Schools and Higher Education in Spain

Information about the Spanish and International school systems for children of expatriates living in Spain. Also provides information on higher education exchange programs with the EU (Spain) and the USA and Canada.

Schools in Spain are free from age 4 on. Enrollment for September generally begins around March. If it’s too late and the school you want your child to get into is full, the authorities are always required to find an opening at a public school for your child. There are three types of schools, public, private, and mixed (“concertada”), meaning the schools receives some government funding, and you pay less than you would at a private school. Note that for public and concertada schools, the government has a say in the education. For example, in Barcelona in 2005, a private school might cost you 500 euros/month with classes taught in Castellano and English instead of Catalán, a concertada might cost 250 euros/month with 70% of the classes in Catalan, a public school is free with 100% of the classes in Catalán.

Nurseries: The childcare workers are required to have a degree. I’ve found the quality of care to be quite good. For costs, see Cost of Living.

School Directories:

• Spanish Ministry of Education [Spanish] Complete list of public and private schools.
• USA Embassy’s list of English-speaking schools
• International Baccalaureate Organization Click on Services - IB world schools for a listing
• European Council of International Schools
• The National Association of British Schools in Spain
• International-based directory of Spanish schools for expats

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Schools and Higher Education in Spain

Last updated 29 05 2006