bowdeng

Hi, New to this but after owning a Villa in Moraira for around 5 years we are looking at moving over full time this summer! My wife has many more concerns than I do so would like some advise on schools and kids clubs to help my wife feel better about the move and also meet friends for both her and the children quickly! The boys are 7 and 10 and both been spending 3 months a year in Spain for most of there lives.

I hope I can get some good feedback on this post, we have family over there but feel it very important for my wife and kids to gain a social network quickly as I do work a lot.

The boys both do Jujitsu so would love to find a local club with this type of martial art or similar, and the oldest is also in the Cub Scouts.

Thanks in advance Gary

lynnxa

Hi

I'm just up the road a bit in Jávea!

as long as you have income sorted I wouldn't worry at all about the move

your older boy is 'borderline' for going into Spanish school, but with support he should be fine & the younger one should have no problems at all!

I don't know about those kinds of clubs in Moraira, but we certainly have martial arts clubs for kids in Jávea

& I didn't think we had scouting in Spain, but it seems I was wrong - I haven't looked to see if there's a group near Moraira though http://www.scoutsfee.org/english.html

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

perdiu83

There is a karate club just up the road in benitachell school.

Would you be sending the kids to Spanish school or an international school?

Veterano

bowdeng

Hi, Thanks for the feedback, We have not decided yet but with my Oldest been 10 I am considering The Lady Elizabeth School. I will be over with the family for a week at Easter and plan to arrange a visit.

Thanks Gary

bowdeng

Hi,

Thanks for the prompt reply, Looking forward to moving to the sun soon. Any club contacts would always be helpful and apappreciated)

lynnxa

good choice

in answer to your other post, my girls aren't into that sort of thing, but if you do FB this group is a mine of hyper-local information

Javea Connect

vonnie1975

HI ive just moved to torrevieja 5 weeks ago, schooling is pretty hard at the moment ie homewrk, does your children speak any spanish??? my kids are 6 and 8 they both had spanish lessons approx 1yr before coming to spain, my 6 yr old has stated p1 here in spain (she was in p2 in uk) so she is starting from begining really so i think she will be ok, my 8 year old is in p3 (p4 back in uk) and is struggling a bit, school have already advise us he will have to repeat yr 3 as his spanish isnt that great so he need to be able to speak it as the work in p4 would be to hard for him, i find this really hard as my boy was in top class on everything back in uk but if you cant speak the lanuage proper i suppose there no choice but repeat a yr.. hope it all works out for you x

bowdeng

Thanks for your feedback, Are they in state school?? this is one of the reasons I am considering international school or would they still have the same language problem?

vonnie1975

HI bowdeng yes they are in state school, i wouldnt imagin they would have that problem in international school as the will speak english ther, they only speak spanish in my kids school x

bowdeng

OK, Looks like the expensive option is the only one I have , Crazy thing is I have been going out there for 10 years so my own fault for not getting them in to the language.

cricketman

Do you speak Spanish yourself? That would be the biggest help for your children

There was a report recently into the trouble foreign students have in Spanish schools in the Alicante area. They concluded that British children had more problems than any other nationality because the parents took zero interest in their children's education or in Spanish culture and language in general - so the children thought there was no point in learning Spanish

Very sad stories, the kids end up with no education and are normally playing truent by the time they are a teenager

bowdeng

Just the very basics I am afraid, I have found it very hard and even when I try to improve find it difficult to be able to speak with people in Spanish. No excuse and plan for both me and the wife to push ourselves a lot more to help the kids.

vonnie1975

No i dont speak spanish but i am willing to start now, and help as much as i can for my kids to pik it up xx

cricketman

Sounds good - lead by example! Everybody can learn a language to a good standard, just means lots of effort and exposure

e.g. watch some (or all) Spanish TV at home, buy Spanish newspapers, Spanish radio etc. On the Costas it is very easy to do everything in English and have a similar life to what you had in the UK, but this can have a terrible impact on the eduction of children who need all those reference points in Spanish if they are going to do well in the Spanish education system.

Another point is that the Spanish education is very selective. Children who dont do very well (bottom 30%) will fail and leave school with nothing. Your children need to be among the top 30% if they want to have the opportunity to go to university - and therefore have a chance of getting a good job either in or out of Spain