School for your child in Barcelona: how to arrange it yourself, from padró to moving up to ESO

School in Barcelona: a 15-step scheme

1. Register the child on the padró

   The padró (empadronament, registration at your address) determines your district, the schools in your zone and the points you get for your address. The child is registered by a legal guardian with documents proving the relationship.

   • Child’s passport and parent’s passport or NIE
   • Birth certificate or libro de familia, with an apostille and translation if the document is foreign
   • Tenancy agreement or the property owner’s consent
   • If one parent registers the child: checked whether the other parent’s signature or consent is needed

   Where: Oficina d'Atenció Ciutadana, appointment via barcelona.cat/cita or 010Timing: before applying for a school placeCost: free

   When to get help: the parents are divorced, the other parent is abroad, or there is no tenancy agreement. More: empadronamiento in Barcelona.

2. Get your child a TSI and choose a paediatrician

   Every family member needs a TSI (targeta sanitària individual), children included. At the CAP (primary care centre) children are seen by a paediatrician, who is also the person you go to for vaccinations and medical certificates.

   • Applied for the TSI at the CAP for my registered address or on tramits.gencat.cat
   • Got an assigned paediatrician at the CAP
   • Set up La Meva Salut for the digital card

   Where: CAP for your padró address, CatSalutTiming: right after the padróCost: see the CatSalut page

   When to get help: the child has no insurance and no legal status, and the CAP has refused. More: TSI in Catalonia.

3. Translate the vaccination certificate and show it to the paediatrician

   Vaccines on the Catalan schedule are free. The CAP paediatrician or nurse will compare the foreign certificate with the local schedule and, if doses are missing, set up a catch-up plan (calendari accelerat).

   • Took the vaccination certificate or a medical record extract with vaccine dates and names
   • Had it translated into Spanish or Catalan
   • Kept a copy for the matrícula: the school may ask for it

   Where: CAP, translatorTiming: before the matrículaCost: vaccines are free, translation is paid separately

4. Prepare school records: translation and, if needed, homologación

   No convalidación is needed to enter any year of primària or ESO: the ministry order of 14.03.1988 says so expressly. Homologación is needed for batxillerat, which admits pupils with the GESO (the ESO certificate) or a recognised foreign equivalent; in Catalonia the application is handled by the Departament d'Educació.

   • Report cards and a school certificate for recent years, translated
   • For batxillerat: applied for homologación on tramits.gencat.cat, with an apostille and official translation
   • While it is being processed: got a volante de inscripción condicional (valid for 6 months)

   Where: Departament d'Educació, tramits.gencat.catTiming: apply for homologación well in advanceCost: the fee is shown on the department’s page

   When to get help: your child is 15-17 and it is unclear which year they will go into. See apostille for a school certificate and sworn translation.

5. Understand how the system works

   Compulsory schooling lasts 10 years, from 6 to 16. Infantil for ages 3-6 (I3-I5, or P3-P5) is optional, primària has 6 years and ESO 4 years, followed by 2 years of batxillerat or vocational training (FP).

   • Worked out the stage and year from the child’s year of birth
   • Understand the difference: pública is state-run, concertada is private with public funding, privada is fee-paying
   • Know that an escola covers infantil and primària, an institut covers ESO and batxillerat, and an institut escola combines both

   Where: edubcn.cat, stages sectionTiming: before choosing schoolsCost: free

6. Work out when to apply

   Preinscripció takes place once a year in spring, for entry in September. Admissions for 2026-2027 are over: applications from 4 to 18.03.2026, for ESO from 6 to 18.03.2026, matrícula from 22 to 30.06.2026. The next round follows the Departament calendar. If you arrived after it, you apply outside the period.

   • Understood which case is mine: preinscripció or admission outside the period
   • Noted: while preinscripció is open, applications outside the period are not accepted
   • Put the announcement date of the next round in my calendar

   Where: edubcn.cat, preinscripcio.gencat.catTiming: per the Departament calendarCost: free

7. Apply online outside the period

   The Departament d'Educació procedure “Admissió a un centre educatiu fora del procés de preinscripció” is filed online, with or without a digital signature. In Barcelona the Consorci d'Educació de Barcelona helps with it by appointment; in other municipalities, the Oficina Municipal d'Escolarització does.

   • Chose the ground “the child has not studied in Catalonia”
   • Filled in the applicant’s and child’s details and up to 4 schools, and attached the documents
   • Kept the submission receipt

   Where: tramits.gencat.cat, Consorci d'Educació de BarcelonaTiming: all year except during preinscripcióCost: free

   When to get help: you cannot access the online form, or your child needs a special school, which requires an EAP report. On electronic access: Cl@ve.

8. Choose schools and understand the points

   In preinscripció, places are allocated by points: a brother or sister at the school 50, an address in the school’s zone up to 30, a parent’s workplace in the zone 20, recipients of renda garantida or IMV 15, large family, single-parent family or disability 10. Ties are settled by lottery. Outside the period no points are counted: the committee looks at free places, your choices and an even spread of pupils.

   • Found the schools in my zone with the edubcn.cat tools
   • Compared distance, whether there is a canteen, and an institut escola versus a separate escola and institut
   • Ranked the schools by my real priorities

   Where: edubcn.cat, school open daysTiming: before applyingCost: free

   When to get help: you are choosing an area to live in based on the school. See Barcelona areas for families.

9. Gather the documents for the application

   Documents are attached as scans or photos of both sides. The system checks the padró address itself unless you opted out of the check.

   • Child’s passport (instead of a DNI for foreign nationals)
   • Birth certificate or libro de familia, if the child has not studied in Catalonia
   • Parent’s DNI or NIE; if you opted out of the check, a volante de convivència
   • Documents for points, if you apply in preinscripció

   Where: online form, attachmentsTiming: together with the applicationCost: translation and apostille are paid separately

   When to get help: whether a certificate from your country needs an apostille: how to tell.

10. Get the result and complete the matrícula

    For 2026-2027, the Consorci aimed to allocate applications filed before 09.08.2026 by the start of the school year, and the rest by the end of September where possible. You must enrol at the assigned school within two weeks of the start of the year or of the assignment, or the place is lost.

    • Checked the notice of the assigned school
    • Booked the matrícula and brought the originals
    • Asked the school for the list of materials and start dates

    Where: the assigned schoolTiming: two weeksCost: free at a pública

    When to get help: the assigned school is far from home or is none of the ones you chose.

11. Find out about the aula d'acollida and Catalan

    Catalan is the main language of teaching (Article 11 of Law 12/2009). Newcomers are supported in the aula d'acollida for up to 12 hours a week; the rest of the time the child is with their own class. For ESO, Barcelona has aules d'acollida accelerada from September to January.

    • Asked the school about its welcome plan (pla d'acollida)
    • For years 1-3 of ESO: asked the Consorci about the aula d'acollida accelerada
    • Found Catalan lessons to do at home

    Where: school, ConsorciTiming: from the first weeksCost: free

    More: do you need Catalan.

12. Apply for the ajut de menjador

    School canteen grants are available from I3 to year 4 of ESO at pública and concertada schools for families with income below the threshold. For 2026-2027, the ordinary ajut covers 70% of the price and the extraordinari up to 100%; a meal costs €7.83 or €7.41 depending on the length of the lunch break.

    • Found the current application period: the third runs from 28.09 to 29.11.2026
    • Applied online at ajutsmenjador.ceb.gencat.cat
    • If documents were requested, took them to the school on time

    Where: Consorci d'Educació de BarcelonaTiming: by period; documents by 02.12.2026 for the thirdCost: free

    When to get help: you have no Spanish tax return for 2025 and it is unclear how your income is assessed.

13. Decide on extraescolars and the AFA

    Extraescolars (after-school activities) are voluntary, and the school must tell you the price in advance. The AFA, the association of pupils’ families, often runs them and collects a voluntary fee.

    • Found out the extraescolars programme and prices
    • Decided whether to join the AFA
    • Found out about morning and lunchtime care (acollida matinal, menjador)

    Where: school, AFATiming: start of the school yearCost: at the school’s or AFA’s price

14. Get in touch with the school and the tutor

    Every class has a tutor, the form teacher. Through tutoria the family is informed of the child’s progress (Article 25 of Law 12/2009), and on enrolment you sign the carta de compromís educatiu.

    • Signed the carta de compromís
    • Booked a meeting with the tutor in the first weeks
    • Set up the school’s app or email for notifications

    Where: schoolTiming: first weeksCost: free

15. Plan the move to ESO

    After the 6th year of primària, the child moves into the 1st year of ESO through preinscripció; primary schools are linked to institutes (adscripció), which gives priority. After the 4th year of ESO pupils receive the GESO, without which they cannot enter batxillerat.

    • Found out which institut the school is linked to
    • Put the ESO preinscripció in my calendar, per the Departament calendar
    • For older children: homologación deadlines before batxillerat

    Where: school, edubcn.catTiming: a year before the 1st year of ESOCost: free

    When to get help: your child arrived at 15-16 without a school certificate and is choosing between ESO, FP and batxillerat.