There are literally tens of thousands of foreign children currently being educated under the Spanish education system but in some areas it is failing seriously - being either incapable or unwilling to spend the amount of money necessary. In some of these areas, expatriate children have never achieved further education and truant, bullying and other problems are part of the curriculum. In these areas, little point exists in taking your bright child who has just passed his or her eleven plus in the UK and thinking you can continue education at a state school. It may continue but learning will stop.

As with the UK state system, the Spanish system is not without criticism with many complaining that it is weighed down with traditional and unimaginative teaching methods. Poorly paid and poorly motivated teachers, poor teacher training and a high student failure rate led to considerable improvement in the system over the past decade but many argue that Spain's education system still has a long way to go. One criticism addressed was the requirement that children upon reaching the age of 14 decide then and there on whether to pursue an academic or vocation career. Many argued that this was too young and eventually the age was put back to 16. The Spanish education system consists of state-funded schools supported by a comprehensive network of private schools, many of which are foreign and include a considerable number of British institutions.

Thirty per cent of Spanish schoolchildren are currently being educated in private schools, most of which are co-educational day schools. Education in Spain is free - from nursery school through to university and is available for the children of foreign residents. Notwithstanding this, parents may have to pay for school books, a sum which could work out at €1 or €2 per week over the year. Perhaps a little more now that inflation is starting to bite once again.

Education statistics make interesting reading. 90 per cent of all children between the age of four and five attend nursery school and over 55 per cent of students remain at school until their 18th birthday. Of these, a further 25 per cent go on to vocational training and 30 per cent to university. When it comes to Spanish universities, criticism stops. They are comparable with any university in Europe but suffer the same problems in that most are overcrowded. It's not unusual among expatriates for them to send their children to British or American universities if they can afford to do so because courses tend to be shorter with far more flexibility than is the case in Spain.

Of particular significance to anyone with children who may be contemplating a move to Spain is the simple fact that the younger a child is when he enters the Spanish school system, the easier he will be able to cope. It is also the case that the older he is, the more problems he will have adjusting. Not only because of language problems but because the school curriculum is more demanding. Teenagers often have great difficulty learning Spanish and adjusting to Spanish school life with the result that many are unhappy for quite some time. Many expatriates, upon understanding the system choose to start their children's education in Spanish nursery and primary schools and then switch their secondary education to a private school. Most foreign children cope well with being educated in Spain be it private or state education. Living in a foreign land is an adventure for most of them which offers both change and challenge and most rise to the occasion. In no time at all their thinking becomes international, allowing their behaviour to become the same in later life. Spanish children are more than aware that the EU is made up of many different nationalities as most attend schools with pupils from many different countries.