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 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.

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.