# School for my 11 year old



## Gary Wilson (Jan 23, 2015)

Hi we are thinking about relocating from Scotland to Mallorca and are just at the stage of finding some where to live as in the best areas for families, schools etc in the Southwest. The biggest thing for us is the schooling for my 11 old daughter what would be best options for her age? in Scotland she will be going to secondary school after the summer, would she have to repeat a primary year if starts school in Mallorca? trying to find school info is a bit of a nightmare.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Gary Wilson said:


> Hi we are thinking about relocating from Scotland to Mallorca and are just at the stage of finding some where to live as in the best areas for families, schools etc in the Southwest. The biggest thing for us is the schooling for my 11 old daughter what would be best options for her age? in Scotland she will be going to secondary school after the summer, would she have to repeat a primary year if starts school in Mallorca? trying to find school info is a bit of a nightmare.



Well alot depends on her fluency in Spanish. If she's not totally fluent then I personally would recommend a British international School where she will be taught in English and it will be the English curriculum - which I'm guessing isnt totally dissimilar to Scotland??! 


Jo xxx


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## Gary Wilson (Jan 23, 2015)

Thanks Jo she has no Spanish language speaking skills but don't think we could afford the inter/schools!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Gary Wilson said:


> Thanks Jo she has no Spanish language speaking skills but don't think we could afford the inter/schools!


At the age of 11 it will be seriously tough for her to learn Spanish fluently enough, quickly enough, to be able to pass exams. The system here is one of constant testing, several exams in each subject every term, all of which count towards graduation at age 16.

It won't be _impossible _, I've known a few kids of that age who have managed, but they are a minority, & they usually have to repeat at least one, often two, years. In Mallorca there is also the local language of Mallorquin to contend with, alongside Spanish. It's like Catalán / Valenciano, & schools will teach in both languages. So she'll need to learn to study in two new languages, not just one. 

Take a look at the education section on this link, to see which school year your daughter would be age-appropriate for

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...-living-spain/2725-faqs-lots-useful-info.html


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Gary Wilson said:


> Thanks Jo she has no Spanish language speaking skills but don't think we could afford the inter/schools!


In which case, she'll probably be best in a primary equivalent escuela primaria. And yes, expect her to be held back for a year or two. She'll have a lot of learning to do, the language, the way of teaching and the curriculum are very different to that in the UK. She'll almost certainly need extra curricular language lessons, if only to help with the copious amounts of homework. But if she's bright and willing, she should be ok?? My daughter was 10 when we moved to Spain and Spanish school didnt go well for her, so we ended up putting her into an international school, but kids are all different

Jo xxx


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## pictz (May 6, 2012)

Gary Wilson said:


> Thanks Jo she has no Spanish language speaking skills but don't think we could afford the inter/schools!


Actually, in Mallorca she will be doing school in mallorquín (catalan ) and Spanish. I think they still do 50/50 if not more in mallorquín. I would contact the high school your daughter should be going to (according the area you'll be living in) and ask them directly what kind of resources they have for students who can't speak either Spanish or Catalan. They should have some adaptation plan for the first year.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Gary Wilson said:


> Hi we are thinking about relocating from Scotland to Mallorca and are just at the stage of finding some where to live as in the best areas for families, schools etc in the Southwest. The biggest thing for us is the schooling for my 11 old daughter what would be best options for her age? in Scotland she will be going to secondary school after the summer, would she have to repeat a primary year if starts school in Mallorca? trying to find school info is a bit of a nightmare.


Primary school here starts a year later than in the UK ie you start at 12+, so she would start in the last year of primary here. If the student doesn't pass the year they will have to repeat. This doesn't happen very often in primary, but if it does it will normally be in the last year and this could well be the case of your daughter...
Both secondary and primary are divided into cycles. In primary there are two 6 -9 years and 9 - 12. In secondary school there are also 2, 12 - 14 years and 14 - 16. Children usually repeat years at the end of these cycles.
As others have said the Spanish education system is very heavily exam orientated, and would probably not work in your daughter's favour. While some schools have help for immigrants speaking other languages an awful lot do not.
Teachers in Mallorca have been on strike at least twice as the children are supposed to study 3 languages; Spanish, English and Mallorquín and they claim that they don't have the resources, investment, or means to do so.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

ooh, we're not being very positive for you are we - sorry. One other thing that may need to be considered. Will your daughter be ok in a class of children younger than herself and as a pre-pubescent girl.....with the associated hormones, she may...... well she may not be easy. My daughter wasnt!!!!! 

Jo xxx


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## Gary Wilson (Jan 23, 2015)

Hi thanks for all your input a lot to take on with the schools, so looks more like inter/school then!

Gary


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Gary Wilson said:


> Hi thanks for all your input a lot to take on with the schools, so looks more like inter/school then!
> 
> Gary


Its probably the best option initially, and then see how it goes. There will be Spanish, mallorcan and other nationalities as well as British, so she will get to meet a good mix of kids and may become fluent and want to try a state. School?

Jo xxx

Sent from my D5803 using Expat Forum


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Gary the International school is the only realistic option. She would 'pick up' the language (not as fast as a three or four year old) but this will impact on her academic education plus she really needs qualifications that are easily accepted back in the UK should she wish to go on to higher education.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

bob_bob said:


> Gary the International school is the only realistic option. She would 'pick up' the language (not as fast as a three or four year old) but this will impact on her academic education plus she really needs qualifications that are easily accepted back in the UK should she wish to go on to higher education.


Spanish ESO & Bachillerato are accepted by colleges & universities in the UK, so for a young person who has been through & succeeded in the Spanish system & who wants to go to the UK for further or higher education it isn't necessary to do any other studies. 

I do agree though, that in this case, International school is the best way forward, because of the age of the child.


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

This may assist:
https://www.britishcouncil.es/en/study-uk/want


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

bob_bob said:


> Gary the International school is the only realistic option. She would 'pick up' the language (not as fast as a three or four year old) but this will impact on her academic education plus she really needs qualifications that are easily accepted back in the UK should she wish to go on to higher education.


Just to re-enforce what @xabiachica has said. She will NOT need international qualifications in order to proceed with further education.

She will be in the envious position of being able to choose between Spain and the UK for further education.

As @xabiachica says, all Spanish qualifications are accepted by UK institutions of further education.


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Children*



bob_bob said:


> Gary the International school is the only realistic option. She would 'pick up' the language (not as fast as a three or four year old) but this will impact on her academic education plus she really needs qualifications that are easily accepted back in the UK should she wish to go on to higher education.


Perhaps in her first year in Spain it may be better for her to be in an international school, but if she lives in an area with lots of contact with Spanish kids out playing in the afternoon, then I would give it a go the following year in the local school. If she is a jolly outgoing child then perhaps I would make sure she was in Spain a couple of months before school starts. There are lots of summer courses for kids learning languages and they do have a more receptive ear even at 11.


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## HarryB (Jan 17, 2013)

My eldest was the same age when we moved to Spain. As she had finished primary here in Scotland, she had to start 1st year at Spanish high school. They would not let her repeat the last year of primary. My daughter found it very difficult, even with many British in her class, the lessons, obviously were taught in Spanish. She was given extra Spanish tuition at nights by the school which did help and she tried very hard. However we felt that eventually her education would suffer and we moved back to Scotland. Personally I do not feel at this age that they can pick up the language wuickly enough to deal with school. If we had stayed we wiuld gave had to send her to International school if we wanted her to get a decent education and go onto Uni. At home she is now in 6th year, has gained enough Highers for Uni and is waiting on being accepted. However her time in Spanish school gave her a valuable insight into a different language and culture. She actually went on to study Spanish at higher level and may continue ar Uni. This is however our experience and everyone does what they think best for their family. X


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