# Relocating to the Costa Blanca



## roblyall1 (Jan 26, 2016)

Hello,

My wife and I are thinking of moving to the Javea region in the summer. We have a 7 year old and 4 year old and are thinking of sending them to the Laude Elizabeth independent school. I will work remotely for the same UK company I work for now so there won't be any issue with money. My wife will need to find some work locally eventually teaching english or something.

It would be great if anyone could give us some answers to our queries:

•	How long have you lived in Javea and how would you describe your feeling of the area?
•	How safe is Javea for kids?
•	How well do the English and Spanish Children Integrate in the schools?
•	Is there any bullying of the English kids in the schools or town due to the reputation of the Brits in Spain?
•	How do the school GCSE grades compare to the national average in England?

Best,
Rob


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

roblyall1 said:


> Hello,
> 
> My wife and I are thinking of moving to the Javea region in the summer. We have a 7 year old and 4 year old and are thinking of sending them to the Laude Elizabeth independent school. I will work remotely for the same UK company I work for now so there won't be any issue with money. My wife will need to find some work locally eventually teaching english or something.
> 
> ...


:welcome:

I'm off to work in a min, so I don't have time for a full reply atm, but I'll get back to you later

I will say though that Jávea is a great place to bring up kids - we've been here for over 12 years now I & my daughters are totally part of the community as a whole - not just the 'Brit' community

I'm not sure what you mean about 'the reputation of the Brits in Spain' though :confused2:


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

I don't want to derail this thread as there are many others on this topic already but are you aware that you will be considered tax resident in Spain despite working remotely for a UK company? 

You may even have to be self-employed in Spain.


Have you chosen an International school rather than a state school for a particular reason? I'd be interested in knowing why - thanks.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

roblyall1 said:


> Hello,
> 
> My wife and I are thinking of moving to the Javea region in the summer. We have a 7 year old and 4 year old and are thinking of sending them to the Laude Elizabeth independent school. I will work remotely for the same UK company I work for now so there won't be any issue with money. My wife will need to find some work locally eventually teaching english or something.
> 
> ...


OOPS!
Having just read snikpoh's reply I realise that this info is irrelevant as you are talking about sending the children to a private school. Sorry!

I don't live in Javea, but have only heard good things about it.
I presume that by "the reputation of the Brits in Spain" you're thinking of the drink/ drug anti social behaviour that a small but loud majority of Brits think is appropriate behaviour when they are abroad... Again not sure, there's bound to be someone somewhere who'll not like you because of the behaviour of others, just as some will think that the Irish are think and the Scots are mean with their money...
What I can tell you is that as things stand now there are quite a few differences between British and Spanish education. In general, even in primary school education is much more "do an exercise" based, than draw and paint about... kind of thing. It seems that a lot more schools are taking a project based approach, but still expect lots of studying and rote learning.
Later on you'll find that secondary school education, is also very much based on learning from a book. Students can, and frequently do repeat a year as they have to pass each academic year. At the age of 16, although they will have exams in all the subjects they are studying (around 11!) they don't get a certificate for each subject studied, just a general secondary education certificate (which you have to pay for by the way). Then 16-18 is spent in higher education (bachillerato or formacion profesional)) if that's what you decide. Bachillerato again is a course of many subjects (around 9). To get to university you have to sit another exam called Prueba de Acceso a la Universidad and this together with the marks gained in Bachillerato will be used to decide which uni will accept you or not.
Search the FAQ's and you'll find a lot of info including education .


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## roblyall1 (Jan 26, 2016)

Hi there, and thanks for your replies, much appreciated. 

It is reassuring to hear that your daughters have integrated well into the local community. I worked with a chap form Madrid in the UK and he told me about the bad rep of brits in other areas such as benidorm etc. Javea sounds totally different? I also visited a couple living in Orbiz around 5 years ago and Denia which seemed pretty decent when I was there. 

I have looked into the Spanish tax system/Autonomous and am aware that I would be paying tax in Spain as a resident when working for a UK company remotely. There seems to be ways of getting the rates down when paying a spouse under the allowable allowance etc. How does it compare overall to the Uk income tax rates? It seems to compare fairly evenly to me unless I am missing something?

The Laude Elizabeth independent school follows the British GCSE curriculum and seems to have above the national average UK grades. Which is attractive. We are going to visit the school early Feb. That said we don't know much about the standards of any of the local Javea schools in comparison to the UK?

My wife and I are visiting Javea for a few days 11th to 14 Feb to visit the school, have a look at some villas and check out the area and amenities. Any recommendations of what to see are welcome!

Best,
Rob


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

The only reason I asked about schooling is because of my personal experience.

We moved here over 9 years ago and put our 3 children into state schools initially and then a concertado for ESO and Bachi. I can't fault the state schooling system at all. The children have done well with the eldest now being at Valencia University.

For me, integration was more important for my children. I felt that putting them into an International or British school would have defeated this objective.

Again, for us, we have seen zero signs of bullying with our children being the only English at either school.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Your children going to an English school is defeating the purpose a bit, i think they should go to a spanish school, soon they'll learn the lingo and have lots of friend, my next door neighbours took their 2 children to an English School in the area, and 3 years later, they still don't speak much spanish, as they seem to be always around english people, it is all a bit sad really, not sure why people would want to move to Spain and not embrace the spanish life and behave as if they were still in the UK .


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## emmamayb (Aug 19, 2015)

Hi Rob,

I lived in Calpe just down the road from Javea for 12 years and currently reside in Elche. I attended the Laude Lady Elizabeth school for 10 years throughout my entire high school education from year 4 through till year 13, I was age 8 when we moved and my brother aged 10. I think the younger the better and your kids are at the perfect age to build great friendships and not feel any resentment. 

To answer some of your questions, Javea is absolutely beautiful, i used to visit there on a weekly basis to visit friends etc and socialise on the main beach. I am 100% sure you will love it there. 

In terms of schooling, from my experience there is more integration of cultures within the school in the younger years, however as the children get older it becomes more segmented, particularly as so many children join and leave every year it is comforting to stick with peers who are in the same boat as you i.e. moved to Spain from the UK. However it is also dependent on the other children as from my perspective I was always keen to integrate with the Spanish children in my year and I did successfully and have come out with lots of friends from many different backgrounds, however there are a few people you will find have opinion on the British due to a hindered reputation. 

Most importantly the grades achieved at GCSE and A Level in the Lliber school are exceptional, with all and if not the vast majority of children exceeding expectations of a standard school in the UK. When I took my GCSE's we all took 9 subjects and the majority of the exams were iGCSE (international) which are at a slightly higher level which are better recognized. and most students would come out with all 9 above B grade with mostly A and A*s which is miles beyond the level achieved in the UK. Don't get me wrong there is always a few who don't input much effort and therefore will do poorer that this however those aspects are down to the individual. The education is execptional and i honestly could not recommend the school enough. I have left the school completely bilingual (as Spanish is compulsory until year 11) and have exceptional GCSE and A level results as a result of this, I had a great childhood growing up in the area and am so grateful to my parents for taking the plunge, i promise you your kids will too. 

I hope this helps! Also if you have any other questions im happy to help.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

I can't comment on Javea in particular, but regarding the schooling I'd at least start the kids off in a Spanish school for the reasons snikpoh mentioned. If the OP then feels they prefer international school then there's still time for the kids to go there instead, maybe for secondary or tertiary education. Apart from helping the kids integrate better, they'll also pick up Valenciano as well as Spanish at a local school, which would further help them integrate. Whereas I'd imagine that an international school would only teach English and Spanish.


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## emmamayb (Aug 19, 2015)

Chopera said:


> Whereas I'd imagine that an international school would only teach English and Spanish.


I forgot to mention once I reached a high intermediate level of Spanish they introduce Valenciano as an option to learn also. I admit it will not be to the level as it would be in a Spanish school but nonetheless the option is there. 

I think if you are worried about bullying, this is going to be more likely in a Spanish school as the English children are rarer and they are more often the odd ball to begin with. I would recommend you choose which system you'd like to follow and stick with it, also if you can access LES with discounted/no fees due to your job role, you are getting an AMAZING deal.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Apparently dog s**t can be hazardous. If living in Javea wear boots and remove them before entering your home. If out for an evening stroll take a torch so that you can dodge the mounds. Apart from that, it's a marvellous place.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

roblyall1 said:


> Hi there, and thanks for your replies, much appreciated.
> 
> It is reassuring to hear that your daughters have integrated well into the local community. I worked with a chap form Madrid in the UK and he told me about the bad rep of brits in other areas such as benidorm etc. Javea sounds totally different? I also visited a couple living in Orbiz around 5 years ago and Denia which seemed pretty decent when I was there.
> 
> ...


lol - Jávea & Benidorm couldn't be more different! 

My daughters were the same age as your children when we first arrived. We'd moved around a bit & it was a 'suck it & see' so for the first year we put them into an International school. (waste of 10k€ for that year imo) As soon as we were sure that we were staying we moved them to Spanish school & they never looked back. If we were starting now, I wouldn't have wasted the first year.

The state schools in Jávea are all very good. As snikpoh said, it's really the only way for your children to fully integrate into the local community - especially bearing in mind that the International schools have kids from miles & miles around. If your children go to local school, they will have local playmates in the same class. And you will also meet local parents  

It's a completely different system to the UK, so direct comparisons don't work. It is perfectly possible to go to uni in the UK after state school in Spain though, regardless of what you might hear from others. 

_Some _kids come through the International schools learning reasonable to good Spanish, but the truly fluent ones who are really part of the local community are very few & far between. As emmamayb said - as they get older they tend to mix less & less with the local Spanish - & the ratio of Spanish kids to other nationalities changes dramatically. A lot of Spanish parents send their kids to International school for primary & then move them to state school for secondary - & a lot of British parents do the total opposite!

Again, I agree that it depends on the child - but also on the attitude of the parents. I know & have known lots of families who have lived here at least as long us we have where the parents don't learn to speak Spanish & so don't becme part of the community as a whole. They might be well known & be part of the 'Brit' community - but that's like being known in a little village (around 6,000 Brits live in Jávea, about 22/23% of the total population) . These families almost always return to the UK - usually after a couple of years, but I know a couple of families which returned after 10+ years.

So imo at least - why not try state school - at their ages even if it doesn't work out & you then move them, it won't really make any difference to them educationally.


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## roblyall1 (Jan 26, 2016)

This is very helpful, thanks. Your views provide a good insight into the area and schools which definitely need some consideration.

Rob


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## scoobyroo (Apr 21, 2020)

Hello, we are a family moving to Costa Blanca and looking at all the private schools. Does anyone have any good/bad feedback on any of them? It would really be very much appreciated. Thank you!!


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

scoobyroo said:


> Hello, we are a family moving to Costa Blanca and looking at all the private schools. Does anyone have any good/bad feedback on any of them? It would really be very much appreciated. Thank you!!


Well first it depends on the age of child. Generally children under 10 are usually able to cope with Spanish , to some degree, by the time they start secondary. If over this age then it could be hard for them to catch up with their peers by secondary. If starting secondary with no spanish there is not much chance of them finishing school that successfully. In this case their is no difference between public and private. 

If your children speak Spanish then private schools are generally better but not considerably
They have " nun" schools as well here where you pay depending on income and they are considered okay.


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## scoobyroo (Apr 21, 2020)

Thank you for your reply. 

The kids are 6 and 11 and properly bilingual in Spanish and English having 1 Spanish and 1 English parent. We are sure they should go to a private school based who they are and their experiences in different schools up to now.

Currently XIC, Lady Elizabeth and AIS look the most interesting to us.

So any comments at all about those schools would be very intersting to hear.

Thank you!!


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