Changing schools after the first year: when a new admission process starts

Terms used

• Vacante — A vacante is a free place in a school's specific level and year group.
• Baremo — The baremo is the points scale a region uses to rank applicants when a school has more applicants than places.
• Sobrevenida — The sobrevenida procedure is the mid-year admission route for pupils who need a place outside the normal application window.
• Adscripción — Adscripción is the link between a primary school and the secondary school assigned to it.
• Matrícula — The matrícula is the formal enrolment of your child at a school once a place is granted.
• Baja — The baja is the withdrawal of your child from a school's register.

Key rules

• No automatic transfer: A new publicly funded school means a new application, and your child competes for a vacancy.
• Points: Linked-school and current-school priority do not carry over to another school.
• Baja: Ask for the baja only after the new place is confirmed in writing.
• Regions: Procedures, names and point values differ by region, so check with your regional education office.

A change means a new application

Your child keeps the place at the current school, but nothing moves with them. There is no automatic transfer to another publicly funded school (público or concertado). You apply through your region's admission process and compete for a vacancy. Being enrolled at the current school gives no points elsewhere.

Check whether a new place is realistic before you leave the current one.

Why a vacancy decides everything

A school can only admit your child if it has a vacancy (vacante) in the right level and year group. Vacancies are the school's authorised places, based on maximum class sizes (usually 25 pupils in primary and 30 in ESO), minus the pupils who are staying. Some places may be reserved, for example for children with special educational needs.

If more families apply than there are places, the points scale (baremo) decides who gets them. Outside the normal application window, a place is only available if a vacancy exists in that group. This is the mid-year (sobrevenida) route.

Which points you lose

Points usually come from these criteria:

• Siblings already enrolled in the school you are requesting.
• How close your home or workplace is to the school.
• Family income, in some regions.
• Large-family or single-parent status.
• Disability of your child, a parent or a sibling.
• Other criteria set by your region.

Some points do not travel with you:

• A linked-school place (adscripción, the link between a primary school and a secondary school) counts only for the school your child is linked to. You lose it when you apply elsewhere.
• The priority for children already at a school (centro de procedencia) does not carry over.
• Sibling points count only if the sibling is at the school you are requesting.

Points such as proximity or large-family status stay with your family. Each region sets its own values, so ask your regional education office how your case scores.

What to do before you leave

Do it in this order:

1. Apply through the ordinary process, or the mid-year procedure if you are outside the window.
2. Get written confirmation of the new place, either an admission resolution or a vacancy confirmation.
3. Complete the matrícula (enrolment) at the new school.
4. Only then ask the old school for the baja (withdrawal) and the transfer of your child's academic record.

Keep your child enrolled at the current school until the new place is confirmed in writing. That way your child does not lose a place or fall out of schooling. The old school normally passes the records to the new one, often through the regional system. The checklist and the choice between waiting and asking for the baja now are below.

Private schools

Private schools without public funding set their own admission rules. Ask each school directly about places and timing.

Choosing between options

Should you ask the current school for the baja now or wait?

• Wait and stay enrolled: You have no written confirmation of a place at the new school yet. Keeping the current place means your child does not lose it or fall out of schooling.

• Ask for the baja now: You hold written confirmation of the new place and have completed matrícula there.

Ask for the baja only once you have written confirmation of the new place and have completed matrícula there.

Checklist

• Apply through your region's ordinary admission process, or the mid-year (sobrevenida) procedure if you are outside the normal window.

• Ask the new school or your regional education office whether there is a vacancy (vacante) in your child's year group.

• Check which of your points depend on the current school, such as a linked-school place, because they will not count elsewhere.

• Ask the old school for the baja (withdrawal) and the transfer of your child's academic record, including the school report for compulsory stages.

Frequently asked questions

Which points do I lose when I apply to another school?

You lose any priority that depends on the current school, such as a linked-school (adscripción) place and the current-school priority. Sibling points only count if a sibling is already enrolled in the school you are requesting. Points for home or workplace distance, large-family status or disability still count, though their values vary by region.

How many places does a school have free for a change?

A school's free places are its authorised places minus the pupils who continue. The usual class maximum is 25 pupils in primary and 30 in ESO, the compulsory secondary stage. Some places may be reserved, for example for special educational needs, so ask the school or your regional office whether your year group has a vacancy.

Can I change schools in the middle of the school year?

Yes, but only through the mid-year (sobrevenida) admission procedure, and only if the year group has a vacancy. Ask your regional education office how to apply and which dates apply.

Does a private school follow the same admission rules?

No, private schools without public funding set their own admission rules. Ask the school directly what it needs and when.