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es-education.qxd 08/02/2005 17:42 Page 28 EDUCATION 28 Education System continued from page 27 If a pupil does not reach the required level of maths or Spanish at the end of each year they can be made to repeat the year, which can cause discipline problems when an older child is placed in a class of younger children. Subjects include the usual range and the ethos is now far more geared towards project work and continuous assessment than the old-style endless fact-learning. Spanish schools have a relaxed atmosphere with less discipline than British schools, for example, and the family is expected to help the child with their studies. Pupils who stay on after 16 can study for the two-year 'Bachillerato' academic course (either Arts, Humanities, Sciences or Technology), or enrol on practical training courses called 'modulos'. Those who have passed the Bachillerato with good marks and who want to go on to university take an entrance exam in June. INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS For information about British English-language schools in Spain, contact the British Council, Paseo Martínez Campos, 31, 28010 Madrid. tel. 91 337 3500, www.britishcouncil.es, or consult ECIS (00 44 1730 268244 or www.ecis.org). For information about American schools in Spain, write to the Instituto de Cooperación Ibero-americana, Avenida de los Reyes Católicos 4, 28041 Madrid (91 583 8526). Information is also available from embassies in Spain. ENROLLING YOUR CHILD Foreign parents should prepare for a long process of enrolling their child in a Spanish state school. Go to your local town hall in the area you are moving to in order to ask their requirements as the process and paperwork vary quite substantially from region to region. Generally, enrolment takes place in May and you will need to take the child's birth certificate or passport with an official translation of the parent's passport. You will also need proof of the child's immunisation, proof of residence and two passport photographs. To enrol your child in a Spanish state secondary school, you need proof of convalidation - the official record of your child's education. It is best to do this before you move to Spain, having obtained the appropriate forms from the Department of Education at the following address: Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia C/Alcala,34 28014 Madrid tel. 91 701 8000 Send the completed form together with your child's school record book and/or examination qualifications, plus his birth certificate. A child will not be accepted at school until the official papers have been received and stamped by the Department of Education. Expect the process to take between 3 and 6 months although a receipt from the Ministry for the convalidation documents for your child should be acceptable. INTEGRATION Some primary schools in areas with large expat populations such as the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca provide extra Spanish classes to bring foreign pupils up to speed and to minimise disruption in classes for the Spanish children. They may also encourage a pairing scheme between Spanish and foreign children to help new pupils settle in. SPAIN EXPAT SURVIVAL GUIDE WWW.EXPATICA.COM
es-education.qxd 08/02/2005 17:40 Page 29 Choosing A School Finding the right school for you children will make your time in Spain a much more rewarding experience. Here’s a guide to what to look out for. The main choice to make is whether you want your child to go to a Spanish school or an international school. Current figures show that 80 percent of expats send their children to state schools in Spain, an experience that allows the child to integrate fully in local life and (depending on how young they are when they start) be speaking the language fluently within a year. But immersing the child in a foreign language from day one may put pressure on them, beyond all the ordinary strains associated with starting a new school. An international school will enable your child to ease their way into school in a foreign country yet in familiar surroundings, with smaller classes taught in their language. But their level of Spanish may not be any better than if they had studied it as a second language back home. PUBLIC (STATE) SCHOOLS Spain's public or state schools are non-fee paying, though parents must pay for school books, school supplies and extra curricular activities such as sport, music and art. Foreign pupils can attend Spanish state schools, but you need a document known as the 'empadronamiento'. For this, you will need to register at the local town hall. Take originals and photocopies of your passport, proof of address and details of your Spanish bank account. The bureaucracy and paperwork required for enrolling your child in a Spanish school is lengthy and only manageable if you speak at least some Spanish. Spain's public schools have improved considerably in recent years and the qualifications gained are valid if your child wants to study at a university elsewhere, such as the UK. However, in areas with large expat communities such as the Costa del Sol, there is a growing problem of foreign pupils flooding schools (in Andalucia, the number of foreign pupils in Spanish schools quadrupled between 1997 and 2001). The result is disrupted classes, inadequate teaching and worse exam results as teachers are unable to deal with so many non- Spanish speaking pupils. Bear in mind, too, that if you send your child to a public school in Barcelona, most teaching will be in Catalan, and in the Alicante area a proportion of classes will be in Valencian. SPANISH PRIVATE SCHOOLS There are many varieties of Spanish private schools, some which teach entirely in Spanish and are subsidised by the State providing they have at least 25 percent Spanish students. Others are bilingual schools which place a strong emphasis on English. Most are day Catholic schools and co-educational with classes from Monday to Friday. Fees vary greatly, though they are generally lower than private schools in the UK and US. Schools in Madrid and Barcelona are naturally the most expensive. A subsidised Spanish school costs about €600 a year. continued on page 30 Get some useful hints on navigating the bureaucratic jungle of Spain at www.expatica.com/spain WWW.EXPATICA.COM SPAIN EXPAT SURVIVAL GUIDE 29 EDUCATION
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