# Starting a language academy in Spain



## dmh2602

I am interested in -- quite possibly -- starting a small language academy in Spain in 2013. I feel that if you market a school well, have good prices and offer a good service, it will do okay.

I want to know what is the cheapest LEGAL way to begin a school? I am thinking of a First Floor apartment, and I am thinking of registering me and the business as authonomo, as that would hopefully save money on tax and things like that.

It seems like starting a business here isn't easy, so does anyone have any tips, any scare-stories or success stories, or just advice.

Many thanks.


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## AlexBramwell

I would advise going autonomo and picking a location with good visibility. Ftriends of mine found a local next to where the school buses unload the kids in a smart area of town and have as many kids as they can handle. Other friends have been successful in smaller towns where there is demand but no local academy.


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## xabiaxica

check out what licences & insurances you need before you make the leap - it can be costly

I was in the process of doing exactly that a few years ago before the crisis hit really hard, & decided instead to be a 'mobile' language teacher - I teach group classes in a bar - 12 groups of up to 8 in a group each week, plus one to one lessons - I don't pay rent - just buy myself a coffee & sometimes something to eat (tax deductible) - all my students buy something to drink & often use the bar at other times too, for drinks & meals

I save by not having rent, utilities or insurance to pay & the bar benefits by getting a lot of regular business from people who might otherwise never have even heard of the place

I am of course registered as autónomo & pay my NI & tax, & am also IVA registered for the translation work I do

eventually I will open that language school when the crisis eases - but for now this is a great compromise


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## Pesky Wesky

dmh2602 said:


> I am interested in -- quite possibly -- starting a small language academy in Spain in 2013. I feel that if you market a school well, have good prices and offer a good service, it will do okay.
> 
> I want to know what is the cheapest LEGAL way to begin a school? I am thinking of a First Floor apartment, and I am thinking of registering me and the business as authonomo, as that would hopefully save money on tax and things like that.
> 
> It seems like starting a business here isn't easy, so does anyone have any tips, any scare-stories or success stories, or just advice.
> 
> Many thanks.


I'm wondering what your background is. Do you know anything about teaching? 
The basis for a good and therefore successful academy is, imo, its teachers. Marketing and premises are undoubtedly important, but if the service you give is the best, then the other two fade into the background and your best advertising will of course be your clients. So once you know about premises and licences, be sure to budget the price of your teachers well. If it's only going to be you I would go along the lines of xabia (and myself actually) and be self employed with no premises. However, one of the biggest groups of potential clients will be children and the only way to make any money at that is to do groups and for that you will need a place. 
A couple of other things...
In the Madrid area at least, there has been a drive to open up bilingual state schools. The system has been implemented bit by bit starting in primary and they are now in the upper years of secondary schools. The programme was a political move more than an eduational one and therefore has not been very successful, but the moment that this area is addressed seriously that market will start to dry up. I don't think it's going to happen any time soon, but it's there.
Licences and paperwork can take a long time to come through and so be prepared to wait before you can open premises *legally*. You can register yourself as self employed in a day though.
This web may help you

Ser Autónomo - La guía indispensable para el trabajador autónomo

and a member on the forum called Truebrit has recently set up his own academy and may be able to help you.

There's also this old thread which is extremely long, but has some useful info in it.

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...iving-spain/26226-teaching-english-spain.html

If you do a search for teaching English, tefl, language academy etc I'm sure you'll find others


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## dmh2602

Wesky, thanks for your reply -- and for the links! 

About me: 33 year old English male. Have a BA and MA in English Lit and a Celta. I've been teaching English for about 3 years, most of the time in England, and about a year in Spain.

At present I work in one the best academies in my city. This school is trendy and always tries to employ friendly, young teachers. I also teach private students, most of my students come from tuclasesparticulares.com. I have a good balance between privates and academy work.

So if I open a school, I would be the main English teacher, with some of my collegues working for me on a part-time basis.

I see that a niche area is 1-2-1 classes (or very small groups). Most academies charge 35-40 Euros per hour, and that is a terrible rip-off. I would like to offer chunks of private classes (maybe 10hours-30hours) for a very reasonable price.

I would like to get the private students together for conversation classes and other activities. If I can register myself as self-employed, and still basically run a small academy, that seems to be the way to go. I am thinking of finding a nice 3-4 bedroom apartment, on the 1st Floor and using it as a school. That would be more than enough space.

I need to do more research on tax issues, and the best way to put myself and my collegues on contracts etc.

Also, I would love to know how schools go about giving 'official' certificates. For example, can my school DMH Idiomas (for example), just print and write certificates to say Student x has passed a B1 course, or do I need to pay Cambridge etc to be able to do that?


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## xabiaxica

dmh2602 said:


> Wesky, thanks for your reply -- and for the links!
> 
> About me: 33 year old English male. Have a BA and MA in English Lit and a Celta. I've been teaching English for about 3 years, most of the time in England, and about a year in Spain.
> 
> At present I work in one the best academies in my city. This school is trendy and always tries to employ friendly, young teachers. I also teach private students, most of my students come from tuclasesparticulares.com. I have a good balance between privates and academy work.
> 
> So if I open a school, I would be the main English teacher, with some of my collegues working for me on a part-time basis.
> 
> I see that a niche area is 1-2-1 classes (or very small groups). Most academies charge 35-40 Euros per hour, and that is a terrible rip-off. I would like to offer chunks of private classes (maybe 10hours-30hours) for a very reasonable price.
> 
> I would like to get the private students together for conversation classes and other activities. If I can register myself as self-employed, and still basically run a small academy, that seems to be the way to go. I am thinking of finding a nice 3-4 bedroom apartment, on the 1st Floor and using it as a school. That would be more than enough space.
> 
> I need to do more research on tax issues, and the best way to put myself and my collegues on contracts etc.
> 
> Also, I would love to know how schools go about giving 'official' certificates. For example, can my school DMH Idiomas (for example), just print and write certificates to say Student x has passed a B1 course, or do I need to pay Cambridge etc to be able to do that?


the academy I used to work for (as autónomo btw & the owner freaked when she discovered I was 'legal') used to give out certificates like lollipops  - they had their own courses & 'qualifications' which meant nothing outside the academy

one reason I fell out with them was that I had to give improved grades to every student every term - regardless of how they were actually doing


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## Pesky Wesky

As far as giving certificates go, the A1, B1, C1 etc levels are the European Framework and as such have nothing to do with Cambridge. Cambridge is the examining board for PET, First etc. The certificate could say that the student has followed a course which is *equivalent* to XX level, or XX exam, but it would rarely be accepted in a place of employment/ school/ scholarship programme etc as proof of having said level, so it would be a nice thing to give out, but would be of little real use to the student.
What people are constantly asked for is the Cambridge exams as these are vital in many walks of life. My husband gets a salary increment for having a C1 (FP teacher) and when English gets to FP level he will be "habilitado" to teach in English whereas none of his present colleagues will be and what will happen to them, I don't know.
You have to make sure the students know that by doing your courses they will have the level, but NOT the official recognition. To do that they'll need to do the Cambridge exams (And at great expense. The C1 cost 160€ I think)


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## dmh2602

I teach CAE and FCE classes, so I know the importance of both exams. The First or CAE is an official and recognised certificate, but I think many students just want some proof they have studied English.

Take International House or any other well-known academy. They just present certificates saying that student x has successfully completed a course and is now at such-and-such level. I wonder if those certificates are worth anything at all? They can not harm someone's CV ... so why not?


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## Guest

dmh2602 said:


> I teach CAE and FCE classes, so I know the importance of both exams. The First or CAE is an official and recognised certificate, but I think many students just want some proof they have studied English.
> 
> Take International House or any other well-known academy. They just present certificates saying that student x has successfully completed a course and is now at such-and-such level. I wonder if those certificates are worth anything at all? They can not harm someone's CV ... so why not?


Hi dmh. I asume you would like to certificate people in English. In that case, why don't you investigate becoming an exam center? I know for Spanish you can do this in connection with the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport (I guess when you win the world cup you can include sport in this company). I don't know about English, however.


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## Pesky Wesky

bobería;994581 said:


> Hi dmh. I asume you would like to certificate people in English. In that case, why don't you investigate becoming an exam center? I know for Spanish you can do this in connection with the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport (I guess when you win the world cup you can include sport in this company). I don't know about English, however.


Being an examining centre for the Cambridge exams is not easy, and you have to have established your business beforehand, but it's certainly smth to work towards.
Here are the basic requirements

_If there is no authorised exam centre near you, and you are interested in applying, we will consider your application in the light of our business strategy, existing provision and local conditions._
_Before you apply, check you meet the following key requirements:_


_Have you identified whether there is a need for a Cambridge ESOL examination centre in your area?_
_Has your institution been in operation for a minimum of 3 years?_
_Is your institution financially sound?_
_Could you provide us with a 3 year business plan with sales forecasts attached?_
_Could you provide a minimum of 100 candidates each year?_
_Would you be prepared to visit state schools in your area to promote Cambridge English examinations and to grow candidature?_
_Do you have suitable computer facilities to enable you to grow computer-based test candidature?_
_If you can answer yes to all these questions, please complete the form below. Otherwise, you might like to enjoy the benefits of becoming a Cambridge ESOL preparation centre instead._

From
Become an exam centre | Cambridge ESOL

So going back to what was said earlier, yes, you can legally give a certificate saying a student has reached a level on the European Framework. The only thing you'd have to cover your back about is that students realise that this is not an official certificate that will be recognised in any official capacity. I was a member of a co operative academy in Madrid and we had occasional problems with this. Now this disclaimer is on their website talking about company classes and general English courses
_Las enseñanzas impartidas en este centro no conducen a la obtención de un título con validez oficial._

Even the big well recognised players like British Council and IH are not recognised officially - only Cambridge, Escuela Oficial and sometimes Trinity, (but they are fighting a losing battle with Cambridge). Of course, if you're teaching an exam class where the students are going to take the exam this is not pertinent. Perhaps all your classes will be exam classes???

Oh, and for people working part time you'll have to look into whether they will be autónomos (in which case they'll need to have all the paperwork in place and make sure its worth their while 'cos part time and autónomo isn't usually economically viable) or on a part time contract for which you'll probably need a gestor.


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## dmh2602

How about if students want to pay in cash? And how about if I want to employ teachers on a flexible basis? I would like to have a Spanish teacher, maybe a Chinese/Russian teacher, and a few English teachers who I can call upon.

I know many academies put teachers on the minimum hours/week contract (usually 4), so that they pay minimum tax.


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## xabiaxica

dmh2602 said:


> How about if students want to pay in cash? And how about if I want to employ teachers on a flexible basis? I would like to have a Spanish teacher, maybe a Chinese/Russian teacher, and a few English teachers who I can call upon.
> 
> I know many academies put teachers on the minimum hours/week contract (usually 4), so that they pay minimum tax.


all my students pay in cash - but to keep the books straight for the taxman I have to produce invoices for each & every one of them, complete with their NIE/DNI numbers (luckily one invoice per student per 3 months - I just keep a record of how many classes they attend & add it up at the end of the 3 months)

I don't know how it works employing other teachers - a gestor could advise you

I _think _that they could be self-employed & invoice you for their hours - that's what the one I worked for did - but as I said, I'm not sure they were doing everything completely above board

I do know that it's expensive actually employing people


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## dmh2602

Hmmm, and how much tax do you find yourself paying xabia ... just some kind of rough figure or %-age? 

Autonomo ain't cheap, and most of the teachers I employ would be working at other schools -- not as autonomo.

I want to do this legally, but I also want to do it as cheap and flexible as possible.


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## xabiaxica

dmh2602 said:


> Hmmm, and how much tax do you find yourself paying xabia ... just some kind of rough figure or %-age?
> 
> Autonomo ain't cheap, and most of the teachers I employ would be working at other schools -- not as autonomo.
> 
> I want to do this legally, but I also want to do it as cheap and flexible as possible.


tax is a % of income - so it depends how much I earn!! my gestor works it all out for me anyway 

you can find the rates here Agencia Tributaria - Inicio


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## Pesky Wesky

xabiachica said:


> tax is a % of income - so it depends how much I earn!! my gestor works it all out for me anyway
> 
> you can find the rates here Agencia Tributaria - Inicio


I pay 21% IRPF
I thought all autónomos paid the same
It was 15%, but Rajoy put it up a couple of months ago.
I do usually get some back as a tax rebate as I usually only work full time for 10 months a year - not by choice, but because that's what my clients usually want. I go off autónomo in July and August.


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## Pesky Wesky

dmh2602 said:


> How about if students want to pay in cash? And how about if I want to employ teachers on a flexible basis? I would like to have a Spanish teacher, maybe a Chinese/Russian teacher, and a few English teachers who I can call upon.
> 
> I know many academies put teachers on the minimum hours/week contract (usually 4), so that they pay minimum tax.


I don't understand about "what if the students want to pay in cash?" It doesn't matter if they pay by transfer or American Express, or cash it's the same process.
Do you mean "what if the students want to pay under the table, black money, illegally or whatever? If so, it's up to you, but of course only declared earnings should be accepted!
As for putting teachers on a minimum contract yes it's very common and I really understand why academies do it as there's a real need for flexibility, but it's not good for the teacher if the teacher is serious and thinking about the future.
The ins and outs of contracting teachers is one of the reasons why I've never been tempted into going beyond my own self employed empire.


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## xabiaxica

Pesky Wesky said:


> I pay 21% IRPF
> I thought all autónomos paid the same
> It was 15%, but Rajoy put it up a couple of months ago.
> I do usually get some back as a tax rebate as I usually only work full time for 10 months a year - not by choice, but because that's what my clients usually want. I go off autónomo in July and August.


yes............as I said - it's a % of earnings but the actual € figure at the end of the year depends how much you earn - like you, I usually end up with a rebate because I go off autónomo too for 2 months in the summer

I was thinking that the link I gave would say somewhere what tax etc he'd need to be dealing with if was employing other teachers, too


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## Pesky Wesky

xabiachica said:


> I _think _that they could be self-employed & invoice you for their hours - that's what the one I worked for did - but as I said, I'm not sure they were doing everything completely above board
> 
> I do know that it's expensive actually employing people


I work all over the place and that's what I do.

More and more companies ask for a copy of the last month's autónomo payment to make sure you really are autónomo.

PS As an autónomo you'll be paying around 260€ a month tax plus around 21% IRPF on your earnings although I believe there are tax breaks for the first year/s and perhaps if you're a woman of a certain age?? Probably in the link I posted about autónomos or xabia's link to the tax man.


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## andmac

Hi, I have just spent the last six months setting up an academy. This is why I have not been on this site for ages! It takes nearly every waking minute to open a business here. Even nights, after work with a glass or 2 of wine, there is still something to do or someone to email!

The paper trail was a nightmare. Get a good gestor. Get a good architect to deal with the council. You need access to the building to be 80cms wide, with an 80cm diameter to turn a wheel chair in. You need one classroom with 80cm wide door (the whole must be 80cm) this goes for at least one bathroom too! The disabled bathroom must have a circle of 80cm diameter to turn a wheelchair in and a pull down aid to help people access the throne! You must have 2 bathrooms in the building. Each room needs an emergency light. Wherever you are in the building you should be able to see a light to lead you to safety. You need extinguishers, these can be picked up second hand and then the revision can be done by a certified company.
Timetable can be an issue, kids seem to have any number of other after school activities. However, once the hours are set, it's OK. We opened in September, and are allowed to trade, though we are still waiting for the official opening licence certificate, we applied for that in May!

Getting payments out of people can be a nightmare. About 80% pay on time, the rest seem to pay as and when they want. I am going to change banks and get a card reader in to accept card payment as the "Oh I forgot, I'll bring it next class" trick will be made redundant!
In this first year, it is not a hugely profitable business, this is because of all of the costs of opening a business and running at, also we are new in the town we chose to open in so we are unknown! However, the only other school there is Spanish owned and run and the groups are mixed ability so people don't learn much is what I am told.

We are a Cambridge exam preparation centre and this does add to the credibility! I also have taught for years and hold the PGCE as well as speaking good Spanish and some Valenciano. I also teach French.

However, all being well, we will open another over the summer, and then the recruitment process begins!


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## Cazzy

The Academy where I work charges 55 euro a month for 3 one hour lessons a week, with a max of eight in a class. It charges 15 euro an hour for 1 to 1 teaching. It prepares students for the Cambridge exams.


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## andmac

Cazzy said:


> The Academy where I work charges 55 euro a month for 3 one hour lessons a week, with a max of eight in a class. It charges 15 euro an hour for 1 to 1 teaching. It prepares students for the Cambridge exams.


That seems to be the going rate! Some do charge more I have seen prices up to 70 eur a month for 3 hours a week, but that is nearer a city centre.


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## kalohi

Where I work they charge quite a bit more - 95€ for 3 hours a week, with a maximum class size of 12. We're outside of Seville so not in the city center. Classes are full or nearly full, so people are willing to pay that in this area.


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## Pesky Wesky

kalohi said:


> Where I work they charge quite a bit more - 95€ for 3 hours a week, with a maximum class size of 12. We're outside of Seville so not in the city center. Classes are full or nearly full, so people are willing to pay that in this area.


And in Madrid city I know of all kinds of prices, but one excellent academy that friends own charges at 30 hrs 254 €/ 20 hrs 175€/ 1 2 1 classes at 32€


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## Pesky Wesky

andmac said:


> Hi, I have just spent the last six months setting up an academy. This is why I have not been on this site for ages! It takes nearly every waking minute to open a business here. Even nights, after work with a glass or 2 of wine, there is still something to do or someone to email!
> 
> The paper trail was a nightmare. Get a good gestor. Get a good architect to deal with the council. You need access to the building to be 80cms wide, with an 80cm diameter to turn a wheel chair in. You need one classroom with 80cm wide door (the whole must be 80cm) this goes for at least one bathroom too! The disabled bathroom must have a circle of 80cm diameter to turn a wheelchair in and a pull down aid to help people access the throne! You must have 2 bathrooms in the building. Each room needs an emergency light. Wherever you are in the building you should be able to see a light to lead you to safety. You need extinguishers, these can be picked up second hand and then the revision can be done by a certified company.
> Timetable can be an issue, kids seem to have any number of other after school activities. However, once the hours are set, it's OK. We opened in September, and are allowed to trade, though we are still waiting for the official opening licence certificate, we applied for that in May!
> 
> Getting payments out of people can be a nightmare. About 80% pay on time, the rest seem to pay as and when they want. I am going to change banks and get a card reader in to accept card payment as the "Oh I forgot, I'll bring it next class" trick will be made redundant!
> In this first year, it is not a hugely profitable business, this is because of all of the costs of opening a business and running at, also we are new in the town we chose to open in so we are unknown! However, the only other school there is Spanish owned and run and the groups are mixed ability so people don't learn much is what I am told.
> 
> We are a Cambridge exam preparation centre and this does add to the credibility! I also have taught for years and hold the PGCE as well as speaking good Spanish and some Valenciano. I also teach French.
> 
> However, all being well, we will open another over the summer, and then the recruitment process begins!


This is exactly what I expected people with academies to post. So you have to dedicate all your time to it for a while, and may find it difficult to be working and setting up the academy at the same time, and may have to open the academy without the full licence, but it can be done!!


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## andmac

Pesky Wesky said:


> This is exactly what I expected people with academies to post. So you have to dedicate all your time to it for a while, and may find it difficult to be working and setting up the academy at the same time, and may have to open the academy without the full licence, but it can be done!!


Hi, I didn't do another job whilst setting up. We got the main classroom ready first and the reception area then I started teaching. While there were no classes we prepared the other classroom then opened that. We still have a third one to open! 

In the beginning, spending was like playing monopoly, a few thousand here, several hundred there, another few hundred somewhere else! It was all very, very fast! 

We still haven't taken a salary from it yet (we opened officially in September) as all money is needed for further investment in books, supplies, printers, televisions etc. So while we are working very, very hard, the reality is that we need to live as frugally as possible, luckily Paella and Arroz al horno are popular, tasty and cheap! That changes this month when we start to draw a salary. We took the place on in May and now it is beginning to pay for itself!


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## webmarcos

andmac said:


> Hi, I didn't do another job whilst setting up. We got the main classroom ready first and the reception area then I started teaching. While there were no classes we prepared the other classroom then opened that. We still have a third one to open!
> 
> In the beginning, spending was like playing monopoly, a few thousand here, several hundred there, another few hundred somewhere else! It was all very, very fast!
> 
> We still haven't taken a salary from it yet (we opened officially in September) as all money is needed for further investment in books, supplies, printers, televisions etc. So while we are working very, very hard, the reality is that we need to live as frugally as possible, luckily Paella and Arroz al horno are popular, tasty and cheap! That changes this month when we start to draw a salary. We took the place on in May and now it is beginning to pay for itself!


Good to hear it's starting to pay - hopefully you can now build on it- I've now followed your twitter account.
Are you finding any demand for new languages other than English (I'm thinking of Chinese and Russian)?


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## andmac

webmarcos said:


> Good to hear it's starting to pay - hopefully you can now build on it- I've now followed your twitter account.
> Are you finding any demand for new languages other than English (I'm thinking of Chinese and Russian)?


When we lived in a more touristic area, there was definitely demand for Russian. Not sure about Chinese as most companies I work with tell me that the Chinese speak English.

French seems to have a little demand. Most people leaving to work in Germany seem to want English for work and a short course in German to socialize etc.


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## webmarcos

It may be an idea to plan for the future when the economic situation improves (don't laugh), and/or look into ways to keep paying customers attend your school in summer, when most Spanish businesses in cities shut down. At the moment languages, especially English, are in demand as the money to be made is from exporting or from tourists. This may change, or the necessity to learn English may decline. At the moment it seems that English teachers are snowed under with work (I can't get any to advertise on my site ,even though it's free), but this may not last for ever. Is there any way you can run Spanish or even other skills based courses in the slow summer season? You could even arrange cooking or dance holidays? I remember at one time Indian camps used to advertise computer training courses at a far lower cost than in the UK - maybe this could be an option for your school/academy?
Another option is to seek out partnerships with language resident schools in England - so when your richer parents want to send their kids away for 2 weeks on a language course in summer, you can earn a percentage commission.


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## Cazzy

kalohi said:


> Where I work they charge quite a bit more - 95€ for 3 hours a week, with a maximum class size of 12. We're outside of Seville so not in the city center. Classes are full or nearly full, so people are willing to pay that in this area.



We are outside of Sevilla too.


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## Pesky Wesky

webmarcos said:


> It may be an idea to plan for the future when the economic situation improves (don't laugh), and/or look into ways to keep paying customers attend your school in summer, when most Spanish businesses in cities shut down. At the moment languages, especially English, are in demand as the money to be made is from exporting or from tourists. This may change, or the necessity to learn English may decline. At the moment it seems that English teachers are snowed under with work (I can't get any to advertise on my site ,even though it's free), but this may not last for ever. Is there any way you can run Spanish or even other skills based courses in the slow summer season? You could even arrange cooking or dance holidays? I remember at one time Indian camps used to advertise computer training courses at a far lower cost than in the UK - maybe this could be an option for your school/academy?
> Another option is to seek out partnerships with language resident schools in England - so when your richer parents want to send their kids away for 2 weeks on a language course in summer, you can earn a percentage commission.


I think flexibility is the name of the game. The academy I co owned started life offering 1 hour daily classes for 5 weeks at a time with daily homework too!! It was a great method, and was hugely popular. Nowadays they do the more usual 2/ 3 days a week, but there are lot of private classes or classes of 1, 2 or 3 people and a lot of speaking classes which 10 years ago students seemed to think were a waste of time.
BTW, in teaching, personally, I think it's dangerous to follow the idea of always saying "Yes, I can do that!" and then thinking about how you do it. That can lead to you not getting the right staff for the job, not having the right preparation for the job and in ultimately to giving a bad unprofessional service. So flexibilty, but not tying yourself in knots!


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## Pesky Wesky

webmarcos said:


> At the moment it seems that English teachers are snowed under with work (I can't get any to advertise on my site ,even though it's free), but this may not last for ever.


Look at madridteacher.com and you'll see plenty of experienced qualified teachers advertising for work.


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## webmarcos

Pesky Wesky said:


> Look at madridteacher.com and you'll see plenty of experienced qualified teachers advertising for work.


Well tbh I thought my site (that offers individual display pages for each teacher, and the ability to search by zone or by day) would appeal as it's for all Spain, without the requirement to write lessons/features. Early days yet.. Maybe there isn't a market? Or perhaps as my partner said, people use other ways of advertising locally. Do they still place adverts on lamp-posts in towns/cities? I know also that the copy shops used to be great places to advertise. To attract the Spanish viewers I intended to use social media marketeers available on MediaMarkt among other measures. 
Incidentally my partner has suggested I go to Turkey and start a language school there (seems to be no work around in the UK), which is why I'm so interested in this thread even though it's specifically about Spain. My main skills are in IT, but there really isn't that much call for it any more, as the market is saturated with millions of hopefuls from the world over.


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## xabiaxica

webmarcos said:


> Well tbh I thought my site (that offers individual display pages for each teacher, and the ability to search by zone or by day) would appeal as it's for all Spain, without the requirement to write lessons/features. Early days yet.. Maybe there isn't a market? Or perhaps as my partner said, people use other ways of advertising locally. Do they still place adverts on lamp-posts in towns/cities? I know also that the copy shops used to be great places to advertise. To attract the Spanish viewers I intended to use social media marketeers available on MediaMarkt among other measures.
> Incidentally my partner has suggested I go to Turkey and start a language school there (seems to be no work around in the UK), which is why I'm so interested in this thread even though it's specifically about Spain. My main skills are in IT, but there really isn't that much call for it any more, as the market is saturated with millions of hopefuls from the world over.



even the language schools around here put posters on lampposts...


I use facebook mostly - I put a message on a local group just before xmas, that I was thinking about starting a new group in Jnauary............ I've had to timetable 2 new groups because of the response!!


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## Carlotta22

I'm aware this is a very old thread but I have a query regarding running exam preparation courses. Is it necessary to become a recognised exam preparation centre in order to offer FCE or PET prep courses? Or is this recognition only necessary for registering students for exams?
Thanks


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## kaipa

Anyone can prepare students for Cambridge Exams. The signs saying schools are recognised preparation centres mean nothing and are often confused with signs stating that the school is a certified establishment where the exams are actually conducted. Examiners of Cambridge exams are not allowed advertise their positions and Cambridge also prohibits them from preparing classes.(Very draconian). Like any huge organisation Cambridge is a bit of monopoliser and does everything to secure its position. They treat their examining staff very poorly. Many places in the UK are moving over to Trinity now as a result of Cambridges total market dominance.


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## Carlotta22

Ok that's good to know, the 'recognised preparation centre' banners were quite confusing indeed. Thanks for your quick response.


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## hollyjones

kalohi said:


> Where I work they charge quite a bit more - 95€ for 3 hours a week, with a maximum class size of 12. We're outside of Seville so not in the city center. Classes are full or nearly full, so people are willing to pay that in this area.


Is that per person?


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## baldilocks

kaipa said:


> Anyone can prepare students for Cambridge Exams. The signs saying schools are recognised preparation centres mean nothing and are often confused with signs stating that the school is a certified establishment where the exams are actually conducted. Examiners of Cambridge exams are not allowed advertise their positions and Cambridge also prohibits them from preparing classes.(Very draconian). Like any huge organisation Cambridge is a bit of monopoliser and does everything to secure its position. They treat their examining staff very poorly. Many places in the UK are moving over to Trinity now as a result of Cambridges total market dominance.


Trinity exams used to be a lot easier but the certificates worth less, although, I understand that Trinity are upping their quality.


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## kaipa

Trinity examiners are considerably more experienced than Cambridge and that tells you a lot about quality. Cambridge have expanded so fast they simply don't have examiners. Anyone with 2 years experience can be trained and quality is dropping. Trinity requires a minimum of 5 years plus a masters or Diploma.


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