Rojales school - does anyone have children at this school?

 Hi everyone.  

We currently have a house in Quesada and  are now looking at moving out permanently.  I understand that our 8year old (Y3) son will have to go to Rojales school which frankly scares me stiff!  He doesn't speak spanish and when i last visited the school the secretary and teachers did not speak english at all.  I know that it is a spanish school and appreciate we need to make the effort which we will do (and have made a start with) but in the meantime does anyone have any experience of this school and how they integrate non spanish children?  Does anyone know how many english speaking children attend the school?  What is the education like at this school?  And is the school really as dangerous and awful as reported? Can we apply to schools in Benijofer or Guardamar? Obvs In the UK we can just check ofsted for all this information but I don't think Spain has an equivalent.   I have also heard stories of british children being treated as an annoyance which also concerns me :(  

The alternative is International school at £8k p.a approx which I will do if it comes to it but i would prefer my son to attend local school, learn the language and immerse in the culture building social relationships locally.  On the flipside however, I don't want to send him to the proverbial lions den where he will loose all his sociability/confidence and where his education will completely suffer.

God, mum in panic!!!!  Sorry for being so OTT but I need some advise and help!

Thank you in anticipation :)

Diane

 I have a Friend that has her daughter at Rojales school.

They are English.

They have not mentioned any problems with the school in the past.

In my experience and my youngest is 10 and in the spanish state system,you would be better to throw them in at the deep end and see how it goes,give it six months and see how they cope,monitor them and talk to the teachers at regular intervals,it may be tough to start and worrying for you and it may be worth while getting them private lessons before they get here and continuing them as a top up when they are here,i can recomend somebody over here in your area if you wish.

It is a worry,i know i have been there but kids are very resilient and cope better than you think....and far better than us!

You will only have Rojales as an option if you are in Quesada,you will be entitled to health and education when you sign on the padron at your local ayuntamiento.

 Ok! tranquillo as they say in Spanish! First we have no experience of this particular school and we are in Murcia so it could all be very different. What is the same is that the Spanish have a love of children and they are treated well. Our son knew very little Spanish and he was 10 when we came here. They took the non Spanish speakers out of class for sessions and that was good.

Our son was speaking Spanish in 6-8 months as he loves talking. Now he is bi-lingual and in 2nd year secondary. He and others had to repeat year 6 but that is common here. The difficult bit is passing all the exams and resits have to be done.There is a lot of rote learning and really school is like the 60's and 70's was in the UK.

The schools provide nothing. Work is very book based. The cost of buying books and material is more than 300 euros for year 2. However Murcia give grants but we missed the form filling this year.

It is a good idea to find a good tutor which we have done as there is a lot of homework.

I think you can choose your school if there are spaces but it is a help to go to the local school and then they mix with the same children whenthey go out to play.

Best wishes and keep in touch on EOS. This is a great forum and you will get lots of help here.

 Thank you  both.  Sorry it took a while and a bit of advice for me to find my posting to reply to you.  It is helpful to have independent advice and some-one to tell you to chill!!! 

Georgia.... what age did your 10yr old start spanish state school?  Do you know how Rojales school settle the new english kids in? I worry that they are just shoved at the back of the class until they catch up with the language.  Are there many british kids still there?  I realise quite a lot of people have come home now.

 We are not sure how long we are going to be over there for, certainly 1 year to start with but onwards who knows?  It all depends on a work contract and I am trying to weigh it all up.  At the moment I am looking at Rojales (which still scares me with the media coverage and language issue), Mar Azul (which looks fab but i can't find if it is legal!) or Elians in Villamartin (expensive!!).  A minefield and never ever as straightforward as you would hope!!!!

Any advice is appreciated :))

Thanks

Diane

A friend's child started Spanish school aged 8 and she found that she had to sit at the table with him every day after school and help him to complete the work that he wasn't able to finish in school - as at first he didn't speak a word of Spanish.  They spent about two hours on it every day, until gradually they needed to spend less time until he could do it independently.  This means that it is important for you to do a crash course in Spanish if you haven't already, particularly concentrating on the kind of vocabulary that is used in schools, which is different to the language an adult needs.  For example, learning the words for various animals will be more important than knowing how to order your food in a restaurant.  All the best.

 my youngest started state school at 3 years old.

She is now fluent in 3 languages and considers herself Spanish,i still help with homework which they get a lot of,you should be prepared for the fact that you will have to help them after school for up to two hours every night.

I can't vouch for Rojales other than i have a friend who has a daughter there and they seem to be doing just fine.

It can be a "throw them in at the deep end" scenario!

     hi everyone ....

 we are coming over to quesada at the end of june weve rented a house for 6 months....

im looking to get some advice on rojales school as our daughter will going in september shes 10 ...

do we pay for her books etc,do they wear a school uniform ?

many thanks

 cheryl

 We live in Murcia so cannot comment on Rojales. However our son came at 10 years and had learned Spanish within 6 months. The non Spanish speaking children are taken out of the class sometimes for extra lessons. Yes, books and all equipment have to be bought by parents and there are grants which are not at the moment income related at least here.

Some schools have uniform but most do not. Repeating the year is common and there are lots of exams to pass. This means that there can be a lot of homework. 

There are schools which are semi-private, in that you pay perhaps 60 euros per month, and for that you get extra tuition and maybe homework sent by e-mail. These are hard to get places in, as you gain points if you live or work in the area or if siblings attend or some relations are on the staff of the school etc.

There are also very good private bilingual schools- El Limonar International School in Villamartin area may be near you.

Schools close 3rd/4th week of June but turn up if you arrive then and they will tell you what you need to do. 

One thing is that children are valued in Spain and family ties are strong. Education at least in our area is like going back to the 60's in the UK.

Best wishes

One of my friend's son studies in this school.
 

Hi, 

we are moving  to spain in january . 
we have 3 children, 4, 9, 14 years old. 
but they do not speak spanish. 
wich school is the best of them please? 
greets 

Hi, we are moving to spain,To Quesada. 
with children of the age of 4, 9, 14. Wich school is the best for the children please? 
 

You may want to check with TalkQuesada website or the CostBlancaforums website. Loads of Brits there with kids going to the local schools and they may be able to help you. All I see of them are when they get on or get off the bus and there appears to be a fair mix of nationalities.