# Spanish Primary Schools



## steven1975 (Aug 11, 2009)

Hi

We are coming to Alhaurin el Grande in September and have been told that in order to get our 5 year old in to a local Spanish primary school he must be registered before 12th September otherwise he won't be able to get a place, is this true?

Does anybody know how many primary schools there are in Alhaurin el Grande, and which one is the best? I have heard that the town hall will register you at a School dependant on address, much as the UK, is this correct or can you choose the school?

We also have a 3 year old girl, she will be going to nursery, is this usually just for a couple of hours a day in Spain, as in England?

Thanks

Steven


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

steven_matthews said:


> Hi
> 
> We are coming to Alhaurin el Grande in September and have been told that in order to get our 5 year old in to a local Spanish primary school he must be registered before 12th September otherwise he won't be able to get a place, is this true?
> 
> ...


We live in Alhaurin de la Torre and the first state school our daughter went to, we simply walked in and asked if we could send her there - they said yes! It was pretty awful tho, the british kids were quite a rough bunch and didnt get on with the spanish kids - my daughter wasnt accepted by any of them, the brit kids thought she was "stuck up" and the Spanish thought she was a brit kid!!

We then asked, looked around and chose another school, again we just walked in there, filled out the forms and she was in!!! She's the only British kid in her year and has been accepted by her classmates!

However, the correct way is to go to the town hall/ayuntamiento and ask officially and they'll tell you which schools are near you and taking new pupils. They do have a specific registering day which all pupils must do, but arriving late shouldnt matter at all - if they have the places then they'll take the child!! 

Alhaurin El grande has a lot of British and I guess a lot of schools. You need to ask around when you get here and see where others have sent their children! I have a friend in AEG who has two daughters in both primary and secondary and they are happy with the schools, I cant remember the names of the schools tho - I'll ask! 

But its very much an individual choice in the end!!! What I would call a good school, others may not and vice versa!!!!!!!

Jo xxx


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## steven1975 (Aug 11, 2009)

Thanks JoJo

Initially we were going to send him to international school, but though as he was young we will put him in state school to see how he gets on. Are there any private Spanish schools in Alhaurin el Grande? I have looked but don't seem to have found any.

Steven


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

steven_matthews said:


> Thanks JoJo
> 
> Initially we were going to send him to international school, but though as he was young we will put him in state school to see how he gets on. Are there any private Spanish schools in Alhaurin el Grande? I have looked but don't seem to have found any.
> 
> Steven


I dont think there are?????? Theres one in De la Torre called El Pinar, but thats possibly a bit of a trek twice a day. The same with international schools, the nearest is one in Cartama called Sunlands, I took my son out of there a while ago due to some issues!! If I were you, as your son is only little, I'd start him in a state school and see how he does. If he doesnt like it or you're not happy then you can have a look at the alternatives, and by then, you'll know your way around (the location and the system) better!! Its worth knowing that compulsory education doesnt start until 6 years old in Spain.

I'll tell you what, in September I should be starting a job in a bakery/cafe called Picniks in El Grande. Come along, have a coffee and a sticky bun and I'll introduce you to the british owners who have the aforementioned two daughters and are very knowledgeable on the area and the schools and will help you out with anything you need to know - so will I 

Jo xxx


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## steven1975 (Aug 11, 2009)

JoJo

We where in Piniks last week, had a lovely sandwich!

Our son will be 6 in December, so does compulsory education start from his birthday or from the school year he turns 6?

We will be coming out around the 5th or 6th of september if all goes well so we will pop in then. Does anybody have a short term villa to let (2 weeks) around that date, internet connection would be a must.

Steven


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

My co-mod xabiachica is the expert on school terms, ages etc., but I think on another post she said that the school year agewise starts and ends 31st Dec/1st Jan!! So I guess that would mean your lad should be in compulsory education, but I doubt a couple of weeks while you get sorted isnt going to be a problem, altho its nice to try to get him settled into a routine as soon as possible. 

As for short term villas???? 

Property Directors | Property in Spain / Property to Rent Long Term in Spain / Rent to Buy in Spain / Property in Canada / Property in Bulgaria ask for Carmen

Alhaurin de la Torre property and real estate Spain ask for Hayley

Obviously they're agents or the local paper may have something, I dont know of anywhere at the moment, altho there wont be a shortage!!

Alhaurin de la Torre property and real estate Spain

Jo xxx


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

jojo said:


> My co-mod xabiachica is the expert on school terms, ages etc., but I think on another post she said that the school year agewise starts and ends 31st Dec/1st Jan!! So I guess that would mean your lad should be in compulsory education, but I doubt a couple of weeks while you get sorted isnt going to be a problem, altho its nice to try to get him settled into a routine as soon as possible.
> 
> 
> Jo xxx


Hi there!
yes, the school year age wise is what Jojo states here, and Jojo is right that education isn't compulsory until 6. However you _*can*_ start school in the year that the child is 3, so some children start at 2 years old!! Where I live this is very much the rule, not the exception. This is perhaps because most parents commute to Madrid for work and need the child to be looked after in somewhere that's free. Sad, but true. This is so much the norm that if you don't do it this way you may find yourself with problems about getting a place in the school of your choice when your child is 4 or 5. This is what happened to us. We were so happy with the state run escuela infantil that our daughter went to that we kept her on there for one more year in a very small group 'cos most had gone to big school. The next year there was only one place at the school we wanted her to go to and thankfully she got it. Also most play schools only take children up to 3 years of age.
What have others in the area of Alhaurin found????

PS Your children are just the right age to go to a Spanish school and not have issues with the language. The only thing would be if you intend to return to the UK or not...

PPS Education in Spain has been discussed and discussed and discussed on here so you might find doing a search on education, schools etc brings up some interesting threads


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

steven_matthews said:


> JoJo
> 
> We where in Piniks last week, had a lovely sandwich!
> 
> ...


yes Jojo's right - if he was born in 2004 - which if my maths is right he was? - then he would be age-appropriate for 1st year primary school from September 


the reason is that as far age is concerned, they go by the year of birth & calendar year - in other words from Jan 1st to December 31st of one year

so here if a child is born on 1st January 1999 they will be in the same year as a child born on say 31st of August 1999 or 31st December 1999


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## steven1975 (Aug 11, 2009)

Thanks for the replies, we will be coming out on the 5/6th september and will rent short term whilst we sort something long term.

I read here somewhere that it's almost impossible to sort out the Spanish side of things until you are actually there, this is so true!!

Steven


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

steven_matthews said:


> Thanks for the replies, we will be coming out on the 5/6th september and will rent short term whilst we sort something long term.
> 
> I read here somewhere that it's almost impossible to sort out the Spanish side of things until you are actually there, this is so true!!
> 
> Steven



You'll need to get an NIE number to enable your son to go to school and to enable you to buy a car, get a mobile, have a landline in your name. But once you're here, it'll all fall into place!?!?!?!?!

Jo xxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Right, my friends 8 year old daughter goes to a school in AEG called "emmelia olivares" not sure that I've spelt it right, but she's happy there!!!!

Jo xxx


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## lalafilip (Apr 9, 2013)

*Sunlands*



jojo said:


> I dont think there are?????? Theres one in De la Torre called El Pinar, but thats possibly a bit of a trek twice a day. The same with international schools, the nearest is one in Cartama called Sunlands, I took my son out of there a while ago due to some issues!! If I were you, as your son is only little, I'd start him in a state school and see how he does. If he doesnt like it or you're not happy then you can have a look at the alternatives, and by then, you'll know your way around (the location and the system) better!! Its worth knowing that compulsory education doesnt start until 6 years old in Spain.
> 
> I'll tell you what, in September I should be starting a job in a bakery/cafe called Picniks in El Grande. Come along, have a coffee and a sticky bun and I'll introduce you to the british owners who have the aforementioned two daughters and are very knowledgeable on the area and the schools and will help you out with anything you need to know - so will I
> 
> Jo xxx


Hi Jo, can you please expand a little on the issues at Sunlands? We're a young(ish!) family, I'm South African, my husband is EU and our daughter is Canadian as she was born there. We're moving to Spain shortly, our daughter is 4 years old and we're considering basing ourselves in Alhaurin De La Torre and we're considering Sunlands if it's not too difficult to get her there and back. We're also going to look at state schools, but we thought Sunlands looked so lovely! Would love some inside perspective on that . 

Look forwards to hearing back from you!

x Lauren


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

lalafilip said:


> Hi Jo, can you please expand a little on the issues at Sunlands? We're a young(ish!) family, I'm South African, my husband is EU and our daughter is Canadian as she was born there. We're moving to Spain shortly, our daughter is 4 years old and we're considering basing ourselves in Alhaurin De La Torre and we're considering Sunlands if it's not too difficult to get her there and back. We're also going to look at state schools, but we thought Sunlands looked so lovely! Would love some inside perspective on that .
> 
> Look forwards to hearing back from you!
> 
> x Lauren



I posted that a while ago. since then, Sunlands has been bought out and is a completely different school. Previously, the issues were that the teaching staff werent qualified, exams were being failed on an alarming scale ( a whole year group failed every single one of their A levels), the school was losing a huge amount of students, they were also in fincancial difficulties. that apparently has all changed now. 

to get there from AdlT is a bit of a trek - probably about 10 miles each way, but doable. 


jo xxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

.... a better school IMO is the MIT in Malaga Colegio MIT - Colegio Ingles Malaga - Colegio Privado Malaga and closer too !!!

Jo xxx


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## lalafilip (Apr 9, 2013)

*Colegio MIT*

Thanks for your insight Jo, much appreciated. 

How is the trek from AdiT to Colegio MIT? Is that do-able?

(Feel like the CIA with the Adit to MIT bit, very cool!)

Thanks, Lauren


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

lalafilip said:


> Thanks for your insight Jo, much appreciated.
> 
> How is the trek from AdiT to Colegio MIT? Is that do-able?
> 
> ...


 Its better than the Cartama trip (well I think it is), altho its still a drive, but the MIT is based on the Technology park just outside of Malaga on the AdlT side. The best thing to do is to have a look on google map and see what you think

Jo xxxx


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## lalafilip (Apr 9, 2013)

Will do, thanks! x Lauren


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