INTO THE DEPTHS Discover the secrets of Spain’s first underwater winery
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OICE MULTIPLE CH ge of schooling There is no shorta , writes Dilip Kuner options in Spain
F
newly arOR expat parents Costa del Sol, rived on the right school institutions choosing the a puzzle. alternative. These the British curcan be a bit of options availa year. often follow of fluent within GCSEs and There are plenty schools to inter- become state schools may pres- riculum, offering a s well able, from state A-levels as s for older children s, so making However, d, es- the International ent challenge national institution decision requires or those less extroverte complex B a c c a l a u r e a t e , an informed tion of various pecially when tackling To ease this with some students careful considera invest progressing to top subjects in Spanish. factors. , many parents choice is between universities, The first crucialprivate education. transitionlanguage tuition, costing UK Oxpublic and expats opt for local in extra €20 per hour. including About 80% of known as ‘colegios’ around bridge. state schools,and ‘institutos’ for The Costa del h Englis for primary Sol boasts . education over two secondary educations are cost-efy For those preferring inThe main advantage seeking potentiall from age three) , pri- dozen in English or fectiveness (free language acacademic standards an ternation and rapid Spanish ly beneficial higherinternational schools are often vate quisition, particular children who for younger
se CELTA cour Cambridge August and November
CHOICE: Selecting the right school is not always easy
schools, al with Marbelhosting la the largest concentra -
Madrid and Barcelotion outside from British to na. Options range Norwegian, and Swedish, German,
June, in Malaga all year in Seville -
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Beaten by Belarus NATIVES of President Putin’s puppet state of Belarus speak better English than the Spanish. And Argentinians, Romanians and Hondurans also trump them when it comes to mastering the important language. The news comes during a study of over two million global citizens by teaching firm Education First. Within the country, Galicia and Madrid have the best English levels, while Extremadura and La Rioja have the worst. Vigo, in Galicia was Spain’s top English-speaking city with a score of 585, while the region clocked in at 564.
Double Dutch
The results are calculated using three separate English tests from 2.1 million people worldwide. In Spain, the top age group for English speakers were 26-30 year olds. Meanwhile, the Spanish capital got 551 points, followed by Catalunya, the Basque Country, Navarra and Aragon. In comparison, the lowest scoring region was Extremadura with 501 points. In terms of nations, the Dutch come top with 636 points, followed by Norway with 610 points and Singapore with 609 points. Yemen comes bottom.
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SCAN here for the latest news January 29th - February 11th 2025
Why weren’t we told? After hundreds of migrants are housed at fourstar Costa hotel, worried residents admit they are less of a problem than drunk tourists A ROW has broken out between expats after hundreds of migrants were moved into a quiet Costa del Sol town ‘overnight’. It came after residents told of their shock that neither the Junta, nor Benahavis town hall, were warned of the ar-
JUST TELL US: Jeroen Reiddel (right) is concerned for his elderly stepmother and wife
By Yzabelle Bostyn & Tom Ewart Smith
Reiddel, 52, told the Olive Press he was concerned for his elderly stepmother and wife, saying: “This is a residential rival of 360 Africans migrants. neighbourhood, it’s no place to drop The group, who have been put up in almost 400 people. the four star Hotel Oh Nice Caledonia, “There are always a few bad apples in Bel Air, are staying ‘temporarily’ so I don’t want my loved ones walkwhile they get ing alone at night. In the same way, assigned other I wouldn’t advise my wife to walk places to live. through Puerto Banus at 4am,” he While stressing added. there have been “It’s nothing to do with race, it’s pack Migrant Amadou Alssane Dia, 30, conno incidents mentality. People act differently in firmed the locals are treating them ‘well’. - nor a rise in groups no matter what.” “The conditions are great, I eat well, crime, as some His views were backed up by commusleep well, it’s all good,” he said. local media nity president Macarena Perez, who “I left my wife and two young children have suggested explained that residents are ‘not worbehind in Senegal to come here. I had - residents are ried because they are racist, but befamily problems and someone was angry nobody cause no one told them anything’. out to kill me and take my farm.” was consulted. She added: “When you suddenly see Dia said he spent weeks travelling to Dutch immi- strangers walking through your quiet Spain, having studied the language grant Jeroen urbanisation it raises fears and doubts. for two years at university before “There isn’t making the journey. much light here and the roads are bad…we’re just not ready Resident Raquel Sanchez told the to absorb that Olive Press there have been ‘no many people.” problems’ and all the migrants However, fordo is ‘play basketball and wander mer Bel Air resiaround’. Most residents we condent Mary Page, sulted agreed. 81, who now
We’ve been well treated
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lives in nearby Estepona, disagreed, labelling complaints as ‘ignorant’. “If the migrants were white there would be no issues whatsoever,” she said. “They didn’t come here on flimsy boats to attack rich white women. In fact, when I lived there the white holidaymakers were a huge nuisance, getting drunk and causing chaos.” The migrants, from Mali, Senegal and Gambia among other countries, arrived during the night on January 12. They had been transported from the Canary Islands after making the perilous journey to Spain. “We don’t even know which NGO is responsible for them. If we did we would be delighted to help,” Perez added. A Junta spokesperson told the Olive Press: “We need transparency and coordination from the government. We want to help but it’s impossible without communication.” The hotel is a temporary stop and locals have been told they will be moved to other areas of Spain by April. Benahavis Town Hall declined to comment. Opinion Page 6
Tunnel vision A FEASIBILITY study to build a rail tunnel between Spain and Morocco has been given the go-ahead. While under consideration for decades, the 2008 financial crash brought investigations to a grinding halt. Now the ambitious project has gained new momentum with German firm Herrenknecht Iberica being awarded a €296,400 contract for the study. Starting this month, it will be concluded by June and comes after the Spanish government spent €2.5 million on a separate design study last year. The proposed rail link will span 38.5 kilome-
tres between Tarifa and Tangier, with 28 kilometres running under the Mediterranean at a maximum depth of 475 metres. The project envisions a double-rail track and an additional service line.