lja411

Hi,
I'm planning on moving to the Costa Del Sol in Feb. I have a 12 year son and would like to know how easy it would be to get my son into a spanish school and if it is likely that there would be any places?? If anyone has an:confused info please advise as have looked at sooooo many web sites and need advice...
Many thanks
Leila

paintermujer

Cant help you with the CDS but your son is at an awkward age now I think to settle and thrive in a spanish school.

The international school option may be a better bet but it costs!!!!

Good luck anyway.

jojojojojo

Once you've moved here, you need to get yourself and your son an NIE number from your local National police station, you then need to sign on to the padron at your local Ayuntamiento/town hall and then ask them which school you are in the catchment area for. They will tell you and give you paperwork to fill in. You then need to go along with said paperwork, yours and your sons passport, two passport sized photos to the school and meet the headmaster/mistress. It maybe wise to take a translator with you if you're not fluent in speaking and writing

You may find that they will put your son back a year due to the language differences, but you may also find that there will be other British children in the school, altho IME they try to integrate them and encourage them to mix with Spanish,

Personally at 12 I wouldnt do it. My daughter was 11 when she went into Spanish state education and we had tears and tantrums for a year, she then went rebelious, started skipping school, smoking, refusing to do homework, to attempt to speak spanish ("I'm not learning their stupid language" still echos in my head). In the end we put her into an International school and I now have my bright, intelligent and friendly daughter back - well nearly, she can still be a stroppy, hormonal 13 year old.

Where abouts on the costa del sol are you moving to?

Jo xxx

lja411

Thankyou for your replys...its great of you both ... I'm not to sure yet which part but will probably be near Fuengirola, providing I can sort school etc out..x

jonnyx

Hi,
If you are near Fuengirola I an recommend St. Anthony’s College. It is a well known British school offering British National Curriculum, as well as Spanish ESO and Bachillerato. It has a very safe location in Las Lagunas just outside Fuengirola.

jdr

She`s asking for a Spanish school, not an expensive Brit school.

jojojojojo

There are many international schools along the costa del sol and all should be investigated - some dont have a very good reputation!! There are good ones and bad ones. The one thing I have learnt is that international schools are not "brit" schools. My children go to "the British College" in Benalmadena and they will tell you that at least half the kids there are Spanish, the other half are made up of all sorts of nationalities. In my sons class for example there are twenty-one children, only four are British, the rest are Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Lithuanian, Ukranian, French, Russian and Iranian and they all get on great with each other and speak a variety of different languages. The headmistress is Spanish and the lessons are taught in English and Spanish by British and Spanish teachers. (physics in Spanish is a joy when trying to help with homework lol).

Anyway, if a child is young enough and is going to be staying in Spain indefinitely then the Spanish education system is probably the way to go

Jo xxx