SCHOOLS NEAR LOS ALTOS

Hi

Myself,my husband and 5 year old daughter are moving to Spain in August were we already have a house in Los Altos. We are thinking of Mar Azul International School and were wondering if anyone had any experience of it or any other near the area? Are we silly thinking of private english school instead of spanish? I would love to hear from anyone whose child has been through the experience of starting spanish school at this age with very little knowledge of the lanuage.

This message was last edited by mrs d on 3/27/2009.

Hi mrs d you sent me a private message but I cant get it. I have the same problem as you trying to decide what school (private or state) would be best for my own children. I have read lots of different things about Mar Azul school both good and bad as this would be one of my choices aswell. So I too would be intrested in hearing about peoples experiences with Mar Azul school..

Fiona

Hi Fiona

I am going out to get a tour of the school on Tuesday 14th April so after that I can probably tell you more. I have read a lot of people's thoughts on this on different sites and most people seem to sway towards Spanish school. My daughter has very basic spanish only and I was wondering about the spanish course you were saying your daughter was taking as I would be very interested in it for mine. My concern about spanish school is also there  as I worry what effect it would have on her education should it not work out in Spain and we return to Ireland as surely her english would have suffered despite me encouraging her on at home?

I think you may be interested to know that there's been much said about the Mar Azul International school at San Miguel de la Salinas in the San Miguel forum (it is an exceptionally heated topic) with this being the last, on Feb 24th.

We have been informed by parents that the Town Hall has told them the school has been ordered to close.

This comes from a meeting with the Councillor responsible for Education.

We will wait and see - again!

That does not give me much confidence or desire to look at the school if that is the case. Do you know of any other international schools close to Los Altos?

Hi Mrs D

Sorry to tell you that but I have been reading about the school on the San Miguel forum & comunity website for many months, the problem is far from new. If you look at the SAN MIGUEL COMMUNITY WEBSITE (click on blue, it's a link) & scroll down, you'll see just how angry residents are over the non closure of the school. It starts with  3 March - The Neighbourhood Associations of Villas Maria, Torrestrella and 'San Miguel Arcangel' will demonstrate at The Town Hall over the closure of the Mar Azul School which they say is illegal

On same page scroll down to where it says 23 July 2008 - The monthly PLG Meeting at Cheers took place on 8th July 2008 at Cheers Bar Eagles Nest & read further.

Thanks very much for that detailed insight to the problems at Mar Azul School. I now can understand the problem and the issues that the people who live there have. I will still visit next week and see 'the lay of the land' from their side but it has definately put me off a great deal! Maybe I should just take a chance with Spanish School!

Thanks again for your help

Hi, I moved to Spain 15 years ago with 2 small children, my daughter was 4.5 at the time. With no knowledge of spanish at all, they both went to spanish public school. I found it tough with regards to teaching writing and reading but we spoke english at home.

Both children are fluent in both languages, my daughter took a high level english exam which enables her to attend english university if she wants, but she opted for spanish uni - she is in Seville studying Biology and is the top student in her class.

The public schools here are excellent, the children are young enough to pick the language up quickly, especially if you praise and encourage them.

Secondary school can be hit and miss as they have so many classes - at that point I put mine into spanish private school, and they get in mainly on merit, not on how much money the parents have! Therefore standards are high.

Personally the education here was higher than the UK (we went back for 8 months and the only homework both kids got was painting and drawing whereas in Spain they had science and maths questions!!!) It is a very thorought system, the kids are constantly tested to ensure there are no gaps in the education and can be held back a year if they fail at 2 or 3 subjects which they have to retake.

I cannot tell you about the international ones as I have no idea, some are good, some arent so good - look for the results and speak to other parnts and their kids to see how well they think it is.

I can tell you my 2 wouldnot have had their education any other way and as fluent spanish speakers they had the option of a 3rd language. They took French in the public school and German in the private one, thereby giving them 4 languages.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Hi Rixxy.

Mrs D, if you want a Spanish school rather than an International school in that same area as I'm sure your very young daughter will adjust well, kids tend to do that whilst parents panic somewhat, you should look in here click link Kids stuff & look at threads about schools, especially those where Georgia posts as he has been in Algorfa area a few years & he has three children, the youngest is around 5-6 & I know she attends a local Spanish school in Algorfa & gets collected by bus too. He is very happy with Spanish schools.

Hi Mrs d

 I've made up my mind about mar azul school I wont be sending my children there. But do let me know how you get on when you go to visit. Just got a call  during the week to say that the childrens spanish lessons arent going ahead as there wasnt enough signed up to it so back to the drawing board. I have a teacher at the school she goes to finding out about a private tutor for her so should know more about this after the easter hols...............YIPEEE 2 WEEKS OFF SCHOOL !! Im really drawn to state school for her and my youngest boy so I need to check these out in the area, I have been looking at El Limonar for my eldest and it loooks good so on goes the research !

Thanks everyone for all your advise on the school dilemma!

The more I look into Mar Azul the more I am for Spanish school and as one of you rightly said - its the parents being over protective that is the problem here!

Ill let you know how I get on next week anyhow , but a visit to our local spanish school at Los Altos is definately on the cards.

Mrs D.

Hope you find what you need.