# Advice needed regarding education in Malaga region



## derryn (Apr 11, 2018)

Hi everyone, 

I really need advice as Ive been looking and reading but cant seem to find an answer to my questions.

To give you some background, me, my fiance and 2 children would like to move to the Malaga region of Spain. Financially we are fine, we will be able to purchase a decent property and we wont need to work as we have a business in the UK that we can continue to run from Spain. Because of this, in my view we will be able to have a really good quality of life and take full advantage of what Spain has to offer.

My biggest concern is my childrens education. My fear is them receiving a poor education and having no prospects once they reach adulthood. Although we would do everything to make it work, I would do all the running around, ensure they engage in extra curricular and I would also ensure they continued to learn to read and write in English in case they decided to return to the UK for higher education, I'm still worried this wont be enough? 

Does anyone have experience of putting their children in to state school and what is your opinion of the quality of the education? How did your children settle in? An important note - putting them in to an English/International school isn't an option. My children will be 5 and 8 when we potentially move.

I look forward to your replies.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I wrote a thread on this awhile ago. But to summarise for you. Your children should be okay age wise for assimilting the language. Your eldest will probably enter at level 3.
I think the biggest problem lies with you. If you don't speak Spanish how are you going to help with homework , exams etc? Also many British kids struggle with Spanish schools as their home life fails to align with Spanish home lives. Meal times are different, bed times etc. Watching TV in English or using phones in English all seems to impede their performance at school. I have a difficult time with my 11 year old even though he speaks Spanish as do I. To be honest it is very depressing to see him struggling to enjoy Spain. He hates it here and feels different from his classmates even though we live a fairly normal spanish lifestyle we are still effectively immigrants here. All in all you will be able to live here but in many ways it might not be better than the uk just different. Why do you think so many Spanish would love to live with their families in the UK?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

A few things to add.

You mention two things which most in your situation do not:

Future opportunities after education: You are right to be concerned. If Spain continues for the next 10 years as it has for the last 10, there will be very few decent prospects for school leavers. You, now as a family may well be able to live a decent life on the coast, but it is unlikely that your kids will be able to do the same. They will, in the best case, have to go to the bigger cities (Madrid / Barcelona) to find work, or more realistically they will leave Spain to work, as many Spanish graduates do. I fully expect my kids to leave Spain when they need to work (I might even go with them!) 

University: I would also love for my kids to go to university in the UK, but we have to be aware that by leaving the UK, we are making that a difficult (or should I say, very expensive) prospect... public universities are one of the strong points of Spain's education system in my view, so I am beginning to think that it would be better for mine to stay here for further education and hope that thee is some kind of Erasmus equivalent or maybe internships that would allow them to spend some time in the UK.

Good luck!


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Being an eternal optimist I think that job prospects in Spain are improving albeit very slowly. However, when your children are 16 or 18 it is quite easy and not too expensive to let them sit GCSE and A level (UK) qualifications as a prelude for university in UK. However, universities here are excellent and offer a huge range of courses, currently free (as far as I know) so really your options for your kids are probably wider here than by staying in UK. Our son, now 8, has been in state school since he was 3. He loves Spain and has many Spanish friends and, of course, he is fluent in both Spanish and English. He is also learning German, a peculiarity of where we live. We live in the Torrox area which is east of Malaga. International schools are available too but then there will be less chance of your children becoming bi lingual.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Yes. Sadly Brexit has severely limited the next generation's opportunities to live and study equally and without financial restrictions abroad. How anyone believes this is price worth paying is beyond me but that is another story.

It is very true about spain and what it offers young people work wise. It certainly is not good here and I am afraid their education system does not seem to compare favourly with other European countries.

If I had known more about this and what would happen to me here in Spain I would not have come and I feel very guilty bringing my son here too. Maybe if you have independent wealth and are happy living in expat communities then it probably is okay. If you don't and have to work here it is very stressful . There are no safety nets here if it goes wrong. Labour laws are pretty weak and jobs come and go with alarming frequency. The country is run by probably the most corrupt government Spain has had and this has taken a toll on society in general. The level of hate I hear in the bars levelled by people concerning Catalonia is really frightening. It is as though people have forgotten where the real problems lie and are just prepared to lash out in anger at something which is basically tribal. I know this might seem stupid to your average UK expat who lives here but I feel people are peddle such nonsense about how easy life is in the sun that they remain totally ignorant of the reality of Spain

Sorry rant over!


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

thrax said:


> Being an eternal optimist I think that job prospects in Spain are improving albeit very slowly. However, when your children are 16 or 18 it is quite easy and not too expensive to let them sit GCSE and A level (UK) qualifications as a prelude for university in UK. However, universities here are excellent and offer a huge range of courses, currently free (as far as I know) so really your options for your kids are probably wider here than by staying in UK. Our son, now 8, has been in state school since he was 3. He loves Spain and has many Spanish friends and, of course, he is fluent in both Spanish and English. He is also learning German, a peculiarity of where we live. We live in the Torrox area which is east of Malaga. International schools are available too but then there will be less chance of your children becoming bi lingual.


I'm interested to know more Thrax. Do you expect your son to start his professional career in Spain, close to your home? Are there real opportunities away from Madrid / Barcelona or is it my own view that is distorted?


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

kaipa said:


> Yes. Sadly Brexit has severely limited the next generation's opportunities to live and study equally and without financial restrictions abroad. How anyone believes this is price worth paying is beyond me but that is another story.
> 
> It is very true about spain and what it offers young people work wise. It certainly is not good here and I am afraid their education system does not seem to compare favourly with other European countries.
> 
> ...


What a frighteningly accurate depiction.... 

However, the OP is financially secure from UK funds, so most of these concerns will not be of immediate concern.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

On a slightly lighter note. The OP shouldn't worry too much about further education here in Spain. The recent political scandal involving two prominent government ministers claiming to have Masters degrees without actually attending university demonstrates how the system works for some!!!
You have to laugh


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Having thought about the original post I think the problem we Brits have is that we see Spain as giving a better quality of life and when pressed to explain we talk about cheap property, no council tax etc. This maybe is true but it is because Spain is poorer than the UK . Therefore it is hard to expect a high quality education system. Guess it is swings and roundabouts


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

I think it’s fairly simple, if you are in an established business, retired and of reasonable independent means, most countries offer a decent quality of life, even the UK. If you Don’t have children, only have yourself to think about or are retired, again most countries fit the bill depending on ones needs and desires. However if you have no financial backup, need to work have children to consider any country can be a nightmare and no amount of sunshine, pretty views or cheap coffee is going to make up for the same &$#* different country.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Having lived now in three countries I do get asked quite a lot about which one offers the best "quality of life", but I refuse to answer that by default, because quality of life for each individual is differently measured.
I am also sorry to say that when I challenge the person to clarify what they mean by quality of life, the Thais usually referred to size of houses, quality of food, quality of education, the Spanish usually ask about weather, quality of food, availability of work, the British usually ask about disposable income, level of English spoken.
I wish it wasn't so easy to generalise, but it is....

Coming to Spain and expecting a better disposable income and decent English spoken is almost always going to result in disappointment!!


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Apologies to OP gone off topic of education :redface:


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## KG5 (Mar 21, 2016)

I can only speak from our experience but here goes

- moved just under a year ago just east of Malaga
- I work for a UK firm but travel for roughly 12 days every month
- Kids 5 and 9 in state primary school
- Wife just started work here in an international school as a teaching assistant
- No real long term security, if I didn't work for a few months we would have problems after a while
- just renting but may sell house in the UK and buy here

We came with next to no Spanish - the kids are now near fluent. Came last summer, settled in and went to summer camp before starting school which meant it was a softer landing. Both confident kids, one or two normal problems with behaviour etc but in general they have flourished. Very impressed with the state school system, reasonable amount of homework, teachers tell you if they are not happy with work and/or attitude and are willing to work with us when that happens. Language and academic progress both really starting to kick on. Was surprised they didn't speak more after 3/4 months in school but now after 6/7 months something has clicked and they are off.

Life is what you make of it but there is so much about Spanish life we enjoy.

Long term prospects education/entering the workplace clearly not what they are in the UK but we have time to consider options - trying not to cut ties with the UK to keep the options open but we can't have everything and if we choose to live here long term we will adapt. 

The OP has a great opportunity (my job flexibility gave us this opportunity so we took it) and in our experience our children's lives will be the better for it - speaking two languages and appreciating the cultural differences alone would be enough but the sport, community spirit, travel (just in Andalucia alone!!) climate etc can only enrich their lives further. 

It feels like life 30 years ago in Britain - less regulation/control, people less judgemental and just live and let live, but if we ever need help we have not been short of support even from those who don't know us from Adam.

We chose a very Spanish part of the region, hardly any English spoken and even for me (my Spanish is progressing much slower!!), that is how we wanted it. We have some English friends - I estimate there are less than 2/300 English people in our town of 35k but they stand out  ) but we have also made a lot of Spanish friends.

Best wishes if you do decide to make the leap.

We loved life in the UK, we love life here...we are very lucky. Hope you are too.

Appreciate not everyone has the same experience but that is all I can go on.


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## Clem1A (May 31, 2018)

Hi! We are hoping to move out to the Malaga area in September. My husband speaks fluent Spanish and is teaching our children aged 5 & 7. I am learning (albeit slowly!) We would really appreciate some advice on how best to decide on a good state school in the Rincón de la Victoria / Pedregalejo área? Should we consider an international school and is the Nova school in Rincón de la Victoria any good?? Can anyone recommend any state schools they’re happy with or any we should avoid? We’re keen to integrate into local society as much as possible so we’re thinking a state school would be a better option for us as a family. Any advice on schools much appreciated please!!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Clem1A said:


> Hi! We are hoping to move out to the Malaga area in September. My husband speaks fluent Spanish and is teaching our children aged 5 & 7. I am learning (albeit slowly!) We would really appreciate some advice on how best to decide on a good state school in the Rincón de la Victoria / Pedregalejo área? Should we consider an international school and is the Nova school in Rincón de la Victoria any good?? Can anyone recommend any state schools they’re happy with or any we should avoid? We’re keen to integrate into local society as much as possible so we’re thinking a state school would be a better option for us as a family. Any advice on schools much appreciated please!!


Children at those ages should do OK in state schools language wise. 
However, unlike a previous poster I found the Spanish education system quite uninspiring, full of rote learning, huge amounts of homework in both primary and secondary, and very keen on working towards exams. Private schools offer no guarantee of anything better. This was a while ago, but we are all very involved in education and although it very much depends on the school I have no reason to believe things have changed a great deal.
My daughter survived though and is now a teacher herself!


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