# Cheapest International school in Madrid?



## Wasabi74 (Sep 23, 2015)

Following on my previous post ... looking at moving to Madrid with my three children. Eldest will be 13 and although she can understand some Spanish she doesn't speak it, so I would ideally like her to attend an international school where all lessons are taught in English. I have had a look at some of them online and their fees are very high, I wouldn't be able to afford them on just my salary. 

I was wondering whether anyone knew of completely bilingual schools that are substantially cheaper than the others.... so far I've been looking at around £3,500 per term including lunch and transport, which I wouldn't be able to afford. 

Thank you


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

This school is opening a new secondary school in 2016:

Home - Our Centres_EN - Proed

Also I think St Georges has just opened a new secondary school.

I've no idea what their prices are like, probably around €1000/month, but at least you may get over the other main hurdle of actually getting into the school at that age (most have waiting lists).

Otherwise it's gonna be difficult - there are fewer British secondary schools than there are primary ones, and they tend to fill up and are expensive.

By the way - what do you mean by "completely bilingual"? The British schools will teach almost entirely in English (even though some of them call themselves "bilingual"). In general bilingual schools tend to be Spanish schools that teach a large amount of lessons in English.


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## Wasabi74 (Sep 23, 2015)

Thanks a lot, exactly the kind of information I was looking for! I have emailed both with a request for information. Expecting their fees to be too high for me to be able to afford them but you never know...


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Whilst home schooling is considered to be illegal in most of Spain it does seem that an increasing number of people are trying it, not necessarily teaching their own children but either bringing in tutors and sharing the cost with others who have chosen the same route. Some areas seem to turn a blind eye to this and in a few it is legal. I think it has been mentioned on here before that some parts of Spain allow home schooling. But that might be an option, if available and legal, for your first year so that she can become a little better in spoken Spanish before attending a state school with confidence. Our 5 year old attends state school here but we do still teach him at home and this is not illegal. We teach him to read English, simple maths and chess (for fun!!) Personally, I am not a great supporter of home schooling since, in many cases, the children miss out on important social interaction etc.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

If the OP wants to investigate bilingual Spanish state schools, then she needs to look for institutos with a "sección inglés". These will teach most subjects in English, albeit the Spanish curriculum.

Here are some examples:

Sección Bilingüe IES "Ramiro de Maeztu"

Instituto BilingÃ¼e Cervantes- SecciÃ³n InglÃ©s

(there are many more, but not all institutos bilingues have these secciones so you have to look out for them)

I guess a 13 year old could probably survive academically in such an environment, provided she got her Spanish up to speed pretty quickly. But as I mentioned on the other thread, it's a lot to ask in general.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

thrax said:


> Whilst home schooling is considered to be illegal in most of Spain it does seem that an increasing number of people are trying it, not necessarily teaching their own children but either bringing in tutors and sharing the cost with others who have chosen the same route. Some areas seem to turn a blind eye to this and in a few it is legal. I think it has been mentioned on here before that some parts of Spain allow home schooling. But that might be an option, if available and legal, for your first year so that she can become a little better in spoken Spanish before attending a state school with confidence. Our 5 year old attends state school here but we do still teach him at home and this is not illegal. We teach him to read English, simple maths and chess (for fun!!) Personally, I am not a great supporter of home schooling since, in many cases, the children miss out on important social interaction etc.


Homeschooling means that your child does not attend school outside the home ie the home is the school. What you are doing is giving your child educational support at home which many parents, even most do to some degree or other. I taught my daughter to read in English for example, before she was "officially" taught to read in Spanish by her state school. I also provided her with paints and other craft opportunities as she was given this at school, but that wasn't home educating. It isn't what is meant by home schooling.
To the OP... For more info about education and home schooling try FAQ's post 3 and searching home education or home schooling on the Spain forum


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Homeschooling means that your child does not attend school outside the home ie the home is the school. What you are doing is giving your child educational support at home which many parents, even most do to some degree or other. I taught my daughter to read in English for example, before she was "officially" taught to read in Spanish by her state school. *I also provided her with paints and other craft opportunities as she was not given this at school*, but that wasn't home educating. It isn't what is meant by home schooling.


Opps.
Spanish state primary education is very not into paints, the sand tray and making things in general. If they do do and crafts they tend to be very teacher controlled...


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## Wasabi74 (Sep 23, 2015)

Thank you all. I'll have a look at the links, a bilingual state school might be the perfect compromise. Re home schooling, with two little ones at home and likely a full time job I don't think it would be feasible. They would also be missing in the socialising factor which I think it's extremely important (and, besides.... I have no patience whatsoever when teaching things! ;0))


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