International Schools on the Costa Brava and in Girona: Public, Concertada or Private (2026)

Picture a family from Rotterdam with a seven-year-old and a twelve-year-old, about to buy a house near Lloret de Mar. Their first question is usually which international school is closest. A better first question is how long they plan to stay. For a child who will grow up here, a local school gives two local languages for free; for a family on a two-year contract, an English-medium school may be the calmer choice.

Below is how schooling works in Catalonia, the four kinds of school you can choose from, the international schools in and near the province, the language question, admissions and diplomas, and how the school choice connects to the choice of a house.

How school works in Catalonia

The first infant year for 3-year-olds is called I3. For the 2026-27 school year, I3 means children born in 2023, and the first year of primary means children born in 2020.

Four kinds of school, and what each costs

State school (escola pública, institut). Free. Teaching is mainly in Catalan, with Spanish and at least one foreign language, often English, as subjects. Places are allocated by points, mainly for a brother or sister already at the school and for living or working nearby.

Concertada. A private school funded by the Generalitat. By law, tuition is free; the school can charge only for services that are genuinely voluntary, such as lunch, after-school care and activities. It follows the same Catalan curriculum. Ask each school, in writing, what it charges and what is optional.

Private Spanish or Catalan school. Paid, with fees and teaching method set by each school.

International school. Paid, with a foreign curriculum, usually British, and English as the main language. Fees, accreditation and the age range vary a lot from school to school.

How many schools there are on the coast

The Catalan statistics office counts schools as public or private, and private includes concertada. Its latest figures, updated in September 2026, give these numbers for infant and primary schools in the coastal counties:

So on the coast the choice is mostly between state schools and a smaller number of concertada and private ones; the Gironès, the area around Girona, has the widest choice. For a list by town, use the Departament d'Educació's school directory.

International and English-medium schools near the Costa Brava

We found these through the schools' own websites and public lists. Check accreditation and fees directly with each school: what they say about themselves is not an official rating.

• International School Costa Brava (ISCB), Castell-Platja d'Aro. British curriculum, IGCSE and A levels, ages 3 to 18. Its 2026-27 fee sheet starts at €970 a month over ten months for ages 3 to 11, with higher fees for older pupils and a €1,000 enrolment fee.
• Saint George's School, Fornells de la Selva, near Girona. Spanish and Catalan curriculum with English as the main language of teaching, up to batxillerat. Fees not published.
• Montjuïc Girona International School (MGIS), Girona. Multilingual (Catalan, Spanish, English, French), Montessori approach, ages 0 to 18.
• Further south, in the Maresme: International School Maresme in Canet de Mar (British curriculum, IGCSE) and the British School of Barcelona's Maresme campus in Cabrera de Mar, which opened in September 2026 for ages 3 to 11, with secondary planned from September 2027.
• Barcelona: the Lycée Français de Barcelone, part of the French government's AEFE network, the Deutsche Schule Barcelona and several British schools that belong to NABSS, the association of British schools in Spain.

We did not find a French lycée in the province of Girona. The IB Diploma is offered as an option at Les Alzines Bell-lloc in Girona. A French family on the coast either uses a local school, an international school, the French distance-learning school CNED, or the lycée in Barcelona.

Private and concertada schools on the coast, town by town

This list comes from the Departament d'Educació's official directory of schools for 2026-27, its education agreements for 2024-25 and the schools' own websites. Concertada schools normally teach in Catalan, as state schools do; where a school says more on its website, we note it. We could not check the 2026-27 concertada status of every school, so confirm it, the languages, places and fees with each school.

Girona, Salt and nearby Cassà de la Selva also have about a dozen concertada schools, among them Vedruna Girona, FEDAC Sant Narcís, Maristes Girona and La Salle Girona; the official directory lists them. In Tossa de Mar, Calonge, Santa Cristina d'Aro, Begur, L'Escala, Cadaqués and Llançà the directory lists no private schools.

The language question: Catalan, Spanish and English

What the law says. Under Catalan laws of 2022 (Llei 8/2022 and Decret-llei 6/2022), Catalan is the language normally used for teaching, Spanish is also used for learning, and there are no fixed percentages. In 2020 the Catalan High Court ordered that at least 25% of teaching be in Spanish, and the ruling became final in 2022; in practice it is applied to families who go to court, case by case.

Newly arrived children. State schools have welcome classrooms (aules d'acollida) for children who have just arrived: small groups, for at most half the school week, mainly to learn Catalan, and not used in infant school or the first years of primary, where children learn by immersion.

English in a local school. At least one foreign language is compulsory from primary; the first one can be English, French or German, and secondary schools must offer a second one.

Our advice. If your child will grow up in Catalonia, we usually suggest a local school in Catalan and Spanish, with English at school and a private tutor on top. The child ends up with two local languages plus English, which matters for friends, university and work here. We often meet families whose children went to an English-medium school and, years later, still struggle in Spanish and Catalan. If you prefer an English-medium school, that is a perfectly valid choice, especially for a short stay. Before you sign, ask who teaches, what qualifications they hold and which bodies accredit the school: there is no official data on the native language of teachers in international schools.

For context, the Catalan government's 2023 language survey found that 93.4% of residents aged 15 and over understand Catalan and 80.4% speak it.

Admissions, mid-year places and diplomas

The main round. Places for the next school year are allocated in a spring round called preinscripció. For 2026-27, applications for infant and primary ran from 4 to 18 March 2026 and for ESO from 6 to 18 March, with enrolment from 22 to 30 June. The dates for 2027-28 have not been published yet; they usually come out in February. Points depend on where you live or work and on siblings already at the school.

Arriving during the year. A child who has not studied in Catalonia can join a state or concertada school during the year through matrícula viva, online or through the town's education office, if there is a place. You will need passports, the NIE, the birth certificate or family book and proof of address (empadronament).

Diplomas and university. Foreign school studies can be recognised (homologación) by the Spanish Ministry of Education. For university, students with EU, IB, European Schools or UK qualifications usually apply through UNEDasiss without homologation; others need their secondary diploma recognised.

Choosing a house with the school in mind

For a state school, your registered address decides a lot, so look at the school map before you choose the street. Larger towns that stay busy all year round have more schools within reach; see our article on the towns that stay alive all year. If you are moving with children, our guide to moving to the Costa Brava with children covers healthcare and registration, and our article on the cost of living in Lloret de Mar helps with the monthly budget.

Three checks before you choose a school

Decide how long you will stay. Two years or twenty changes the answer more than any ranking.

Visit and ask in writing. For a concertada, which fees are voluntary; for an international school, the full yearly cost, who teaches and which accreditation it holds.

Check the address before the house. The school map and the distance to the school matter as much as the view.

Author: @katy.bon.estate, property consultant on the Costa Brava

Sources: Llei 12/2009 d'Educació; Departament d'Educació i Formació Professional (free nursery year, preinscripció calendar 2026-27, Resolució EDF/293/2026, matrícula viva, welcome classrooms guidance, September 2025); Decret 11/2021; Decret 175/2022; Llei 8/2022 and Decret-llei 6/2022; Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya, ruling of 16 December 2020 (final 21 January 2022); Idescat, Anuari estadístic, schools by county (updated 16 September 2026); Generalitat, Enquesta d'usos lingüístics 2023; Ministerio de Educación, homologación; UNEDasiss; school websites (International School Costa Brava fee sheet 2026-27, Saint George's School, Montjuïc Girona International School, International School Maresme, British School of Barcelona). Photos: Arxiu d'Imatges del Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona. Cover: Sant Feliu de Guíxols. Photo: Xevi F. Güell. Arxiu d'Imatges PTCBG, 86085. Information as of November 2026.