# Need school advice for Barcelona and/or Valencia!



## johnredick (Dec 8, 2020)

My wife and I are considering a move to Barcelona or Valencia (or Lisbon) for a year from America. With our jobs, we can live anywhere and we're just looking for a fun, family adventure. We're loosely shooting for August 2022. Our kids will be 6 and 4 then. We want to live in a city center-ish neighborhood without a car. In both cities, the private schools I've found that teach American curriculum seem to be a good 30 minutes outside of the city center. We'd like to be able to walk our kids to school or take an easy 10-15 minute public transportation ride each day. 

Does anyone have any advice on city center neighborhoods in Barcelona or Valencia with American curriculum schools?

Also, the private schools I've found so far are very expensive. That's not a dealbreaker for us, but are there any less expensive options to consider for kids that only speak English? Thanks so much!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

You could try a British school I guess Colegios – Nabss

Out of intrerest, is there any particular reason to go for a school that follows a partiular curriculum or only teaches in English for kids that age? It seems you are limiting your choices when really it's a perfect opportunity for your kids to learn another language.


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## johnredick (Dec 8, 2020)

Chopera said:


> You could try a British school I guess Colegios – Nabss
> 
> Out of intrerest, is there any particular reason to go for a school that follows a partiular curriculum or only teaches in English for kids that age? It seems you are limiting your choices when really it's a perfect opportunity for your kids to learn another language.


Well, since this will likely only be for about a year, we're thinking it makes sense to stick with the same curriculum they'll have before and after this journey. However, I'm not completely opposed to the idea of a British school. I guess I would just need to look into the differences. As far as language goes, yes, we'd love for them to learn another language while we're there. But they're young and they'll be speaking mostly English when we get there.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

At that age they'll be fluent (for their age) in the local language withinn months. Up until the age of about 10 kids rarely have a problem adapting to being schooled in a completely new language. Athough they'll start to forget it once you leave, unless you make an effort to maintain it. It's up to you obviously, but I wouldn't let the language issue put you off sending your kids to a Spanish school. 

I'm not familiar with the US curriculum, but I can't imagine taking children out of it for a year at that age would make much of a difference either. Some kids in Spain don't even start school until they are 6, and those who start earlier spend most of the day playing, singing, colouring in, etc. The focus is on social intereaction and building social skills. You'd need to make an effort helping them to read in English, but that's what most parents do anyway. There's so much educational content available online these days that it's quite easy to find educational activities for them in to do in English at home, should you feel they need a boost.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

johnredick said:


> Well, since this will likely only be for about a year, we're thinking it makes sense to stick with the same curriculum they'll have before and after this journey. However, I'm not completely opposed to the idea of a British school. I guess I would just need to look into the differences. As far as language goes, yes, we'd love for them to learn another language while we're there. But they're young and they'll be speaking mostly English when we get there.


Take a look in the education section of our FAQ sticky thread. There's a link to the American version of NABBS, for schools which teach the American curriculum.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Chopera said:


> At that age they'll be fluent (for their age) in the local language withinn months. Up until the age of about 10 kids rarely have a problem adapting to being schooled in a completely new language. Athough they'll start to forget it once you leave, unless you make an effort to maintain it. It's up to you obviously, but I wouldn't let the language issue put you off sending your kids to a Spanish school.
> 
> I'm not familiar with the US curriculum, but I can't imagine taking children out of it for a year at that age would make much of a difference either. Some kids in Spain don't even start school until they are 6, and those who start earlier spend most of the day playing, singing, colouring in, etc. The focus is on social intereaction and building social skills. You'd need to make an effort helping them to read in English, but that's what most parents do anyway. There's so much educational content available online these days that it's quite easy to find educational activities for them in to do in English at home, should you feel they need a boost.


I very much doubt they will be fluent within months. By son came at 10 and is now 14 he was nothing like fluent in even a year. Fluent would normally mean speaking on a par with their peer group.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

kaipa said:


> I very much doubt they will be fluent within months. By son came at 10 and is now 14 he was nothing like fluent in even a year. Fluent would normally mean speaking on a par with their peer group.


Which is why I said the limit is about 10 years old. The OP's kids will be 4 and 6 though. They won't need to achieve the linguistic level of a 10 year old, and their brains will be more "plastic" and able to pick up a new language more naturally.

Also I wouldn't define fluency as speaking on par with your peer group. I'm fluent in Spanish but I'm not on par with my peer group, which is made up of native Spanish speakers. However I'm comfortable living and working in a Spanish speaking environment. That said, I'd expect a 4 year old and 6 year old to be quite close to having native fluency in Spanish after a year at a Spanish school, playing with other Spansh children on a daily basis. It depends on a few factors though.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Isn't the OP going to have an issue getting a visa?


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

kaipa said:


> I very much doubt they will be fluent within months. By son came at 10 and is now 14 he was nothing like fluent in even a year. Fluent would normally mean speaking on a par with their peer group.


It very much depends on the individual and the amount of support they receive at home. (IMO)

Our children were 7,7 and 10 when they arrived with ZERO Spanish. Two did brilliantly and were almost fluent in Castellano and Valenciano within months, the other (7 year old daughter) took a little longer.


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## johnredick (Dec 8, 2020)

NickZ said:


> Isn't the OP going to have an issue getting a visa?


Can you elaborate?


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Chopera said:


> Which is why I said the limit is about 10 years old. The OP's kids will be 4 and 6 though. They won't need to achieve the linguistic level of a 10 year old, and their brains will be more "plastic" and able to pick up a new language more naturally.
> 
> Also I wouldn't define fluency as speaking on par with your peer group. I'm fluent in Spanish but I'm not on par with my peer group, which is made up of native Spanish speakers. However I'm comfortable living and working in a Spanish speaking environment. That said, I'd expect a 4 year old and 6 year old to be quite close to having native fluency in Spanish after a year at a Spanish school, playing with other Spansh children on a daily basis. It depends on a few factors though.


I worked on English Language programs for schools back in UK. We undertook language support programs for non english speaking children. None of them acquired English in a matter of months. A 6 year old will already have acquired a huge lexical range not to mention a sophisticated grammatical system. However back to the topic. The OPs children will fit into a Spanish system with relative difficulties at those ages and will be learning a whole load of soft skills as well as the language so I doubt there will be any massive advantage of going to an international school where I doubt there is any syllabus at that stage


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

johnredick said:


> Can you elaborate?


Assuming you're American you'll need a visa. Since you're working that means some sort of work visa. 

Your post makes it sound like you might be working online. I'm not sure that would qualify for a work visa.

If OTOH you try telling the consulate you aren't working and living on savings your age and family situation will make it unlikely you'll be believed.


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## johnredick (Dec 8, 2020)

NickZ said:


> Assuming you're American you'll need a visa. Since you're working that means some sort of work visa.
> 
> Your post makes it sound like you might be working online. I'm not sure that would qualify for a work visa.
> 
> If OTOH you try telling the consulate you aren't working and living on savings your age and family situation will make it unlikely you'll be believed.


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## johnredick (Dec 8, 2020)

Yes, I understand I need a visa. I haven’t gotten too far down the road with looking in to that, but I was under the impression I would have visa options. I have a company based in the states that I can run from anywhere. Open to any Visa advice as well. I figured I’d post about that separately once we decided on where we’re going.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

I suspect you'll also need to find a way of paying into the Spanish tax and social security system while you are resident and working in Spain. That probably means you'd need to register your company in Spain somehow, which would have a cost. It's not an area I'm familar with, although there's quite a bit of info on this forum.


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## smifffymoto (Dec 4, 2020)

As far as I can see this is about schooling not the need of visas,taxation and being in the Spanish system!
OP it’s your life,live it how you see fit.Send the kids to which ever school fits your needs the best.Your kids will soar and be fine or crash and you have to deal with the fallout.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

smifffymoto said:


> As far as I can see this is about schooling not the need of visas,taxation and being in the Spanish system!
> OP it’s your life,live it how you see fit.Send the kids to which ever school fits your needs the best.Your kids will soar and be fine or crash and you have to deal with the fallout.


TBH I think the OP was looking for information to help them decide what fits their needs


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## johnredick (Dec 8, 2020)

Soooo, can anyone make a suggestion for a school/neighborhood combo in Barcelona or Valencia? Thanks.


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## johnredick (Dec 8, 2020)

xabiaxica said:


> Take a look in the education section of our FAQ sticky thread. There's a link to the American version of NABBS, for schools which teach the American curriculum.


Sorry, how do I get to the FAQ sticky thread? Thanks!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

johnredick said:


> Sorry, how do I get to the FAQ sticky thread? Thanks!











ATTENTION - FAQs & lots of useful info.


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## Joey Testa (Jan 5, 2021)

In Barcelona schools teach only in Catalan, not in Spanish. Catalan is also widespread in Valencia. Best schools in Barcelona are in the Sarria and Bonanova districts. If you can´t afford those, then Eixample is another option.


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