Moving to San Sebastian with kids

2POSTS

9 years ago

My husband and I are currently in San Sebastian and have fallen in love with the area.聽 What a perfect place to raise a family.聽 we are now looking into all the "details" of actually living here and we are finding a lack of information available online.聽 In english anyways.聽

We have lived in Panama for the past 3 years so we can all speak some Spanish.聽 Our daughter who is 7 has been in a Spanish school for the past 2 years.聽

Can anyone help me with the following questions....

-聽 It is my understanding that public school is taught in Basque.聽 Is there some portion of this school that is taught in Spanish or English?聽聽Are there any schools in the area that are Spanish?聽

-聽 There are some schools that are semi private.聽 Are there any in the area that are Spanish speaking?聽

-聽 We really like it here however, I think that it may be too much to ask our 7 year old to earn Basque.聽 Does anyone聽 know of any other expat families living in the area?聽

Thank you so much for all the help!

Tara

See also

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jeninbasquecountry Member

1POSTS

8 years ago

Hi there, do you still need answers to this?聽 I'd love to give you information on the various school systems if you still need help.聽

In short, yes, your child will have to learn Basque.聽 There is no other way around it!聽聽They will do great with the language and there is lots of help.聽 It shouldn't be an issue!

sebasgro Member

1POSTS

8 years ago

Hey Tara,
Just stumbled upon your post and I was wondering if you'd made the move to San Sebastian in the end. We are planning to move there at end of next year with two kids (7 and 4) , so I'd love to hear about your experience!
Thanks,Sebas

pegcant Member

2POSTS

8 years ago

Hi Tara,

Did you end up moving to San Sebastian.聽 My husband and I have moved here with our 9 year old son and had some questions on if you found out anymore information on primary schools.聽 We are not really sure where to start as there really isn't alot of information and currently only speak English.

We have travelled around Spain and found that this is the place we would like to settle.

Cheers

Peg Adendorff - Australia

1 member reacted to this post

jeevan007 Member

13POSTS

8 years ago

Hi , sansabastien is really beautiful little聽聽city. I was there 2 years ago. You can look in Ir煤n another town near to it. Really amazing to see people from Australia choose to live here.

Good luck

English*Alisha Member

22POSTS

7 years ago

Hi can anyone help me to understand where the English or English speak schools are in these areas?? I鈥檓 really so useless at this sorry my daughter is 5 I鈥檓 living in Cyprus right now but I鈥檇 like to be somewhere more comfortable I always loved Spain.. any ideas or suggestions??
Many thanks Alisha

KirstyBlack Member

1POSTS

7 years ago

We are planning to move to San Sebasti谩n with three kids so would love information on schools. We are Australian and currently living in Sonoma, California as my husband works for a wine company. Thanks

1 member reacted to this post

MinouDitMiaou Member

1POSTS

6 years ago

Hi Kirsty,

Did you end up moving to San Sebastian? I'm living in Hendaye, France (nearby) and looking to find other English-speakers and activities to help ease the transition for my 13-year old son.

Cheers,
Allison

heathermira New member

3POSTS

5 years ago

Hi Sebas,
I have the exact same questions about schools in San Sebastian for my boys (will be 8 and 5) for our move there next school year. Are you there now? What did you find?
Thanks so much!
Heather

gxgaldos New member

4POSTS

5 years ago

#10

Hello all,

As a Basque who knows the area and has done some research on the subject, there are no real international schools in San Sebastian. The so called British and German school are bilingual or trilingual schools with a small percentage of the subjects in English or German.

Cheers.

Gorka

Giselle.alonso New member

3POSTS

5 years ago

#11

Hey heather. I live in Bilbao and there is an American and British school here but not sure about San Sebasti谩n. There are a few different models of schools in Basque Country Though. One is mostly Taught in basque with some Spanish and English classes and the other is mainly聽 taught in Spanish with some basque and English classes. May be something to look into. I know the American and British schools are quite pricey.

heathermira New member

3POSTS

5 years ago

#12

Thanks, Giselle! We've applied at the two English schools in San Sebastian. We've been told they don't have space (waitlist is years long), so we'll see where the kids end up...

Cougnate Member

2POSTS

3 years ago

#13

Has anyone here lived with kids in San Sebastian? If so, how was the experience?

Cougnate Member

2POSTS

3 years ago

#14

@heathermira did you end up moving to San Sebastian with your kids? If so, how did it go/how is it going? Were you able to find a good fit for school?