Choosing a school for a 3-year old in Madrid..HELP

[monkey]

Hi everybody,
it´s that time of year when all mums with 3-year have only one topic to talk about: which school to choose for the little one...

Could you please share your experience with the spanish schooling system.

Here-s my situation:
- I live in a good neighbourhood with some nice little "public" schools.

- I live close enough to Alcobendas (La Moraleja) where there are a lot of private schools, English schools, Catholic schools,... on offer.

- We do have some concertados nearby... but the point system makes getting in near impossible.

I do somehow like the idea of a public bilingual school, but have no idea how good the level of English is. I would like my LO to improve not only her Spanish but also her English. I fear the day when she comes home and says `"HHELLO" with a spanish accent due to the teachers beeing spanish.

The private schools I have seen here are mainly visited by Spanish kids, so spanish is spoken during the breaks.

Can anyone please share their experience. ...?

Thank you

[TT]

If you are interested in a more creative approach, fresh air and a large garden for your 3 year old, visit Centro Educativo 'El Ardal' in Fuente del Fresno. It´s a family run private Spanish nursery school (up to 6 years) that also offers English taught by a native English teacher. The kids swim twice a week, have art and drama classes and enjoy lots of interesting activities. The school is small and class sizes are 9-10 kids. Lots of international parents send their kids there. Good luck with your search, TT.

[monkey]

Thank you TT, I had heard about El Ardal before but it seemed to far to drive. However, I have called them since and will have an entrevista with the director hopefully next week.