There are no Spanish language requirements for children to attend school in Spain. In fact, depending on what area of Spain you're in, the primary language used in class may not even be Spanish. For example, in Cataluña it's Catalan, in Valencia it's Valenciano and in Galicia it's Gallego. Not only are children allowed to enroll in school no matter what language they speak, but if they're between the ages of 6 and 16 they're required to be enrolled.

Your 9 year old should be fine in a state school. S/he will probably struggle at first but will soon pick up the language and be OK. For your 13 year old it would be much more of a struggle, especially considering that schools require a massive amount of homework and reading for students that age. So I would recommend an international school.

I'm not sure how many vocational programs you would find in English for your eldest. Anything labelled "bilingual" very often means that some of the classes are given in Spanish and the others are given in the local language mentioned before (Catalan, Valenciano, Gallego...). I'm also not sure about how difficult it would be for your child to be admitted, because at least in my area admittance is very competitive. It's done using a points system based on the student's GPA. I don't know how foreign students fit into that formula. Maybe someone else here on the forum is better informed about this.

 

I think the above poster is right. No requirements necessary as all children have a right to education irrespective of ability or status. Also it is a statutory necessity under Spanish law ( homeschooling is not allowed, although it might be considered under certain circumstances in certain autonomous regions). 9 year old would probably be okay with the possibility of repeating the year ( if you remained). 13 year old it's a no no. Even with the best intentions they would be at least 15 before being capable of communicating in an okay way but would have effectively failed to complete their secondary education ( officially finishes at 16). This would mean being unable to go to Bacherato etc. 19 year old- even bigger learning curve. Ath this age the person needs to acquiring workplace skills and refining soft skills- an inability to communicate would place them at the bottom of a huge pile. As a parent of a child who started education at 10 and has gone through system I would never do the same again- as it has made aspects of his life very hard.

 

Public schools vary greatly by neighborhood. You need to check that any school you send your kids to has a good reputation as there are a lot of ghetto schools. If you are Roman Catholic definitely choose a Catholic school over a state school.

 

What is a ghetto school? Sounds like something from the Stalin era? Do you mean a multicultural school? If so what's so bad about them? Most of us are immigrants !!

 

I have to admit that I've never heard that term regarding any school where I live - or anywhere I have ever lived, not just in Spain.

As is the case throughout the world, some schools are better than others - but ghetto schools 😕

 

My children go to a Madrid city state school (I guess you could also call it a ghetto school if you wanted to) but we are quite happy with it.
They are surrounded by "real life", they have friends from all kinds of cultures and are of course also immigrants.
It's true that the Spanish curriculum is not exactly what we are used to as British nationals, but having a nun with a huge cross around her neck teaching a classroom full of white Spanish middle-class kids won't change that part of it anyway.

 

Things change too.

Going back maybe 10 years, lots of British families started moving out of Jávea to a nearby smaller town, because they thought, with reasonable logic, that their children would 'absorb' Spanish better if they had no choice but to play with Spanish kids in the local primary school there.

Within about three years something like 60% of the children in that school were first language English speakers...

 

I think it is perhaps a slightly inappropriate phrase with rather negative connotations!!

 

These are specialschools for kids that have had official problems with the authorities. They are not state schools as such and the OP is not going to find their children sent there because they aren't living in a good area!

 

I have to disagree when you say that they are not state schools as such, at least when talking about the schools in Andalucia. I have two friends who work in two different schools of this type. They are both normal, neighborhood secondary schools for all the children living in that area. The schools have been labelled as "conflictivo" because they are found in very low income/high crime areas. (For anyone familiar with Seville, one is in Las Tres Mil Viviendas and the other is near the Esquina del Gato in San Juan de Aznalfarache). Teachers at these schools are there voluntarily (never randomly assigned as they are at all other state schools), and they're required to have special training. They're also paid a bonus. One of my friends loves working with these at-risk students, but the other one is in it for the extra pay.

As I said before, unless you live in one of these very low income/high crime areas, you won't find your children being sent to such a school.

 

In many areas of Madrid, including mine, there are the schools the locals consider to be good, and the schools the locals consider to be poor. So they all apply to the schools they consider to be good. The people who "miss out" on the good schools are more likely to be immigrants, many of whom don't have a high level of Spanish and/or don't know how the system works. On top of this, many of the "good" schools are religious concertados, which in itself might be enough to put off many immigrants from sending their kids there (such was the case with us).

So in each area, you end up with all the kids who can't speak much Spanish dumped into one school, which of course spends a disproportionate amount of resources teaching the kids Spanish, and the gap between the schools widens. By the time they leave primary school, the kids' Spanish might be ok but they probably haven't picked up so much English compared to the kids who went to the "good" schools. The kids with a decent level of English are then accepted into the "secciones bilingues" of the institutos, while the rest end up in the "programa en inglés" which is generally of a lower standard.

So while I haven't heard the term "ghetto schools" used, there certainly is a degree of filtering of the immigrants into one school, while all the rest go to a "better" school, and this separation continues thoughout their education to an extent.

That said, this is a known problem, and the regional and national governments have taken various measures to address it. So it might not be such a problem going forward.

 

That said, this is a known problem, and the regional and national governments have taken various measures to address it. So it might not be such a problem going forward.

Politicians all send their kids to private or religious schools. With a few exceptions (in well off neighborhoods), state schools are for kids whose parents can´t afford to pay a concertada (Catholic) school.

 

I am talking about Barcelona. Great to hear that Andalucia has a better state school system.

 

Better to state if you are talking about Spain, Catalonia or just the area that you happen to live in. Spain is a big country and lots of things are regional, education being one of them. In the case of Catalonia for example the whole question of language is a hot potato and many people who wouldn't otherwise do, put their children into private education just to ensure that they have more exposure to the more widely spoken Spanish as apposed to Catalan.

 

Every year I teach Bachelerato level kids. It is usually a mix of state and semi-private and I never notice any difference in ability or attitude. Plus the kids seem to know each other socially and get on really well

 

The big difference is that in the concertados the teachers haven't had to pass the oposiciones. Once they do, they move to the state schools.

 

You make it sound like the teachers in concertados are only there because they can't get into state schools (because they haven't passed the oposiciones). I'm not sure that is necessarily the case. I suspect some teachers might prefer teaching in concertados, regardless of whether they are able to teach in state schools or not.

I think the main practical difference in Madrid is in the timetables. The concertados tend to have an extended day fom 9 to 5, with a 2 hour lunch break, while the state schools run from about 9 to 2. So the concertados have about an extra hour a day, which is used for extra lessons (my kids do chess and robotics for an example) in return for the monthly fee. A lot of other parents I speak to at my kids' school say they chose it because it also does ESO. They don't like the idea of sending their kids to an instituto at the age of 12, which they feel might be a bit intimidating for them.

 

Well, I do know quite a few teachers and maybe it is just coincidence, but all of those who worked in concertados / private schools, except for one, have gone on to pass the oposiciones and then teach in state schools.
I don't know any who have passed the oposicion and then stayed in the private sector.
So in a way, yes, I am suggesting that those who are in the concertados are only there becasue they haven't got through the oposiciones and therefore can't work in the public sector.

Note though I am not saying that this always means that the teachers in the concertados are worse just because they haven't completed the oposiciones. That said, I would be wary about what qualifications they do have.

 

Yes I can understand nearly all teachers who have taken the oposiciones going to teach in state schools, because why else would they take the oposiciones? My point (that I didn't explain very well) is that there must be a fair few teachers capable of teaching in state schools who don't see the point in doing the oposiciones in the first place. For example if they have a contrato indefinido at the concertado down the road, where all the well-behaved "posh kids" supposedly go, they might not like the idea of being sent to any school in Madrid, at extra cost, at least for the first few years, even though they might get paid a bit more.

Yes at concertados you are placing your trust in the Head to select decent teachers, whereas with state schools you are placing your trust in the oposiciones system to select decent teachers. I'm not sure that either are particularly reliable in practice. Oposiciones at least used to be a test of memorising data rather than ability to teach, and your chances of passing also depended on the number of vacancies that particular year.

Friends I know who teach in institutos generally say there are some incredibly good teachers, and there are some very poor teachers. It's just down to luck as to which ones you get. I think that's probably the same in concertados as well. We're actually thinking of switching our eldest child to an instituto next year anyway, so I guess there's a good chance we'll find out what differences there are for ourselves.

 

... For example if they have a contrato indefinido at the concertado down the road, where all the well-behaved "posh kids" supposedly go, they might not like the idea of being sent to any school in Madrid, at extra cost, at least for the first few years, even though they might get paid a bit more. ...

Things must work differently outside of Andalucia. Here in Andalucia students are admitted to concertados using the exact same system that's used with state schools. It's a points system where the most points are given for living in the catchment area. So nearly all of the students in any given concertado school live in the neighborhood where the school is located, just like with state schools. Posh neighborhood, posh kids. Run-of-the-mill neighborhood, run-of-the-mill kids.

I have lots of friends who are teachers. The pay is considerably higher in state schools, often nearly twice as much. But I see the sacrifices state teachers make (being sent to a different school every year, very often outside of their province so that they have to find an apartment/room where to sleep during the work week) and I can't help thinking that the extra money can't be worth it. So I totally understand why some people would prefer working for a concertado. I would never assume that the teachers there are any better or worse than in a state school.

 

I know one person who teaches in a private school and has worked there for 10 years plus. Every year a new contract, hired in Spetember, fired in July and on the "paro" for July and August. Obviously she has no employee's rights and if one September they decide not to hire her again she will be technically "jodida" (or at least would have to go tou court to get any rights recognised).
She has never wanted the hassle of doing oposiciones and is content with her lot in life, which is fair enough, she is a great person and I'd be happy if she taught one of my kids, as I know her.
But would I be happy sending my kids to a school that works that way? I don't think so really, especially considering that it is an expensive, supposedly elite school.

 

Yes I've heard similar. In fact I remember a teacher asking on here whether it was possible to live off the salary she had been offered by a supposedly elite school, and the salary wasn't particularly high.

 

Not sure also if there is an unwritten rule concerning your religious beliefs if you work there. I wouldn't send my kid there specifically for that reason.

 

Angela, did you move to Spain? Interested in your experience as we are considering the same. One son age 13, does not speak Spanish but have time to start him off. I have high school spanish.