# Three children in an international school



## sadlybroke (Jun 19, 2012)

Hi all,

We lived in Benalmadena for a year and moved back to the UK in August 2013. Although our stay in Spain was a mixture of frustration, joy, disappointment and happiness, overall we have very good memories of it and are considering moving back to Spain again in three years when we are not tight up to the UK any more (fixed rate mortgage, office rent, etc.). Two of the main reasons are the climate and a possibility to build our own house (althought I know this is very difficult even in Spain - it is pretty much impossible for us in the UK though).

The most difficult part is education for our three children (3, 6, 7). We want them to be in an international school in Spain mainly because we do not want them to forget English. It is their first language and we want to keep it this way. They are fluent in Slovak and Hungarian, too. I hope they will learn Spanish when we are there (the older ones forgot all Spanish they had picked up while we lived there within a few months after our return to the UK). We do not speak English at home unless when we have English speaking friends around. Naturally we do not want them to forget Slovak or Hungarian either to allow them to communicate with their grandparents and cousins.

International schools are expensive. I know some of them offer discounts for second and third child but even with such discounts prices can easily reach beyond €15k per year for three children. Has anyone managed to negotiate a better discount for three kids? Are schools open to such negotiations? Anything up to €10k would be much more attractive.

We haven't approached any schools yet (went to see some, the Benalmadena International College is our favourite). It is probably too soon now since we cannot move before autumn 2017 anyway.

Any thoughts and experience will be appreciated. Thank you.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Personally, if you are as per your name (SadlyBroke), then I would NOT put them into an international school.

At their ages they will learn English just as well as Spanish. With a little extra tuition, which will cost MUCH less than an international school, then their English will be first class.

My eldest has only really been to a Spanish state school so has only learnt his English from there or at home. He's just passed his Cambridge C2 exam.


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## sadlybroke (Jun 19, 2012)

Thanks snikpoh. My nickname is a reference to the town I live in (Bradley Stoke), not my financial situation. ;-)

There is a difference between being able to speak a language well and being a native speaker of it. My English is not too bad but I am not a native speaker of it. I want my kids to be native speakers of the English language, which they are now (the older ones) but they would loose it if they go to Spanish schools.

Thanks for the input anyway.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

sadlybroke said:


> Thanks snikpoh. My nickname is a reference to the town I live in (Bradley Stoke), not my financial situation. ;-)
> 
> There is a difference between being able to speak a language well and being a native speaker of it. My English is not too bad but I am not a native speaker of it. I want my kids to be native speakers of the English language, which they are now (the older ones) *but they would loose it if they go to Spanish schools.*
> 
> Thanks for the input anyway.


Assuming your kids will be 6, 9 and 10 when you move over, then I think your problem isn't so much that they might lose their native English skills (which would be very hard, even if they tried!) but rather their level of English would remain at the level of a 6, 9 and 10 year old. However even if they had no exposure to English during the week, I imagine that just a few hours English classes each weekend and maybe the occasional summer school would be sufficient for their English to progress to a very high standard.

Also the problem with International Schools, apart from the expense, is that the kids don't always pick up that much Spanish and end up living in a "bubble". If they go to a Spanish school then they will be completely fluent in Spanish and they will be completely fluent in English. If they went to an International school they'll have "perfect" English but they might not even be fluent in Spanish.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Chopera said:


> Assuming your kids will be 6, 9 and 10 when you move over, then I think your problem isn't so much that they might lose their native English skills (which would be very hard, even if they tried!) but rather their level of English would remain at the level of a 6, 9 and 10 year old. However even if they had no exposure to English during the week, I imagine that just a few hours English classes each weekend and maybe the occasional summer school would be sufficient for their English to progress to a very high standard.
> 
> Also the problem with International Schools, apart from the expense, is that the kids don't always pick up that much Spanish and end up living in a "bubble". If they go to a Spanish school then they will be completely fluent in Spanish and they will be completely fluent in English. If they went to an International school they'll have "perfect" English but they might not even be fluent in Spanish.


Hhhmm, my daughter went to Spanish school and didnt learn much Spanish (altho she was at that "awkward" age). My son went to international and was pretty much fluent in Spanish - in fact many of his class mates were Spanish (and a variety of other nationalities). We moved my daughter to the international school (The British College, Torremuelle, Benalmadena) and she immediately made friends with some half Spanish girls and suddenly she was fluent, so it doesnt always follow. 

IME, most international schools are just that these days, with a good sprinkling of many nationalities, especially Spanish. But most of the lessons are taught in English and follow the English curriculum, so if you have any reservations about needing to return to the UK, it makes life easier. 

We got a very small discount for having two children at the school and I think there were further discounts for subsequent children. But the other things became very costly too - uniforms, equipment, stationary, books, trips.......


Jo xxx


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

jojo said:


> Hhhmm, my daughter went to Spanish school and didnt learn much Spanish (altho she was at that "awkward" age). My son went to international and was pretty much fluent in Spanish - in fact many of his class mates were Spanish (and a variety of other nationalities). We moved my daughter to the international school (The British College, Torremuelle, Benalmadena) and she immediately made friends with some half Spanish girls and suddenly she was fluent, so it doesnt always follow.
> 
> IME, most international schools are just that these days, with a good sprinkling of many nationalities, especially Spanish. But most of the lessons are taught in English and follow the English curriculum, so if you have any reservations about needing to return to the UK, it makes life easier.
> 
> ...


Yes there are always exceptions to every rule, but in general if a child enters a Spanish primary school they'll attain a better level of Spanish than in an international school. You might find that international schools are better equipped and have more experience at getting older kids reasonably fluent at Spanish quicker, because they are used to that kind of situation, whereas Spanish schools might assume a certain level of Spanish and just not have the resources to get older kids up to speed. But generally a child being taught a Spanish curriculum in Spanish will attain a higher level of Spanish than a child doing a few hours of Spanish each week at an International School.

Yes I think the main reasons for sending kids to international schools are: neither the parents or the children speak English and the parents want the kids to have native English skills, the kids are too old, or that the kids might only be in Spain for a year or two and they need to follow an "international curriculum". Perhaps the last case applies to the OP but I don't think the first two do.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Our son who is 4 is at a Spanish school. He is already pretty much fluent in English. His Spanish is very good (better than mine!!) and he is also learning German. I teach maths, physics and English and many of my students for English are Spanish kids attending international schools.


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## GuyverII (Oct 27, 2014)

Chopera said:


> Also the problem with International Schools, apart from the expense, is that the kids don't always pick up that much Spanish and end up living in a "bubble". If they go to a Spanish school then they will be completely fluent in Spanish and they will be completely fluent in English. If they went to an International school they'll have "perfect" English but they might not even be fluent in Spanish.


I know this doesn't apply to the original poster (hopefully) but wow, this comment really hits home in my experience living overseas. I see this all the time here. Families from the US/UK bring their families internationally and continue to live in the US/UK bubble. Last week we met an American family that's been here for four years and their six year old doesn't speak a word of Spanish. Complete travesty. 

I wouldn't worry at all about your kids keeping up with their English. Reading, media, and summer camps in English will keep them engaged in the language!


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

Fees vary between schools and for different ages of children but judging by some other posts, even £15000 may be an underestimate for three children. 

I think regular poster Angil may have mentioned about 600 - 700€ per child/ month recently plus something like 1000€ deposit, uniforms, lunches and some other things. All these extras seem to be very expensive.

Do a little forum search or email some schools for a better idea of fees.


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## angil (Sep 24, 2012)

brocher said:


> Fees vary between schools and for different ages of children but judging by some other posts, even £15000 may be an underestimate for three children.
> 
> I think regular poster Angil may have mentioned about 600 - 700€ per child/ month recently plus something like 1000€ deposit, uniforms, lunches and some other things. All these extras seem to be very expensive.
> 
> Do a little forum search or email some schools for a better idea of fees.


Thats for the cheapy one I send my kids too!! Just forked out another €35 to replace a lost jumper & €10 for a lost tie! The jumper being of a material last seen in the trenches of The Great War! The girls school skirt is the real killer at €50! Not to mention the €20 polo shirts and €28 shirt & the gym kit which is more expensive than Adidas! All of which are mandatory. My kids just have to go cold in the 'playground' as I refuse to pay the €75 each for the mandatory school coat. The ONLY coat permitted in school! I am debating whether I can be bothered to make it a human rights issue this year!! Anyhoo! Thats my 2 pennies again! Oh and the facilities are substandard! Best of luck!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

angil said:


> Thats for the cheapy one I send my kids too!! Just forked out another &#128;35 to replace a lost jumper & &#128;10 for a lost tie! The jumper being of a material last seen in the trenches of The Great War! The girls school skirt is the real killer at &#128;50! Not to mention the &#128;20 polo shirts and &#128;28 shirt & the gym kit which is more expensive than Adidas! All of which are mandatory. My kids just have to go cold in the 'playground' as I refuse to pay the &#128;75 each for the mandatory school coat. The ONLY coat permitted in school! I am debating whether I can be bothered to make it a human rights issue this year!! Anyhoo! Thats my 2 pennies again! Oh and the facilities are substandard! Best of luck!


I have to add that four years ago, when my daughter was at "The British College ' the school skirt was 90€ and it had to be the correct one!!! There was a bit of an outcry at the time!!

I believe there was a place in Fuengirola that made cheaper, fairly good copies of the uniforms of the local schools, but I don't know if it's still there??? 

Jo xxx


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## angil (Sep 24, 2012)

jojo said:


> I have to add that four years ago, when my daughter was at "The British College ' the school skirt was 90€ and it had to be the correct one!!! There was a bit of an outcry at the time!!
> 
> I believe there was a place in Fuengirola that made cheaper, fairly good copies of the uniforms of the local schools, but I don't know if it's still there???
> 
> Jo xxx


Yep the cost of the skirt is now a paltry €50, lucky us. 
I think if the kids turned up wearing a knock off it would be sniffed out & punished accordingly!! & I have never heard of this place in Feungirola so guessing it is no longer there!


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## GuyverII (Oct 27, 2014)

angil said:


> Yep the cost of the skirt is now a paltry €50, lucky us.
> I think if the kids turned up wearing a knock off it would be sniffed out & punished accordingly!! & I have never heard of this place in Feungirola so guessing it is no longer there!


Our daughter goes to a colegio concertado and her uniforms are the cost of a new iPhone. And don't get me started on the cost of books!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Haven't school uniforms, especially for private schools, always been quite expensive? I got a free (County Council funded) place at one of the old direct grant grammar schools where the majority of the pupils were fee-paying. The uniform could only be bought at one very old-fashioned and stuffy school outfitters' shop, and included such essentials as indoor shoes and outdoor shoes, a special bag to put the indoor shoes in, a science overall, special socks in school colours, a special purse with the school crest on it to be worn on a cord across the body, a gabardine coat for winter and a blazer for summer (mine had to be bought 'big enough to grow into' and I was still wearing the one bought for my entry to the first form when I left!). My grandparents cashed in a life insurance policy to buy everything for me, as there was no way my parents could have afforded to pay for it all. To make matters worse, school dinners had to be paid for a term in advance (I couldn't come home as the school was so far away it took 3 buses each way to get there and back) which was a huge outlay for them.

Things don't seem to have changed much in that respect in the UK, 

Cost of kitting out kids for school hits £240 per child – totalling £2.5bn | Money | The Guardian


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## sadlybroke (Jun 19, 2012)

Thanks everyone.


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