Education in Spain

Things to think about when bring children to Spain

The decision to bring children to Spain and incorporate them into the Spanish state education system should be taken with great care, after appropriate research, and bearing in mind the needs and personality of each individual child. The following comments are generalisations based on experience, but in the last analysis you know your own family best, and only you can make the right decision about their future.

Never forget that the problems of changing from English to Spanish schools is more than a problem of language, it is a problem of culture and customs as well. Many people underestimate the impact of such a change on their children, are unaware of the cultural differences involved, and may misunderstand what is happening at the school in relation to their child. The state system allows for parental involvement and you should take every opportunity to communicate with the school, with an interpreter if necessary, to iron out the kinds of problems that will inevitably arise.

Age

As a general rule the younger your child is, the easier it will be for him or her to adapt to a different school environment and pick up the language along the way. However, even as early as five or six, a child can find being thrown into a classroom where he doesn't understand the language a disorientating experience. If your child has a tendency to be aggressive or introverted, these tendencies could be accentuated by the frustration or embarrassment of not being able to make him or herself understood, and not understanding what is expected of him or her. For all children there is an adaptation period, during which little actual academic progress should be expected. This period may range from a few months to a year or more, depending on the child, but obviously, the older the child, the longer this period is likely to be. However, this in itself should not be a deterrent to introducing children into a Spanish school at primary level, as there is still plenty of time for them to adjust and adapt.

At secondary age the process is much more tricky. Firstly your son or daughter is coping with the normal problems of adolescence, which may not be helped by such a radical upheaval. Also in terms of their academic work, they are being introduced into a fairly intense academic system which is alien to them in terms of its operation and organisation, as well as its language. They will be expected to keep up with studies in a wide range of subjects with little or no support from teachers. Most children in this situation are placed in a year below that corresponding to their age for good academic reasons, but this fact in itself can cause problems at a psychological level. As a general rule, it is very ill-advised to place an English child "cold" into the Spanish system at this stage of their lives. However, there are a number of ways around this problem if you are moving to Spain with secondary age children.

Firstly you should obtain a Spanish language tutor for your child in your home country for as long as possible before you intend to move. A year would be a minimum to give a child some grounding in the language. Your child should be taught not only the language itself, but should be introduced to subjects such as Science and Maths as they are taught in Spain, since many techniques and ways of calculating are very different. Also, the level of these subjects is often higher than the equivalent level in Britain, which is another reason why your child may be put down a year on arrival in Spain. After such a period of study, you would be well advised to obtain some sort of objective assessment from a Spanish national with a professional or academic background of your child's progress and likely ability to cope at the level which will be expected.

Another way around the problem which depends on your economic situation, is to place your teenage child in a private bilingual school for at least their first year in Spain to give them a kind of half-way house experience, before going totally into the Spanish system. There are many such schools in Spain, particularly along the Mediterranean coast, each with their own philosophy and educational methods. Again, you need to research these, visit them and judge for yourself their appropriateness for your own child. On an economic level, bear in mind that apart from tuition fees, you will probably also have to pay for school uniforms, text books, lunches, transport as well as extra-curricular activities, school trips and so on, so be absolutely sure what the full financial commitment is likely to be as you may not be given all these details immediately.