← Back to the rankingSvenska Skolan Costa del Sol
Fuengirola, Spain · est. 1969 · Private
Illustration · Fuengirola
Svenska Skolan Costa del Sol in Fuengirola is a Swedish school abroad founded in 1969 and by its own account the largest Swedish school abroad in the world. More than 320 children from preschool to upper secondary attend, with about 50 staff. The school follows the Swedish curriculum, timetable and course syllabi and is approved by Skolverket; pupils can move to a school in Sweden at any time. All lessons are in Swedish except advanced-level Spanish. Spanish is a profile subject at every stage, and in upper secondary everyone studies Spanish for three years plus a course on Spanish culture and society with trips around Andalusia; with advanced Spanish pupils can obtain both Swedish and Spanish grades. The school is one of five Swedish schools abroad with its own right to award Swedish upper secondary grades: five academic programmes and a vocational sales and service programme. Each year 60-80 upper secondary pupils from Sweden come for a year as guest pupils and live with Spanish families. The sports profile lets pupils from grade 5 train in football, tennis, padel, golf, beach volleyball or dance within the school timetable.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $9 038–11 297 a year
8 000–10 000 EUR
Programmes
Swedish programme
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Swedish
Languages taught
Spanish, English
Class size
10-20 pupils in preschool and grades 1-6, 20-25 in grades 7-9, 20-30 in grades 10-12 pupils
Registration fee
≈ $1 130
1 000 EUR
About the fees Annual fees for 2026-2027, including lunch and teaching materials: preschool (ages 3-5) 8000 EUR, förskoleklass to grade 6 8050 EUR, grades 7-9 8500 EUR, upper secondary 10000 EUR, guest upper secondary pupil 10500 EUR (often covered by municipal skolpeng, with the family paying the difference; host family accommodation 150-700 EUR per month separately). Fees are invoiced in two parts, 50% in autumn and 50% in spring, due 30 June and 15 December. A pupil found eligible for the state grant by Skolverket receives a 1250 EUR rebate; the third child gets a 25% discount and the fourth 50%. If municipal skolpeng is lower than the fee, the difference is invoiced to the family.
Admissions The school admits to preschool, grundskola and upper secondary; applications can be made at any time and applications and the waiting list are handled on a rolling basis; admission for the autumn term begins in March and for the spring term in November. No place is guaranteed; places are given as available, and only for the whole school year, not by the week or month. The preschool takes children aged 3-5 in families where Swedish is a living language at home, and the child must be out of nappies. Applications include the passports of the child and guardians, proof of custody, latest grades and a special support form from the current school, and for upper secondary an individual study plan; the registration fee is paid with the application. Upper secondary applicants apply either as resident pupils living on the coast with their guardians (residence permit and Spanish social security are the guardians' responsibility) or as guest pupils from Sweden for a year. The school helps children with special needs but may decline if its resources are insufficient. Eligibility for the state grant is decided by Skolverket and affects only the fee, not the right to attend.
Stages and year groups Swedish curriculum: preschool for ages 3-5 (group of up to 18 children, 2 teachers, 9:00 to 15:00), förskoleklass and grades 1-9 under the Swedish curriculum (lessons 8:10 to 15:00, 18 teachers), and upper secondary with about 120 pupils in five classes, with the school's own right to award Swedish grades. Upper secondary programmes: Ekonomiprogrammet with Ekonomi and Juridik orientations, Naturvetenskapsprogrammet, Samhällsvetenskapsprogrammet with Samhällsvetenskap and Beteendevetenskap orientations, and the vocational Försäljnings- och serviceprogrammet (sales and service, at least 15 weeks of work placement, vocational diploma with basic university eligibility). Graduates receive Swedish final grades (gymnasieexamen); with advanced Spanish a Spanish diploma is also possible. The sports profile in grades 5-9 adds 180 minutes a week and in upper secondary runs as separate graded courses. The school offers no international programmes.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
SkolverketSkolverket names the school as a Swedish school abroad and gives it a state grant: it teaches the Swedish curriculum.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
SkolverketSwedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket)
A Swedish school abroad: the full-day Swedish curriculum, a state grant from Skolverket and checks by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate.
What the badge means for this school. This is a Swedish school abroad: it teaches the full-day Swedish curriculum, and Skolverket gives it a state grant - this can be seen in its grant decisions. The entry is not a quality inspection. The curriculum and the qualifications are Swedish. Whom the school admits and what it charges are on its own website. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Swedish programme
The Swedish school curriculum taught in Swedish: förskoleklass, the compulsory grundskola under the Lgr22 curriculum and, at some schools, the upper-secondary gymnasieskola leading to the Swedish gymnasieexamen.
What this means for this school. The curriculum is set by the Swedish state: the school follows the Swedish curriculum, receives state funding through Skolverket and is checked by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. A child who returns to Sweden carries on without switching from another system.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground
Campus: Since 2007 the school has occupied the building at Avenida Acapulco 11 in Fuengirola. There is a music room, an assembly hall (aula), a science laboratory, an art room, a playground and large sports areas, including tennis and basketball courts. Its own dining room has its own cooks: every day a hot dish inspired by Swedish and Spanish food, soup, a salad buffet, bread and fruit, a vegetarian option and special diets for medical reasons; lunch is compulsory, own food is not allowed and there is no cafeteria. For förskoleklass to grade 5 there is a breakfast club from 8:00 and an after-school club from 15:00 to 16:00. It is a day school; guest upper secondary pupils live with Spanish host families selected by the school.
Clubs and activities: Fotboll (football) · Tennis · Padel (padel) · Golf · Junior Golf School · Beachvolleyboll (beach volleyball) · Dans (dance) · Eftermiddagsklubben (after-school club)
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
✓Teacher qualifications
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
✓Students per teacher or class sizein the key facts above
What the listings show: All 12 upper secondary teachers are qualified to teach at upper secondary level.
The school has about 50 staff in total; the preschool has 2 teachers per group, grundskola 18 teachers and upper secondary 12. Each class has a mentor teacher.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The student health team (EHT): head, special needs teachers, school counsellor (school social worker), nurse and careers adviser; it works preventively and inclusively. A school doctor is attached to the school and the nurse holds surgery two days a week. Guest pupils have a coordinator, and host families are selected and monitored.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
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