Moving to Valencia
 

Hi all

I'm planning to move to Valencia in January with my family (we have 2 kids aged 7 & 9). I speak fluent Spanish, my wife speaks a little and my kids will have a very basic level. The main purpose of our adventure is to get the kdis bilingual and to enjoy Spanish life and culture. My wife is a primary teacher and is hoping to work as a tutor to kids at the British school, so we probably need to live around there somewhere.

We need some guidance on various topics and I'm hoping some of you can help! So I have a load of questions which I'm just going to list - any comments on any of them would be very welcome.

- which areas would be best to live? (we'd want to be within 20-30 mins of the British school, preferably in a predominantly Spanish area)

- does anyone know any good agents who could help us find a property to rent? (in case it helps, we'd be looking for a 4/5 bedroom house probably in an urbanisation with shared pool, probably inland a bit as I understand prices are cheaper)

- we want the kids to be taught in Spanish - is it still true that Valencian schools teach in Castellano?

- which are the best (Spanish-speaking) state schools in the Pucol area and what are the chances of getting our kids into them?

- are there any good bilingual schools in the area (and what are the chances of getting the kids in)? I assume these would be fee-paying, so any ideas on fees?

- what is the process for getting kids into school and when do we need to start applying for places?

- does anyone have any advice on how my wife can make English-speaking friends without being part of the British/International school scene?

Any comments on the above or general advice would be gratefully received.

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

Hi there and welcome to B.E. :)

It's my pleasant duty to welcome you to the forum and give you a point of contact should you need any help with the site in general. You can contact me here.

A list of all the moderators and helpers with their relevant countries including Spain can be found here.

Any problems, dont hesitate to PM me.

I can't answer your questions for you I'm afraid but if past form is anything to go on, you will get some useful and varied replies soon enough.

Alistair.

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

congrats to your wife on the job!!:)

can't help with some of your questions, but



yes, schools do still teach in Castellano - but most will teach about half the subjects in Valenciano too - some more than half, some less

you can't officially apply for school places until you actually live here & have your resident's paper, NIE & padron - have a search of the forum - it's a very frequently discussed topic

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

Hi, thanks for your reply.

So if an english-speaking child arrives in a Valencian school, are they expected to do lessons in both Spanish and Valencian? Or does the school enable them to learn solely in Spanish?

Do you know where I can get more detailed information on schools (a local/regional education authority?)?

Thanks again.

Andrew

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

Hi,
Yes in Valencia there are essentially two systems which more or less add up to the same result. PIF and PAF...with one, Spanish is the primary language with Valenciano introduced later, and with the other system vice-versa, with Spanish coming later.
There are three types of school: 1. State schools (Colegios Publicos). 2. Privately run schools funded by the State (Colegios Concertados). 3. Purely private schools (Colegios Privados).
Most Spanish parents aim for number 2. In fact the fighting for places is so intense, you might as well rule yourself out of this possibility. State schools tend to be over crowded. We opted for the private route. It's much cheaper than back in the UK, and with the crisis here, our mighty mite's class size has gone from 18 to 13 this year. Oh, and private schools are allowed to teach just in Spanish (like you, a big plus on our wish-list).

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

Not quite - around here our children had to learn both Spanish and Valencia at the same time! To make matters worse, more than half the other subjects were (are) taught in Valencian.

Our children (twins) are in a state school as this was the only option when we arrived. My eldest son is now in ESO in year 3 - we were extremely lucky to get him into your option 2 (private school but state funded).

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

Here the children are taught in Spanish & have Valenciano lessons 2/3 times a week and the Spanish kids we know are not keen on these classes.
There are also quite a number of good places to rent long term in the area.

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

as I said - it varies from place to place a bit - even school to school in teh same town


the primary school my 11 year goes to (she's starting back today for her last year there) teaches pretty much half & half in the languages, although there is linea Castellana & linea Valencia there is little difference between them

both my dds got extra help from the school with both languages when they first started there

my older dd is now 14 & will be in 3 ESO when they return next week

alhtough she was in linea Castellana in primary she chose to move to linea Valencia in ESO

she is taught everything in Valenciano except classes for Castellano & German

Castellano is the language of the patio & cafeteria though, so outside class she speaks Castellano

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

snikpoh:
Sorry I wasn't very clear....yes most schools do require the learning of both languages concurrently...but in some cases they start with one before the other.
In our little town of Gandia, there is a simple points system to decide where your child will school. Spanish, sibling already at school, speaking the lingo, age, etc. We scored a big fat zero. Though the state school in your area is "obliged" to take any child presented there, the reality is that many claim to be "full" and the child can end up making quite a trek to school in another catchment area.
At the risk of opening a can of worms, we also had to consider the make up of the class in racial terms (OK...that didn't sound too good). Though we happily live in the "immigrant" barrio, a quick visit to the local school, followed by a chat with some of the teachers, made it quite clear that over half of his would-be class of 42 children were non-Spanish. The majority being either Romanian or Bulgarian. They even drafted in teachers from those countries. Playground language is a mix of all three. We preferred our mighty mite to be immersed in Spanish from the word go and are in the lucky position to be able to afford it.
And before anyone gets heavy about us being immigrants, remember we are talking about education and the possibilities that go with it.

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

You might learn something from the Romanians and Bulgarians. A recent report into immigrants in the Spanish education system concludes that British children do the worst and are more disruptive than any other nationality.

I've posted the link here before. I'll dig it out again later if people are interested.

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

My daughters school is both a PEV and PIP school.

She is supposed to be taught in castellano which to a degree she is, but around here valenciano is so widely spoken that you cannot avoid coming into contact with it.

Music etc. is totally in valenciano and the teachers speak it probably without realizing that they are.

Of course this puts extra pressure on the child at times but like I said around here its spoken more than castellano so I feel its important to learn it.

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

I was very impressed by the Roumanians I met in Madrid (some of them teenagers) as regards their language learning capabilities. So long as one single nationality doesn't dominate the playground, I think you'll find everyone speaks the common Spanish language. I think the migration controls were taken off far too early as regards the EE accession countries, but the one area where there hasn't been a major problem has been the language one.

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

Most of the Romanian kids I have seen are out begging and thieving on the streets:)

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

There are British schools in Alzira and Xativa which employ British teachers. Lots of properties to rent and excellent public schools. Most schools have two streams, Spanish and Valencian and you can choose but your children will learn both languages and mainly Valencian will be spoken in the playground and of course they will be top dog in the English class which most children learn from 6 years old. Once you have the paperwork you go to the local town hall to enroll your children, visit the school and often start immediately. Good luck.

Re: Moving to Valencia
 

I'm not sure that you have to go to the town hall any more - round here the process is to go to the school and they take it from there.