Nassima arrives at the Girona Municipal School Enrollment Office (OME) completely exhausted. She had an appointment at ten in the morning, and it's now past ten-fifteen. "I went to work this morning, convinced the appointment was for tomorrow... I'm so stressed out with all this pre-registration stuff," she exclaims. A single mother with three children, her middle son is autistic, she had a premonition of this situation three years ago. That's when she fought hard with the Education Department to prevent her eldest, now 14, from starting secondary school at the Opus Dei-run school for boys in Girona, Bell-lloc College. "I wanted him to go to a public school," she exclaims, "but they didn't give me any alternatives then, and now I'd better figure it out. I can see my eldest will have to go study on the other side of the city because there are no other options or places available."

I remember the anxiety of the first time I pre-enrolled my eldest son in school. Like most parents, we wanted to choose the best option, so we considered proximity to home and the facilities, without forgetting the importance of the human and academic factors. We looked at quite a few schools, both public and private. The truth is, I felt more comfortable with the public ones. I've always believed in the need for good public schools, although I would never have sent my children to some of the high schools where I've worked. The environment, the families, and my children's classmates are key elements for me. However, we got a place at the school we wanted—ironically, after a month we had to change because we moved and it was too far away.

The Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, announced on Monday that only from the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year Up to 74,328 new students have entered the Catalan education system outside the ordinary registration period.This is what is known as the "enrollment in Catalonia" process, and it is basically the way to enroll students who, for whatever reason, have had to change schools or colleges mid-year, or students who arrive in Catalonia once the school year has started and are entering the system for the first time. Especially for families in the latter case, but also for many of the former and for students who pre-enroll in a school through the regular process, one of the key resources for finding their way around and learning about the schools and colleges available nearby are the municipal school enrollment offices (OMEs), but not all cities in the country have them.

In recent years, a common question has been asked at the beginning of each school year: "How many groups—or lines—have had to be closed?" This concern makes perfect sense, since the plummeting birth rate that Catalonia has been experiencing for almost two decades has an obvious consequence: fewer and fewer students are starting school in the third grade. However, this demographic evolution has facilitated the improvement of some aspects of the education system, such as the reduction of ratios in preschool and primary school.not in high schools, where many classrooms have more than 25 students–, the reduction in student numbers is also causing school closures in Catalonia, especially among state-subsidized schools.

The Department of Education has announced the tiebreaker draw number for school pre-registration, the number that decides whether a child will be able to attend the school the family has requested in the 2025-26 school year. It is 76,261.

The Government pledged not to repeat last year's episode, in which More than 30,000 students started the course without a place in vocational training, And this Wednesday, it will launch an essential measure to achieve this. According to ARA, for the first time, the Education Ministry will publish the cut-off marks for vocational training (FP) degrees.

What worries parents when choosing a school or institute for their son or daughter? What are the most common questions asked by families? Have new technologies changed concerns when choosing a center? Creatures Attend four open days, two schools in Girona and two high schools in Barcelona, to find out.

Between the Gordo de Fin de Año and the Gordo de Sant Jordi there is a draw that will surely affect you if you have children: the Loto Preinscripción. We give you 10 tips:

Two decades ago, the then Education Minister, Josep Bargalló, stated that Catalan schools only had to "have the prefabricated modules that were necessary", but he also made a very clear warning: "We will never stop having prefabricated classrooms". At that time, the number of barracks in schools and institutes in Catalonia was 643. Since then, the new ministers who have led the ministry, of three different political colours, have been repeating this same message at the beginning of each school year with minor variations.

The drop in birth rates continues to be felt within the Catalan education system. The most obvious example is that next year in all Catalan schools and institutes there will be 30,956 fewer students, as explained this Friday by the Education Minister, Esther Niubó. The drop in students, added to the need to reduce the educational oversupply to fight against school segregation, will mean that next year Education plans to close 83 I3 and 1st year ESO groups between public and private schools. However, Niubó assured that 98 percent of the groups that are currently open in these two courses will be maintained.

If it's February, it's more of an open house. During this month, we must make one of the key decisions as parents: choosing the school where our sons and daughters will spend at least nine years, if they start in the first year of primary school (I3) and it's a public school. If they begin the first year of secondary school or high school (Bachillerato), their time there won't be as long, but it will be equally significant. During childhood and adolescence, children not only acquire knowledge and skills, but also values ​​and lessons that will help them become self-reliant in the not-too-distant future. Doing so in a school with a cohesive educational project and a management and teaching team committed to their work and to educational quality is fundamental to ensuring a successful transition from childhood to adulthood in every sense.