Education in Barcelona: How does the school system work?

Choosing the perfect school is one of the hardest decisions for all parents. Close to home? Extra English? Which teaching methodology? It is necessary to have an expert in the city where you live or are going to move to to be able to understand the Spanish school system and to offer school orientation just to get a grasp on these seemingly basic concepts but have a huge impact on your child’s education. At Talent & Mobility, we understand the system coming from an international perspective and can assist in clarifying these questions and to find the ideal school for your family. 

To start, you need to understand the various educations levels in Spain.Primary education (Educación Primaria) is compulsory in Spain from the age of six. Prior to that time, children may optionally attend daycare (Primercicloeducacióninfantil, Llard’infants, escolabressol) orpreschool (Segundo cicloeducacióninfantil). After finishing primary school at age 12, children then move on to secondary school (Instituto de Educaciónsecundaria), which is also compulsory (EducaciónSecundaria). 

Types of schools in Barcelona

There are 3 types of schools in the Spanish System: Public, private, and state-funded (concertada).

1. Tuition is free in public schools, which are completely funded by the state. 

1. State-fundedschools, (concertada) are privately run schools that receive some government funding. Tuition is not 100% free. The cost will depend on each school. 

1. Private schools are entirely privately financed. 

PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE

PUBLIC 

In public schools, it is 100% essential that the child is registered in the town hall (empadronamiento) to determine which schools correspond to the catchment area as many public schools have a student ratio higher than the number of students allowed per class (30 students).

Normally, the school will have an advisor to help the student with the integration of the language. 

PRIVATE

The private schools, especially for secondary education, complete a language level exam to evaluate if the child can continue with the academic course. If they do not have a sufficient level, it is likely they will not allow the enrollment to ensure that only students that can follow the material are registered.

For these schools, is not mandatory for them to have a support a team to help their new students with the integration of the language. 

Confirmation of the availability will depend upon a personal interview, school academic reports, language level, and an assessment.

Enrolment processes for public and state-funded schools 

Enrollment procedures in public schools is based on points. The family will need to prepare a list of up to 10 schools and submit the preregistration application before the established deadline.

The priority criteria are as follows:

• If the child applying for the place has siblings who are already studying at the requested school, 50points will be awarded. This is the criterion that scores the most points. 

• If the child is in a foster family situation and the children of the foster family are attending school at the center, this score will also be awarded.

• Geographical proximity of the family’s home to the school (based on the town hall registration), 30points.
• When the location of the place of work of a parent, tutor, or guardian is within the catchment area of the school that is being applied for first, 20 points are awarded.
• Inthe city of Barcelona, when the family home is located in the same municipal district as the first-choice school, but outside the school's catchment area, 15 points are awarded.
• When the family home is located within the same municipality, but not within the catchment area of the school that has been chosen first, 10 points are granted.

Only one circumstance applies (points cannot be added together even if more than one category applies) and the number of points awarded for the first school option will also apply for the following options, even if lower points would apply. This means that if the school is within the family’s catchment area, the child’s application will be granted 30 points; these 30 points will apply for the other options on the child’s list, even if 10, 15, or 50 points would have applied if that school had been indicated as the first choice.

Every year in March, the parents will submit the pre-enrollment application for their child for the following school year when entering a new education level. Once the initial lists at each school are established, the education administration will have a lottery to determine priority if the number of applicants surpasses the number of available spaces at the school. 

As an example, if a school has 20 available general spaces at a certain level, and 5 applicants have 50 points, 10 have 30, 2 have 15, 2 have 10, and 5 have zero points, those with 50, 30, 15, and 10 points will all be granted a space and of the 5 applicants with zero points, the lottery will determine which will get the remaining space.

If the child does not enter for their first choice school, it will go to their second choice and so on until there is an available space at a school on the list, or end up on a wait list (which is why it is important to identify the schools correctly and put as many as possible on the list!).

The parents will then complete the school registration at the school in June.

Should we pick a school close to home? what if the “perfect” school is outside your home catchment area?

This is an important, but very personal decision. Some people will advise you to stay local, so you don't have to spend half your day traveling, as well as considering playdates, social life, and friendships with other parents could be a bit of a challenge.

On the other hand, some families prioritize that the distance from the school doesn't matter: the most important thing is to choose what will fit your family, values, languages, etc. 

Many parents opt for this, and they think it's the best decision as they consider that the travel time can be spent talking to their kids, talking about the day. It is definitely still quality time, not wasted time. Also, depending on where you are from, the distance is not a big issue for some families.

In this case, the children can have two groups of friends; those from school, with whom they play every afternoon at dismissal, and those from the park, with whom they go to an esplai on Saturdays and see every weekend at playdates.

At the end of the day, the most important is to find the school that is exactly what the child needs considering the school system that suits the family, if they want their children to be taught on their mother tongue (Italian, German, French, English); if so, normally those schools are located on the surrounding areas of the city. 

Look for that school that convinces you and you will make the rest work,

remember that you can always change if it does not work for you or your kids.

We offer 3 services to adapt to the assistance you need: 

1. Prepare a list with the main schools suitable for your children, according to your needs and background.

1. Set appointments with the selected schools.

1. Help you during the whole process: Identification of the school; information about the difference between public, private, and state-funded (concertada) systems; selection of schools; arrange appointments; visit the selected schools; overview of application Process; and registration follow-up.

To be able to arrange any of the school search service, we must know:

• The year of birth (age is not enough) as the start year in Spain it is different than in other countries.
• Current or last year of school in their home country, if moving to Spain.
• Languages desired at the school.
• Have a Town Hall Registration (empadronamiento) (for public or state-funded schools).

FAQ

Who regulates or examines schools in Spain? 

There are no reports, league tables, etc., that are made public, like in the UK or other countries. When does pre-enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year open? 

Submission of applications:

• Infant education (3-6 years) and primary education: 6 to 20 March
• Compulsory secondary education: 8 to 20 March

Enrollment:

• Infant education, primary education, and compulsory secondary education: from 18 to 26 June.

What documents are required to enroll a new student in a public school?

• Town hall registration (empadronamiento).
• If the minor is between 12 and 16 years old, the accreditation of the previous courses with grades.
• Identity of the parents / legal guardian and the minor: passport and Spanish family book or birth certificate.
• Up-to-date Vaccination certificate.

In order to access schooling, this procedure must be carried out in two stages:

• Pre-registration is completed to request a place in a school. Only one application can be submitted per child. TIP: If you make a mistake on the application or, if by luck, you call the school and they inform you of the number of children currently signed up and the general points distribution and you fear that you may not get in on the first round, you can always change the application and resubmit it as long as you are still within the pre-enrollment period.
• Enrollment is carried out to confirm enrollment in the school in which a place has been obtained.

How does the school year work in spain?

In Spain, the school year is determined not by the age or when the child’s birthday falls in the school year, but on the general year of birth. 

This means that for the 2024-2025 school year, the grades as per the year of birth are as follows:

Year of birth	Grade	Education Level
2021	I3	Preschool
2020	I4	Preschool
2019	I5	Preschool
2018	First Grade	Primary School
2017	Second Grade	Primary School
2016	Third Grade	Primary School
2015	Fourth Grade	Primary School
2014	Fifth Grade	Primary School
2013	Sixth Grade	Primary School
2012	First year High school	Secondary school
2011	Second year High school	Secondary school
2010	Third year High school	Secondary school
2009	Fourth year High school	Secondary school

That said, if you and your family are coming from outside of Spain, your child’s current school year will be taken into consideration when determining the corresponding school year in Spain.