Education Savings

Education Savings

You can save money on education at all stages in Andalucia - even for adults and third-age students.

Beginning with nursery, it is not hard to find municipally-subsidised care that might cost less than 100 euros per month - slightly more if your child stays for meals. Pre-school (Infantil) is now offered free of charge in most municipalities, and takes place on primary school campuses.

Free state schooling is available for ages 3 to 16. At most schools, the quality is acceptable, at least in infantil and primary school. Less satisfaction is reported by parents of students at state secondary schools. However, with help from a dedicated, involved parent, and with careful choice of school, it is possible to obtain a quality education in Spain without paying for more than selected text books - and even these are sometimes subsidized municipally.

 

 

Summer Activities

During summer there is always a wide variety of activities on offer for children and young people, many of these at high cost. However, your local school, municipal sports centre, and/or youth department may sponsor excellent programmes so that they can be offered at a fraction of their real cost. Make sure you're informed well in advance of the subscription date, as often lists fill and close quickly. Also, if too many people sign up for an activity within the official subscription dates, entrance will be subject to a lottery based on a points system which favours low-income families among others.

The municipal sports centre will also offer low cost after-school sporting activities such as swimming, karate and football, depending on the resources available. And the local Casa de Cultura is another good place to find economical children's cultural activities, this time on dance and drama classes, painting, ceramics and other artistic endeavours. In addition, many towns will have an aula de musica for music classes. 

Casa de Cultura & Clubs and Associations

Adults will also find low-cost educational opportunities at their local Casa de Cultura, and these often include heavily-subsidised language courses. Libraries also sponsor educational and cultural events as well, usually either very well-priced, or free of charge..

Those living on the Costa del Sol will find numerous clubs and associations, many of them with educational possibilities including lecture series, music appreciation and birdwatching. The University of the Third Age is among the best of these, offering a wide selection of courses to members, who only pay a low annual fee in exchange for the opportunity to sign up for as many courses as they wish.

Living in Andalucia