# International schools in Gran Canaria



## cosmic2016 (Jan 2, 2016)

We are a British family with a son who will be going to secondary school in September. We are considering a move to Gran Canaria. I am trying to establish which is the best international school? They all seem to be based in the North so do people live in the north or do the children take the school bus? We woud like to be in a family friendly area where there are children of the same age group and ideally a mix of locals and expats. Your feedback would be much appreciated


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

cosmic2016 said:


> We are a British family with a son who will be going to secondary school in September. We are considering a move to Gran Canaria. I am trying to establish which is the best international school? They all seem to be based in the North so do people live in the north or do the children take the school bus? We woud like to be in a family friendly area where there are children of the same age group and ideally a mix of locals and expats. Your feedback would be much appreciated


:welcome:

I guess the first question is "why are you considering an international school"?

My son was 10 when we arrived and he coped brilliantly with going to a state school and having to learn both Spanish and Valencian. Your son may be a little older but I would still consider a state school and stay in primary for an extra year to help learn the languages. 

He will certainly then mix with others his age much more easily (IMHO).


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

IMHO an International School is the best option.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

You might get more response from the Gran Canaria group on Facebook. Expats seem to be all over the island, so most areas might suit, I would avoid the tourist areas, particularly in the south, just returned home from Gran Canaria, we visited Arguineguín, ( Guanche for quiet water) it was heaving with northern Europeans, nice place, but I couldn't live there.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

bob_bob said:


> IMHO an International School is the best option.


Why? Is it purely down to age (in your opinion)?


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## cosmic2016 (Jan 2, 2016)

Thanks for all your input. We were looking at international schools as were advised that with our sons age it is too late to be looking at non English speaking schools it would be too hard a transition for him


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

cosmic2016 said:


> Thanks for all your input. We were looking at international schools as were advised that with our sons age it is too late to be looking at non English speaking schools it would be too hard a transition for him


It really does depend upon how old he is. Some 10 & 11 year olds will be fine, possibly even the majority, though most will repeat a year.

Any older than that, & yes, it will be seriously difficult to learn Spanish to a high enough level quickly enough, so International school is usually the best/only option


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## AlexBramwell (Sep 24, 2012)

The main international schools are based in the north, although both the British School and Canterbury have infant departments in the south of the island.

The British School is a non-profit and has a good reputation
Oakley College, The Canterbury School, and the American School are the three other big international schools.

Then you have bilingual schools such as Hispano Inglés and Las Arenas, but standards vary considerably and I'd advise you to talk to people here before choosing one.


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