Schools in Spain

It’s important to understand that if you opt for public schools or escuelas concertadas, the schooling may not take place in Spanish, but rather in the regional language, depending where you are. Regions which use their regional language in schools are as follows: 

Balearic Islands: Most public funded schooling in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza takes place in Catalan. Most parents find that their children end up speaking fluent Spanish and Catalan, however, since the language of the playground tends to be Spanish. Note that the versions of Catalan spoken in each of the islands has its own name and is essentially a dialect, with some different vocabulary and, occasionally, grammar, compared to mainland Catalan.

The Basque Country (Euskadi): In theory, schools can use Euskera (Basque language) as the language of instruction, with Spanish language & literature taught in Spanish, or the reverse, or a mix of the two. In practice, the majority of public funded schooling is offered in Euskera.

Catalonia: All public schools, escuelas concertadas and non-international private schools (eg escuelas libres, called escolas lliures in Catalonia) teach predominantly in Catalan. Some subjects may be taught in English or Spanish. International schools and some free schools will offer teaching in English or other languages (except Spanish). For political reasons, there are no schools in Catalonia, private or otherwise, that offer schooling predominantly in Spanish. This said, most parents who send their children to Catalan language schools find that their children end up speaking both Spanish and Catalan fluently, in part because Spanish tends to be the language of the playground, and in part because the languages are similar. 

Galicia: Public funded schooling takes place 50% in Galician (somewhere between Spanish and Portuguese) and 50% in Spanish, or 33% each for Galician, Spanish & English, depending on the school.

Valencia (region & city): The law surrounding the use of Valenciano (essentially a dialect of Catalan, though diehard Valencians may not agree) has changed a few times over the years. From the 2025/6 academic year, the situation will be as follows: Infant/Kindergarten: 10% in Valenciano, 10% English, 80% Spanish. Primary: Reading & writing in Spanish as the core language. From the 3rd year of primary and throughout secondary, parents can choose between Spanish and Valenciano as the language of instruction. This may vary according to the county and the number of speakers of each language on the electoral roll. 

Conclusion:

As noted above, even where Spanish isn’t the language of instruction, children will usually end up learning it because it is generally the lingua franca of the playground. It’s also worth noting that Catalan, Valenciano and Galician are latin languages, and learning them will help your children to learn Italian and Portuguese (often, whenever a word in those languages isn’t similar to Spanish, it’s similar to Catalan and/or Portuguese).