Hi Kevin & Sharon,

I dont think it is because people are ignoring your post, but this is traditionally a quiet time of year, as everyone if either away on holiday, or the kids here in Spain are already on holiday, in which case most parents are up to their eyes trying to keep them occupied.

I can only speak from my own experience about bringing kids here permanently. My son was 6 years old when we arrived here over 3 years ago. He is now fully fluent in Catalan and Spanish, and although he obviously speaks English fluently, his reading and writing of it are absolutely awful, but i am confident that he will catch up over the next couple of years.

Friends from the UK who moved out here with older kids have said that they experienced different problems, for example, local children dont go to secondary school here until they are 12 years old, and depending on what area you live in, the authorities like foreign children to do the last year in primary school, until they get a good "handle" on Catalan, so therefore if your son is now 12, he would normally be in seconday school in the UK, but here, he might be expected to stay in primary school for another year.  I cant comment on your 15 year old, but if she would normally be doing "O" levels next year, i think it is impossible to expect her to pick up a new language and also take equivalent exams. Maybe, it would be a better idea to put her in an international school, where she can finish her education in English, but obviously this will cost money!

As for finding friends, well that is a different story. I have found the local kids to be very accommodating, as they are normally inquisitive if not bordering on nosey, as to why English people want to come and live here, but having said that, we are the only UK family in our village, so, if in Tres Callas they have lots of ex-pats, again it might be different.

Hope this helps

Jools