Public, subsidised (concertado) and private schools explained

Key rules

• Three types: Spain has public, concertado and fully private schools, and each differs in who runs it, who pays and how you get in.
• Concertado fees: Teaching must be free, but canteen, transport and activities can be charged.
• Admission: Public and concertado schools use one regional application with points; private schools admit directly.
• Private schools: They set their own fees and need regional authorisation for each level they teach.

Public schools are run and paid for by the state. Concertado schools are privately owned but mostly paid for by the state. Fully private schools are paid for by families. If you assume "private" means "not free" or "public" means "run by the town", you will be misled.

Public schools

A public school is owned and run by the regional education department, which employs the teachers, pays running costs and assigns places. In many regions the town hall owns and looks after the buildings of nursery and primary schools. Teaching is free in the compulsory stages. The ethos is secular.

Concertado schools

A concertado school is privately owned, often by a religious order, a cooperative or a foundation. It is publicly funded through an agreement with the regional authority. The administration pays the teachers and a set amount for running costs. In return, places are given through the public admission process.

The agreement covers the second cycle of nursery (Infantil), primary and ESO (lower secondary), and in some cases Bachillerato and vocational training. Agreements are renewed from time to time. The school keeps its own management.

Fees at a concertado

• The school cannot require compulsory fees tied to enrolment in the funded stages.
• It may charge for canteen, transport and extended hours. It may also charge for extracurricular activities, which must be voluntary and authorised.
• Donations or parents' association fees must never be a condition for getting or keeping a place.
• In practice, "voluntary" quotas are common and often cause complaints. Ask exactly what is optional before you accept a place.
• Voluntary fees run from €30 to €100 a month: Costs by school type.

Ethos at a concertado

Most concertado schools are Catholic in origin. The rest are secular, cooperative or other. Each has a carácter propio, its declared educational identity. You will be told what it is and are expected to respect it. In practice it may mean religious activities, a Catholic outlook and a chaplain.

A school cannot refuse your child for religious reasons alone, because admission follows the public criteria. Religion classes are offered but voluntary. Single-sex schools no longer qualify for new agreements. The share of religious schools varies by region.

Fully private schools

A private school gets no public money. It lives on family fees, which it sets freely, within regional rules. It must be authorised by the regional education authority for each level it teaches, and registered. Authorisation checks premises, teacher qualifications, class sizes and curriculum. Before enrolling, you can check that a school is authorised for the level your child needs by asking the school for its authorisation resolution or by checking the regional education authority's register of centres.

Schools that teach the Spanish curriculum issue official Spanish qualifications. British, American, French, German and IB schools can operate with their own curricula. Official Spanish titles still need Spanish requirements to be met, so ask each school what qualification your child will leave with.

How admission differs

Public and concertado schools share one regional admission process. You apply in a set period, usually in spring, and list the schools you prefer. If a school has more applicants than places, points decide. They are given for siblings already at the school, home or workplace proximity, family income, large-family or single-parent status, disability and other regional criteria. Admitted children are then enrolled (matrícula).

Each region sets its own calendar and points scale, so check yours before you apply. If your child is refused a place, you can appeal the allocation to the regional education authority (recurso de alzada) within one month of the published decision; after that the administrative route closes.