One of the important decisions that international families who come to live in Barcelona have to make is the choice of school for their children. Barcelona's educational offer is, like the city itself, diverse and multilingual, and knowing what is on offer is key to choosing the best option.
Within the Catalan education system, made up of state and state-subsidized schools, there are centres that offer modalities such as Batxibac or the International Baccalaureate. Barcelona also has a wide variety of international schools that follow the academic curriculum of other countries or incorporate other foreign languages as vehicular languages.
Each option has advantages and disadvantages and the choice depends on the interests and characteristics of each family: whether they are passing through Barcelona or want to settle down and integrate into the city, whether they prioritize in-depth knowledge of a language and culture, whether they want the child to go to university or have their studies validated easily when they move back to another city, etc.
In order to bring the different schooling options closer to international families, Barcelona City Council is organizing the Choosing a School in Barcelona event, an information day in which the local education system will be explained, with a presentation on the pre-enrolment system, as well as the different options offered by international schools.
At this time of year, pre-enrolment for the 2022-2023 academic year is due to take place, which is why it is advisable to discover what the city has to offer. The day will begin with a presentation of the local education system and international schools, followed by a detailed explanation of the pre-enrolment process. The second part of the event will be dedicated to a meeting between the participants and representatives of the different institutions and educational centers.
Programme details:
10.30-11.30 am - “Choosing a school in Barcelona: discover the options offered by the city”, with a welcome address by Mr. Mario Rubert, Director of City Promotion (Barcelona City Council).
- Round table presentation of the educational offer for expatriate families in Barcelona, participants:
- Mr. Oriol Pallarés, Deputy Chief Inspector of the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia)
- Ms. Julie Harris, President of the Barcelona International Schools Association (BISA)
- Moderator: Mr. Guifré Jordan, Deputy Editor of Catalan News
- Presentation: "How to pre-enrol in public and subsidized schools in Barcelona" by:
- Ms. Cristina Iglesia, Education Advisor, Barcelona Education Consortium.
11.45-12.30 h - Educational Matchmaking OneToOne. Individualized information will be available from representatives of the following organizations:
This event is an initiative of the City Promotion Department of Barcelona City Council and will be attended by the Barcelona Education Consortium, the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona International Schools Association (BISA). The information day will take place in the Cibernàrium Auditorium of the MediaTIC Building, at 117 Roc Boronat Street. Attendance is free, but registration is required. For more information, please consult the page dedicated to this initiative.
