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You are here: Home Education Pre-school Private and international schools in Spain

20/10/2003Private and international schools in Spain

As an alternative to the state system, many expat parents choose to send their children to private schools. Here's a guide.

There’s a wide range of private schools (escuelas privadas) in Spain including parochial schools, bi-lingual schools, international schools and a variety of foreign schools, including American and British schools. Together they educate around a third of all children.

 

Most private schools in Spain are co-educational, Catholic day schools, although a number of schools (including some American and British schools) take weekly or term boarders.

Like state schools, most private schools operate a five-day, Monday to Friday timetable, with no Saturday morning classes. Private schools in Spain teach a variety of syllabi, including the British GCSE and A-level examinations, the American High School Diploma and college entrance examinations (e.g. ACT, SAT, achievement tests and AP exams), the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Spanish bachillerato.

Most Spanish private schools, i.e. schools teaching wholly in Spanish, are state-subsidised and follow the Spanish state-school curriculum.

Some international schools are also subsidised and follow a totally bi-lingual (English/Spanish) curriculum and are authorised to accept Spanish pupils. They must teach the Spanish curriculum including primary and secondary education, and the bachillerato. They provide the opportunity for children to become completely bi-lingual and to choose between a Spanish and English-language university or career.

To receive state subsidies and accept Spanish pupils, 25 percent of a school’s total number of pupils must be Spanish and at least 20 percent in each class. As a condition of receiving government funding, schools with Spanish pupils are subject to inspection by the Spanish school authorities.

Many international private schools have mixed Spanish and foreign student bodies, e.g. one-third American or British students, one-third Spanish and one-third other nationalities, although they may be called American or British.

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