If you are planning on applying for a place at a public school or concertada, the period in which to make your application for a September 2025 start is between 12th – 26th of March 2025.
If you have started researching and visiting schools you have mostly likely heard people talking about ‘catchment areas’ and ‘priority points’. Priority points are important because having more of them makes you more likely to get a place at your preferred school. The main way people get priority points is through choosing a school in their catchment area. To find out which schools are in your catchment area, search here:
If there are enough places at a school, ie there are spaces for all the applicants who choose that school as their favourite school, all applicants should get a place at the school. However, if there are more applicants than places available (which is often the case), having more priority points gives you a greater advantage when the applications are sorted and it is decided who gets the places available.
Priority Points
Here, you'll find the ways to earn priority points and the number of points awarded for the 2025-26 application period.
· Sibling already at the school: 50 points
· Family lives in the catchment area of the school: 30 points
· Father's, mother's, or guardian's workplace is within the catchment area of the school: 20 points
· Family lives in the same municipal district as the preferred school, but lives outside the catchment area: 15 points
· Family lives within the same municipality, but not within the catchment area, of the preferred school: 10 points
The priority points for location are NOT accumulative, just one of the above can be alleged. So, if you work and live in the catchment area, you cannot get 30 + 20 points, you would just get 30 points.
Another way you can earn points in the initial stage of the process is by being a family with a proven low income.
· Low income family: 15 points
Complimentary Points
If families are tied on points after adding the above priority points, the following complementary criteria can also be used to add points:
· Disability of the student, parent, guardian or sibling: 15 points
· When the parent or legal guardian works at the school, at the time of submitting the pre-registration application: 10 points
· Registered large family (3 children or more): 10 points
· Single-parent family: 10 points
· Twin or children from a multiple birth: 10 points
· Child is in foster care: 10 points
· The child is a victim of gender violence or terrorism: 10 points
All the above need to be proven with official documentation and need to be scanned and uploaded with your application form. In the case of proving where you live, a volante de convivencia needs to be provided, which proves that the applicant (the parent or guardian) and child live at the address indicated on the form. If you choose to do your application via digital certificate instead of uploading the documents, it is possible that you will not need to upload any of the above documentation.
Other things to note related to priority points and the application process
You are not obliged to choose a school in your catchment area but by choosing a school in another area, you will get fewer priority points, which could affect the likelihood of getting a place.
The school you put as your preferred school (number 1 out of 10 possible choices) dictates the number of points you get for ALL of the schools on your list. So, if your preferred school IS in your catchment area, you’ll get 30 points for all the schools on your list, regardless of whether they are in your catchment area or not. If your preferred schools falls outside of your catchment area, all the schools on your list will be assigned the number of points you are entitled to for your preferred school.
To understand the dates and deadlines of this year’s process and to understand what each stage means, read more here.
Need any help?
As an experienced Education Consultant, I have supported hundreds of families choose and apply for schools in Barcelona. I am able to offer you guidance in the selection of schools and can advise you on the application process and even do it on your behalf! To find out more, sign up for a free short online call so I can understand better your needs.