School Integration programme in Spain

What does the school integration programme offer?

• The experience of total integration in Spanish culture
• The chance to live with a Spanish family
• Classes at a school close to the family home
• Total immersion in the typical daily life of a Spanish youngster of the same age
• Learning about the social, cultural and educational realities of Spain

What does the school integration experience include?

• Full board home stay accommodation with children
• Enrolment at a well-known local school in the family’s neighbourhood
• Monitoring of the student’s stay and their process of adaptation

What other options are there?

• Stay 1 week before the course with private Spanish tuition at the teacher’s home
• Extra-curricular sports, music or dance activities

Where and when does the school integration programme take place?

In Madrid and Seville. In the Madrid region, students are based in a town in the Sierra de Guadarrama or in the centre of Madrid, depending on availability. In Seville they are based in the city centre or in Mairena del Aljarafe (6 km outside Seville), depending on availability. Gala Internacional will suggest the most suitable location for the student based on their profile, as well as the most suitable school for their stay.

When does this high school programme take place?

The whole school year: from September to June. The minimum stay is 3 weeks. Students can also enrol for a full term, two terms, or even the whole academic year.

What are the objectives of the programme?

• Improved mastery of and fluency in the Spanish language
• In-depth knowledge of how a typical Spanish family lives, getting involved in their daily lives
• Adaptation to a different educational system to the student’s own
• Meeting young people of the same age from another country
• Learning skills and gaining credits that could be very useful for the student’s academic future
• Learning about a different culture and getting a better understanding of their own culture
• Helping to turn the student into a global citizen

Is it important to do a preliminary preparation course?

Yes. The ideal situation is for the student to come to Spain one week before their school integration programme so they can stay with the family of a teacher who specialises in teaching Spanish as a foreign language, the aim being to give the student a minimum of 10 hours of private tuition. This also gives the student the chance to discover the main points of interest in the city and acclimatize to their new surroundings. The advantage of choosing this option is that the student will continue to live with the teacher’s family throughout their stay which gives them additional educational support with their school integration.

Is it possible to choose an extracurricular activity?

Yes, students can choose an extracurricular activity in a sports centre or at a dance or music school: tennis, football, flamenco dancing, learning to play the guitar, etc. This option is subject to availability and depends on where the host family lives. The cost of this is separate from the high school programme.

The programme does not include:

• Entrance tickets to museums and public transport tickets.
• Spending money
• Medical insurance (mandatory for non-EU members)

Who is in charge of this programme?

Carolina Morala
carolms@galainternacional.com