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Moving to Spain from the UK with children: how to choose the school
State, concertado or international — and why your child’s age matters more than any other factor in the decision.
Visas dominate the conversation, but schooling is what British parents actually lie awake worrying about. It is also the decision that most shapes where you end up living — far more than the sea view does.
There are three systems in Spain, and they are genuinely different. Here is how they compare, and the factor that should drive your choice more than cost.
The three systems
State schools (colegios públicos) — free, apart from books and activities. Taught entirely in Spanish, and in the co-official regional language where one exists. Full immersion, local children, genuine integration.
Concertado schools — semi-private and partly state-funded, frequently Catholic in origin. A modest monthly fee, often somewhere around €50–€300, smaller classes and a more structured feel. This is the middle option many Spanish families themselves choose, and British families often overlook it entirely.
International and British schools — typically €7,000–€18,000 per child per year. English-medium, usually following the British curriculum through IGCSE and A-Level, or the IB. Continuity if you might return to the UK.
The option most British families never consider
Concertado sits between free full-immersion and expensive full-English, and it is frequently the best fit — particularly for primary-age children. Worth looking at properly before assuming the choice is binary.
Your child’s age decides this, not your budget
This is the part we would most want a parent to take away. The right answer changes sharply with age, and pretending otherwise causes real distress.
Ages 3–7: state school, almost always. Children this age acquire Spanish with a speed that genuinely startles their parents — typically conversational within a year. They integrate completely, make local friends, and the language becomes native-standard. Paying for international school at this age often buys a problem rather than solving one.
Ages 8–11: state or concertado, usually. Still highly adaptable, though it takes more effort and there will be a hard term or two. Extra Spanish support in the first year makes a substantial difference.
Ages 12–14: genuinely finely balanced. Academic content is getting harder at the same time as the language. Some thrive; some struggle badly. This is where an honest assessment of your particular child matters more than any general rule.
Ages 15–18: international school, in most cases. A teenager mid-GCSE dropped into Spanish-language Bachillerato is being asked to do something very difficult at exactly the wrong moment. Curriculum continuity usually outweighs immersion here — and this is where the fees become genuinely unavoidable.
The regional language question
Nobody warns British families about this and it changes the calculation materially.
Spain has co-official languages, and state schooling is often delivered principally in them: Catalan in Catalonia, Valencian along much of the Costa Blanca and around Valencia, plus Basque and Galician in their regions. Your child may be learning through Catalan while also learning Castilian Spanish.
Young children handle this without difficulty, and end up trilingual, which is a real gift. Older children may find it one variable too many. It is also a reason the Costa del Sol — Andalusia, Castilian only — is simpler for some families than Catalonia or Valencia. Worth knowing before you choose the region, not after.
The practical steps, in order
Register on the padrón first. Your town hall registration is what unlocks a state school place. Many families delay it and then find enrolment blocked.
Apply in spring for September. The Spanish school year runs September to June, with the main enrolment window in spring. Arriving in August and expecting a place is optimistic; places are allocated well before.
Get school records apostilled and sworn-translated. Previous reports and certificates, translated by a traductor jurado. Ordinary translations are not accepted.
Bring vaccination records. Spanish schools will want the full immunisation history.
Visit in person before deciding. Two schools a few streets apart can feel entirely different. Websites tell you almost nothing; a visit tells you a great deal.
Ask about Spanish language support specifically for newly arrived children. Some schools have excellent provision and some have none, and it is the single biggest predictor of a smooth first year.
The honest summary
If your children are young, state or concertado school is usually the better decision as well as the cheaper one — they will integrate in a way that fee-paying English-medium education cannot replicate. If you have a teenager partway through GCSEs, international school is usually worth the money, and budgeting for it should happen before you choose the town.
And decide the schooling question before the property question. Families who buy the house first and look for schools afterwards are the ones who end up commuting forty minutes each way, or moving again in year two.
Guidance only, not legal or educational advice. Fees, enrolment rules and regional language policy vary by school and region — verify directly with the school and local authority. How we work →
Keep reading
Where to go next.
Moving to Spain with Children
Schools, healthcare and the questions parents lose sleep over.
Working out the schooling question for your own children?
It usually turns on their ages and the region you are considering. A free discovery call is where that gets specific.