# International school fees



## barbarazzi (Apr 22, 2012)

Hi,
My husband and I have contemplated a move to Spain to get better weather etc (all the usual stuff) but the schools are very important to us. I would like my kids to be educated in English as well as Spanish, so the state school system is out. I was looking at the websites for some of the international schools around the Marbella/Malaga area to get an idea of fees, but it seems that none of them is keen to publish this info. Knowing how much fees can vary for private schools here, I was wondering whether anyone can give me an idea of fees in that area of Spain. I know I can find all this information out if I meet the school etc, but we're not at that point yet and the fees may make the decision for us!
thanks


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

The state system offers bilingual education in an ever-increasing number of schools.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I'm trying to remember lol!!! I'm not sure if it was 1,300€ (for two children) a month or a term . I seem to remember we got a 10% discount for the second child and it went up when they were both in "secondary". The school uniforms and equipment were NOT cheap tho and it all had to be the right stuff. My daughters skirt alone was 95€!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was at the British College, Benalmadena.

Jo xxx


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## expatmat (Feb 12, 2013)

How old are your kids, barbarazzi?

We moved here with the idea of intl schooling but after speaking to expats (some here) changed our minds. For us, the benefit of a foreign language education outweighed the cons of state schooling here.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

expatmat said:


> How old are your kids, barbarazzi?
> 
> We moved here with the idea of intl schooling but after speaking to expats (some here) changed our minds. For us, the benefit of a foreign language education outweighed the cons of state schooling here.



I think it depends on the kids ages, the length of time you're planning to be in Spain (the curriculum in Spain is different from the UK, so its not easy to slot back) , what sort of further education you're kids might take up (university??) and Spain is in financial crisis, is it fair of Expats to expect free education as things are!!??

Jo xxx


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## lynn (Sep 25, 2008)

Fees rise incrementally as children progress through the years. At the international school my children attend in Torremolinos, that means in years 12/13 when they are at their most expensive, the annual fee is around 8,000 euros. Expect to pay double at the international schools close to Marbella.
As Jo has said, uniform is expensive, and you also have to pay for books, stationary etc., as well as external examination fees (GCSEs and GCEs). My daughter's GCSE's this year have cost the best part of £1000 as she is taking 11.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> I think it depends on the kids ages, the length of time you're planning to be in Spain (the curriculum in Spain is different from the UK, so its not easy to slot back) , what sort of further education you're kids might take up (university??) and Spain is in financial crisis, is it fair of Expats to expect free education as things are!!??
> 
> Jo xxx


but you can only get access to the state education system if you're registered resident - & you've got to be able to prove income blah blah to register - so you're contributing to the economy - so it's not as if you're just taking is it?

yes though, for older kids or families who are only planning to stay a year or so International makes sense


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

barbarazzi said:


> Hi,
> My husband and I have contemplated a move to Spain to get better weather etc (all the usual stuff) but the schools are very important to us. I would like my kids to be educated in English as well as Spanish, so the state school system is out. I was looking at the websites for some of the international schools around the Marbella/Malaga area to get an idea of fees, but it seems that none of them is keen to publish this info. Knowing how much fees can vary for private schools here, I was wondering whether anyone can give me an idea of fees in that area of Spain. I know I can find all this information out if I meet the school etc, but we're not at that point yet and the fees may make the decision for us!
> thanks


You're right. I've looked at about 5 and the only one I've seen so far that gives prices is this one in Xabia. I tell you, it's not cheap 
Xbia International College

As elenetxu says, there are more and more "bilingual" state schools now, and they are improving it seems but I don't think they are really an alternative for native speakers who want to continue with a native standard of English yet. It has to be said a lot of the private schools aren't up to standard either, unfortunately. Also recently this was discussed and it seems that the bilingual state school hasn't kicked off in Andalucia yet.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> You're right. I've looked at about 5 and the only one I've seen so far that gives prices is this one in Xabia. I tell you, it's not cheap
> Xbia International College
> 
> As elenetxu says, there are more and more "bilingual" state schools now, and they are improving it seems but I don't think they are really an alternative for native speakers who want to continue with a native standard of English yet. It has to be said a lot of the private schools aren't up to standard either, unfortunately. Also recently this was discussed and it seems that the bilingual state school hasn't kicked off in Andalucia yet.



What do you mean by kicked off? Andalucia was, at least in the government studies I had to read for my end of master's project, one of the "pioneer" regions in bilingual ed.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

elenetxu said:


> What do you mean by kicked off? Andalucia was, at least in the government studies I had to read for my end of master's project, one of the "pioneer" regions in bilingual ed.



We were in Andalucia when we moved to Spain and my daughter went to a bilingual school. We were told that the "bilingualness" wasnt for the British kids to learn Spanish, but for the Spanish kids to learn english. Only certain lessons were taught in English - but the British children were not allowed to attend those classes. Several British parents tried to get them to change their minds, but to no avail. However, the curriculum was still spanish, which is very different, so if you intend returning to the UK, it can cause problems

Jo xxx


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

jojo said:


> We were in Andalucia when we moved to Spain and my daughter went to a bilingual school. We were told that the "bilingualness" wasnt for the British kids to learn Spanish, but for the Spanish kids to learn english. Only certain lessons were taught in English - but the British children were not allowed to attend those classes. Several British parents tried to get them to change their minds, but to no avail. However, the curriculum was still spanish, which is very different, so if you intend returning to the UK, it can cause problems
> 
> Jo xxx


Yeah, the curriculum is definitely Spanish. It's simply the same (or similar) curriculum in English... and the amount of English will depend on each school and teacher. It would be a tough way for English students to learn Spanish.


I don't know how on earth they got away with not letting British kids into those classes - that doesn't sound legal! If that ever happens again, get in touch with _inspección de educación_ in the regional _consejería._


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> What do you mean by kicked off? Andalucia was, at least in the government studies I had to read for my end of master's project, one of the "pioneer" regions in bilingual ed.


When bilingual education was discussed recently the reply that you've got from jojo was the general response given.
For xabiachica her kids got bilingual ed. but in Castellano and Valenciano...
Maybe it was one of the pioneer regions and it got knocked in the head with the cuts, or maybe posters on here just haven't encountered it.
I tried to find a list of bilingual (English Spanish) schools in Andalucia, but could only find a British Council list with no reference to Andalucia, so if you could post one I'm sure it would be very useful.
The only place I know where bilingual Spanish English ed is widely implanted is Madrid, and the definition of bilingual can be applied loosely. Are there other areas where it's been successfully, professionally introduced?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> What do you mean by kicked off? Andalucia was, at least in the government studies I had to read for my end of master's project, one of the "pioneer" regions in bilingual ed.


just because it's written down doesn't mean it's happening..........

many (most?) of the teachers employed to teach in English either barely know the subject but speak English, or barely know English but know the subject 

generally just a few subjects are taught in English & not to all students, either

some subjects are beginning to be taught in English at my daughters' school, but as I've posted before, none of the native English speakers are taught in English


which I think is most odd - you'd think it would look good on the exam stats - native speakers would probably get better grades....


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

elenetxu said:


> Yeah, the curriculum is definitely Spanish. It's simply the same (or similar) curriculum in English... and the amount of English will depend on each school and teacher. It would be a tough way for English students to learn Spanish.
> 
> 
> I don't know how on earth they got away with not letting British kids into those classes - that doesn't sound legal! If that ever happens again, get in touch with _inspección de educación_ in the regional _consejería._


 One of the other parents did that I believe, but in the end the standard of the English was appalling (half the teachers couldnt speak it properly} and I took my daughter out and into an international school anyway - as she refused to speak Spanish...... or do any school work - spanish or english. She was a rebellious teenager who hated Spain with a passion!!!! Interestingly, she learnt more spanish at the international school than she ever did after over a year at state school

Jo xxx


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

My nephew (who is 100% Spanish - he's my Spanish sister-in-law's son) goes to a bilingual high school here in Andalucia. He only has three of his classes in English - science, history and math. They follow the normal Spanish curriculum but it's simply done in English for those three subjects. My nephew says that in those classes nobody understands the teachers and a huge percentage of the students are failing. I suspect that the students are ill prepared to follow lessons taught completely in English, and I also suspect that the teachers speak lousy English. State schools require bilingual teachers to have B2 (First Certificate) but there are plenty of people with B2 who struggle to string three sentences together. And state subsidized schools (concertados) can hire whoever they want to teach bilingual classes. At the language academy where I work we get tons of people who are teachers at subsidized schools and who are teaching bilingual classes with the promise that they'll be getting their B2 "soon". 

I'm sure there are some good, bilingual teachers out there. But there aren't enough of them for all the bilingual schools that have popped up. I think the Andalucia government has put the cart before the horse with this one. You can't have bilingual education until you have bilingual teachers.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

kalohi said:


> My nephew (who is 100% Spanish - he's my Spanish sister-in-law's son) goes to a bilingual high school here in Andalucia. He only has three of his classes in English - science, history and math. They follow the normal Spanish curriculum but it's simply done in English for those three subjects. My nephew says that in those classes nobody understands the teachers and a huge percentage of the students are failing. I suspect that the students are ill prepared to follow lessons taught completely in English, and I also suspect that the teachers speak lousy English. State schools require bilingual teachers to have B2 (First Certificate) but there are plenty of people with B2 who struggle to string three sentences together. And state subsidized schools (concertados) can hire whoever they want to teach bilingual classes. At the language academy where I work we get tons of people who are teachers at subsidized schools and who are teaching bilingual classes with the promise that they'll be getting their B2 "soon".
> 
> I'm sure there are some good, bilingual teachers out there. But there aren't enough of them for all the bilingual schools that have popped up. I think the Andalucia government has put the cart before the horse with this one. You can't have bilingual education until you have bilingual teachers.


This is exactly the situation in Madrid where this was the chance for Esperanza Aguirre from the PP to put her face on the map. It was a political move, not an educational one.
As you rightly describe, bilingual does not mean bilingual as most people understand it which is why I say in my previous post that the term can be used loosely.
My husband is a teacher in FP and last year took the C2 exam, the CAE and he's the first to admit that he couldn't take a class in English, but he may have to in the future. And what about the kids level? As things stand they have enough difficulty understanding accounting laws and finance in Spanish let alone in broken English!


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> When bilingual education was discussed recently the reply that you've got from jojo was the general response given.
> For xabiachica her kids got bilingual ed. but in Castellano and Valenciano...
> Maybe it was one of the pioneer regions and it got knocked in the head with the cuts, or maybe posters on here just haven't encountered it.
> I tried to find a list of bilingual (English Spanish) schools in Andalucia, but could only find a British Council list with no reference to Andalucia, so if you could post one I'm sure it would be very useful.
> The only place I know where bilingual Spanish English ed is widely implanted is Madrid, and the definition of bilingual can be applied loosely. Are there other areas where it's been successfully, professionally introduced?



To the best of my knowledge, every region of Spain has a bilingual education plan. If you need info on specific regions, I'm happy to find it. 

Here's a search engine to find bilingual schools (including French, English, and German language programs) in Andalucia by province: Averroes. Red Telemática Educativa de Andalucía.


In Cantabria, bilingual education in English is fairly widespread. There are a few bilingual French-Spanish schools (I think they're all secondary schools) and there are two (I think) German-Spanish schools.

In regions with a "historical language" (País Vasco, Galicia, Valencia, etc.) trilingual education is offered.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> To the best of my knowledge, every region of Spain has a bilingual education plan. If you need info on specific regions, I'm happy to find it.
> 
> Here's a search engine to find bilingual schools (including French, English, and German language programs) in Andalucia by province: Averroes. Red Telemática Educativa de Andalucía.
> 
> ...



yes, as I said - the trilingual education here (at the school my daughters attend) consists of all students being taught in Castellano & Valenciano - all subjects are taught in both languages

Naturales is taught to _some _students in English, but apart from English itself that's all

NONE of the native English speakers are taught Naturales in English

I thought there was at least one other subject taught in English, but just checked with my daughter - I wasn't sure because my daughters weren't given the option


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> yes, as I said - the trilingual education here (at the school my daughters attend) consists of all students being taught in Castellano & Valenciano - all subjects are taught in both languages
> 
> Naturales is taught to _some _students in English, but apart from English itself that's all
> 
> ...


I'm really shocked to hear natives weren't allowed in bilingual classes!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> I'm really shocked to hear natives weren't allowed in bilingual classes!



I wasn't shocked - a bit surprised maybe

& as I said, where's the sense in it - exam results would be so much better if they were included 

I suppose there's a twisted logic to it though - the Spanish kids are being taught in English partly to improve their English - in theory the English kids don't need to, but do (again in theory) need to improve their Spanish & Valenciano


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> I wasn't shocked - a bit surprised maybe
> 
> & as I said, where's the sense in it - exam results would be so much better if they were included
> 
> I suppose there's a twisted logic to it though - the Spanish kids are being taught in English partly to improve their English - in theory the English kids don't need to, but do (again in theory) need to improve their Spanish & Valenciano


However, one could also argue that natives in class would be a great asset to the non-native students. That being said, it can get uncomfortable for some non-native teachers who may already be uncomfortable teaching in English. 

Rhetorical question: Are students whose native language is Valenciano permitted to study Spanish-Valenciano?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> However, one could also argue that natives in class would be a great asset to the non-native students. *That being said, it can get uncomfortable for some non-native teachers who may already be uncomfortable teaching in English. *
> 
> Rhetorical question: Are students whose native language is Valenciano permitted to study Spanish-Valenciano?


I think you've probably hit the nail on the head there..... the head of English speaks excellent English, as does another English teacher

to the best of my knowledge none of the Naturales teachers do to any great level

everything else is taught in both Valenciano & Castellano - all students opt for _linea valenciana _which is all Valenciano (except the study of castellano or other languages), or _linea castellana_ - where some subjects such as maths are taught in Castellano - though again most is taught in Valenciano

& yes, native Valenciano students can opt for _linea valenciana_


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> I wasn't shocked - a bit surprised maybe
> 
> & as I said, where's the sense in it - exam results would be so much better if they were included
> 
> I suppose there's a twisted logic to it though - the Spanish kids are being taught in English partly to improve their English - in theory the English kids don't need to, but do (again in theory) need to improve their Spanish & Valenciano


Which just fuels the argument that for all they say it's bilingual it isn't really.
I imagine one of the main reasons that native children are not allowed into the classes is because they wouldn't be able to understand it. My daughter couldn't understand a lot of her English classes in primary...


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> To the best of my knowledge, every region of Spain has a bilingual education plan. If you need info on specific regions, I'm happy to find it. Vasco, Galicia, Valencia, etc.) trilingual education is offered.


Thanks for the offer elenetxu. I don't need it at all, but it might be useful for the forum???


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Which just fuels the argument that for all they say it's bilingual it isn't really.
> I imagine one of the main reasons that native children are not allowed into the classes is because they wouldn't be able to understand it. My daughter couldn't understand a lot of her English classes in primary...


my daughter actually failed English once in primary school 


I went to see the teacher to find out what had gone wrong - she wanted to speak to me in Spanish but I 'jokingly' suggested she could practice her English on me 

not only was her pronunciation appalling, but she could barely string a sentence together - this was years & years ago when my Spanish was basic (to put it mildly), but we ended up speaking Spanish because it was easier !


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> to the best of my knowledge none of the Naturales teachers do to any great level


And when you think about it, why should they?
When they went into teaching they didn't imagine they'd have to suddenly, and in many cases it is quite suddenly, teach their subject in another language. Imagine you're an accountant and you're told to do 75% of your work in French/ German/ Ukranian
¿¿¿¿¿¿¿WTF?????????


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> And when you think about it, why should they?
> When they went into teaching they didn't imagine they'd have to suddenly, and in many cases it is quite suddenly, teach their subject in another language. Imagine you're an accountant and you're told to do 75% of your work in French/ German/ Ukranian
> ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿WTF?????????


exactly!


& now - me voy a la cama.......... I have to be up at 6:30 to nag two teenage girls into getting up & getting to school on time tomorrow :ranger:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> my daughter actually failed English once in primary school
> 
> 
> I went to see the teacher to find out what had gone wrong - she wanted to speak to me in Spanish but I 'jokingly' suggested she could practice her English on me
> ...


Hahaha
I never went into a meeting with the English teachers speaking in English (however, I certainly would have done in your cirumstances). But in the last ever teachers meeting I went to with the tutor he insisted on speaking to me in English, and he was OK, but it was excrutiating for me as we had a difference of opinion and I had what I wanted to say all worked out in Spanish. He, for some reason had thought I didn't speak the lingo. You should have seen his face when I began to spout forth! And not only that, criticising him! It was a picture


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> exactly!
> 
> 
> & now - me voy a la cama.......... I have to be up at 6:30 to nag two teenage girls into getting up & getting to school on time tomorrow :ranger:


Poor you!
Have a lovely day tomorrow.
Had a great day today in my lovely mountains on a 5 hour scrabble in La Pedriza. Got burnt to a crisp though as Maldonado said it was going to be 16º. What a liar!!


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> my daughter actually failed English once in primary school
> 
> 
> *I went to see the teacher to find out what had gone wrong - she wanted to speak to me in Spanish but I 'jokingly' suggested she could practice her English on me *
> ...


Oh gosh. 
I'm not going to get too into it, because I could really burn myself. However, a lot of times the DNL/CLIL ("subject") teachers in bilingual programs are TOLD they are going to teach in a certain language instead of being asked or volunteering.

Sorry your daughter failed! I can only imagine the reasoning behind that... 



In terms of looking for bilingual schools throughout Spain, Buscador de Colegios, Institutos y Centros de Enseñanza might be a big help. I can't seem to find a similar search engine for Valencia.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> Oh gosh.
> I'm not going to get too into it, because I could really burn myself. However, a lot of times the DNL/CLIL ("subject") teachers in bilingual programs are TOLD they are going to teach in a certain language instead of being asked or volunteering.
> 
> Sorry your daughter failed! I can only imagine the reasoning behind that...
> ...


Here the procedure seems to be that the school closes in June having taught only in Spanish and opens in September miracuously having been transformed into a bilingual school. I think the Comunidad de Madrid may be running low on FairyDust though...


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Here the procedure seems to be that the school closes in June having taught only in Spanish and opens in September miracuously having been transformed into a bilingual school. I think the Comunidad de Madrid may be running low on FairyDust though...



Up here, the schools at least have to apply to participate in the program. 
I'll never forget this:


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> Up here, the schools at least have to apply to participate in the program.
> I'll never forget this:


Yep! Highly successful campaign by the lady herself. Of course most Madridleños didn't realise there was anything wrong and ate it up 
I think they have to apply here too, but that doesn't mean that the teachers are necessarily in agreement, nor that they have a high enough level of English to teach their subject successfully. 
Don't forget also that teachers are given a place and are expected to fill it so they are not necessarily choosing to teach in English.

Having said all this I would like to say that not all teachers of English/ of their subject in English are "bad". There are some good professionals out there. Also, just because the teacher has an accent or makes spelling mistakes doesn't mean that they not good teachers. 
I would say however that the odds are stacked against them, and more and more with current government policy.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> Oh gosh.
> I'm not going to get too into it, because I could really burn myself. However, a lot of times the DNL/CLIL ("subject") teachers in bilingual programs are TOLD they are going to teach in a certain language instead of being asked or volunteering.
> 
> Sorry your daughter failed! I can only imagine the reasoning behind that...
> ...


actually she deserved to fail 

it was a grammar exam & she hadn't studied for it , but she recovered the marks by the end of term

the English teacher was 'removed' at the end of the term though - she was sent somewhere there weren't any native speakers I believe ................

yes, you're right , sometimes they don't get a choice - like the student teacher I did oral English practice with for an entire summer

he was specialising in English because his grades weren't good enough to be a sports teacher


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## barbarazzi (Apr 22, 2012)

wow, i never expected to get so many replies. There's some great info on here. Thanks to everyone who posted. I didn't know that bilingual schools were so prevalent in the state system, but having read the posts, still think I would go for the international school. I don't know what we will do in the future, but if we did move to Spain, I would still want the kids to have a solid education in English as well as Spanish. Gives them the option to go back to the UK or further afield when they're older.


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## jeremyinspain (Dec 3, 2011)

I work in a 'British' school, not close to any of the Costas', so maybe a little cheaper. The fees are 400 euros per month (x 10 for the year) nursery, rising through 500 pm in primary to nearly 650 in 6th form. (2012 figures.)
Add to this food, 150pm and uniform ???

Something to keep in mind, depending on the school, English children who join the school quite young (primary ages) pick up Spanish (in daily lessons and in the playground, birthday parties etc) pretty quickly if they are sociable and if there are a lot of native Spanish children attending. The younger the better, really. So they get their 'English' education but can also end up Spanish speakers.
Having said that, the bilingual education movement is gathering pace with more and more state schools offering at least partial bilingualism. This does depend on the community you move to though. Some with their own language (I think Galicia might be one) are moving towards trilingualism.


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