learn a new language and fit into a new culture?

I'm a realist.