vik1234

Hi.
We are thinking of relocating to the Calpe/Moraira area later this year with our 9 and 7 year old.
The same old question keeps coming up - state or private school???
The kids don't speak Spanish and we don't although am willing to learn!
I've read from earlier posts that the school in Benissa is very good?
Has anyone any recent experiences of this?
The children also love football and dancing so I would love them to join any groups in the area, again has anyone any advice?
Thank you

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. 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

Longlegpete

We have talked to people who's children have attended the school in Benissa and yes it is well regarded for a state school, the problem that always crops up is the teaching of Valenciano which is 2 of the 6 hours learning a day, this tends to wind people up as its effectively a redundant language.

The Lady Elizabeth school is your choice for private schooling, buy UK standards it's not that expensive at between €8000_€10000 a year, as far as I know the school is split, Junior school is in Benitachell and senior school is just outside Benissa in a place called Lliber, these schools are very highly regarded, they have a web site if you Google it

Don't know about dancing in the area but I'm sure there must be places, football is everywhere, there's a ground in Benissa where they have classes and the sports centre in Moraira, this is more 5 a side type stuff but there's no shortage of places.

Rosemary

Can I ask you why you say that Valencian is a redundant language?

It is the first language in my area, Spanish is second, French is third with English trailing well behind. Apart from when they speak to me and any other foreigners when they use Spanish everyone in my town communicate using Valencian and many of the people in their 40´s and 50´s are taking classes in order to speak and write it correctly as the "official" Valencian is slightly different from the Valencian learned at the mothers knee.

Rosemary

cricketman

Absolutely Rosemary

Valenciano and Catalan further North are the most important languages in those regions

Without them you won´t be able to get a job in the public sector, or in the services industries, and you won´t be able to make many friends, as these are the languages that are most used day to day. They are essential to children growing up in the area

Longlegpete

Hi Rosemary, It's a view expressed to me in conversation and indeed one I hold also, I fail to see the point in spending a third of the working day learning a language that has such a small radius and one that you really don't need to be understood in most places in the region , most will also speak castilian , by all mean broach the subject in school but so much time?.

There is talk of the Valencian government wanting to increase the time spent teaching in Valencian at the expense of castilian , why?, I and many others see this as madness, the kids would be far better off learning English, French Etc, this is all part of political muscle flexing, surely we should be preparing them for the wider world?

Rosemary

The official language of the region is Valencian therefore the majority of lessons are in Valencian which is totally understandable.

The Valencian government is working hard to ensure that teachers are gaining qualifications in order to teach their subject in English as well as in Valencian and Castellano so that they will be able to help the children of all abilities. Teachers are under a lot of pressure to gain these qualifications.

Rosemary

snikpoh

The long and the short of it is that if you want a job, then you need to speak Valencian.

Don't forget that the majority of Spanish people never leave their village or town so schooling necessarily must be in the local language.

Rosemary

One of my friends works as a school psychologist and all of her forms and reports are in Valencian and she had to pass the relevant exams at university in Valencian alongside her other qualifications. Funcionarios all have to have qualifications in Valencian. It truly is the language that is used not a method of choice but a necessity.

We read a lot about living in Spain and the Valencian region in particular prior to moving here and we knew that it was the preferred language amongst the people in our town but we did not know how widely the language was utilised by officialdom.

Knowing how to speak the language in the street with the people of any of the towns is different from the "official" Valencian language. I was helping a woman to write a clearer CV and although she thinks, writes and speaks Valencian all of the time she only put her ability at an intermediate level (60%) due to the fact that she had not studied it for a qualification.

Rosemary

Kenwoodlad

In our village, everyone speaks Valenciano. The local school teaches in Valenciano. All the official letters/bills from the town hall are in Valenciano. The town hall website is in Valenciano. The local bars and cafes have menus only in Valenciano. People are very nice and make allowances for us and speak to us in Castellano. But amongst themselves, they speak Valenciano. Once we move there fulltime and are retired and have the time, we will go to local classes to learn the language.