Swedish School of the Costa del Sol changes its admission conditions from this academic year

Families considering enrolling their children at the Swedish School of the Costa del Sol need to take an important change into account from the 2026/2027 academic year. The Regional Government of Andalusia has modified the administrative authorisation of the Fuengirola school so that it now provides exclusively education belonging to the Swedish education system.

The change was published in the Official Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia on 1 October 2026 and the school retains its total capacity of 341 student places.

The most significant change affects students who hold only Spanish nationality: the school will not be able to enrol them in levels equivalent to compulsory education in Spain, unless they also hold Swedish nationality.

What exactly changes at the Swedish School in Fuengirola?

The school was already authorised to provide Swedish-system education to both Spanish and foreign students.

The new resolution changes its classification and now authorises it to provide exclusively education under the Swedish education system, within the legal framework that applies to foreign schools operating in Spain.

The application was submitted by the Swedish Education Association of the Costa del Sol, which owns the school, and received favourable reports from both the Málaga Education Inspectorate and the Swedish National Agency for Education.

The measure has academic and administrative effect from the beginning of the 2026/2027 school year.

Can a Spanish student still attend the Swedish School?

It depends on the student’s nationality and the educational stage.

The order explicitly states that the school may not admit students of Spanish nationality in levels equivalent to compulsory Spanish education, unless the student also holds Swedish nationality.

This means that a family whose child has only Spanish nationality will need to check whether the year group they want to enter falls within the compulsory stages affected by this restriction.

By contrast, a student with dual Spanish and Swedish nationality can attend those levels under the conditions established by the school’s authorisation.

For international families or households with more than one nationality, this therefore becomes one of the first points to check before starting the admissions process.

What educational stages does the school offer?

The authorisation maintains a total of 341 student places across three stages of the Swedish education system.

The official distribution is as follows:

• Förskolan: 18 places, corresponding to the second cycle of Early Childhood Education.
• Grundskolan: 203 places, from the equivalent of the first year of Primary Education through to the fourth year of ESO.
• Gymnasiet: 120 places, corresponding to the first years equivalent to Bachillerato.

Most of the school’s capacity is therefore concentrated in Grundskolan, which covers a large part of the years equivalent to compulsory education in Spain.

Why nationality matters in a foreign school

Foreign schools operating in Spain do not all function under exactly the same conditions.

Their legal regime depends on the authorisation and classification under which they operate and on the foreign education system they provide.

In this case, the Swedish School of the Costa del Sol now falls within the category used for schools that provide exclusively a foreign education system.

Royal Decree 806/1993 establishes specific conditions for these schools and restricts the enrolment of exclusively Spanish students in certain compulsory stages when the school falls under this category.

The change is therefore not simply the result of an internal decision by the school, but of the administrative classification under which it is now authorised to operate.

Where is the Swedish School of the Costa del Sol?

The school is located at Avenida de Acapulco, 11, in Fuengirola.

It is owned by the Swedish Education Association of the Costa del Sol and is officially registered under school code 29003026.

Its location is particularly relevant in an area of the Costa del Sol with a large international population and many families from Nordic countries.

The change in authorisation may therefore be of interest not only to families already living in Fuengirola, but also to those planning a move to nearby municipalities such as Mijas, Benalmádena or Marbella.

What should families check before applying?

When choosing a foreign school, families should not focus only on language or the academic programme.

It is also important to understand which education system the school is legally authorised to provide and under what framework it operates in Spain.

In the case of the Swedish School of the Costa del Sol, families should mainly check:

• the student’s nationality;
• the educational stage they wish to enter;
• the equivalence between the Swedish year group and the Spanish education system;
• the school’s specific admission requirements;
• the expected academic continuity if the student later returns to the Spanish system.

The order published by the Regional Government defines the school’s administrative authorisation, but it does not set out details such as application deadlines, fees, internal admission criteria or actual availability of places.

That information must be checked directly with the school.

A relevant change for international families moving to the Costa del Sol

Choosing a school is often one of the first issues families need to resolve when moving to another country.

In areas such as the Costa del Sol, where there is a broad range of international schools, the differences between British, Swedish, Norwegian, French and other systems can be significant.

They do not all follow the same curriculum or operate under exactly the same enrolment conditions.

Administrative changes such as this one therefore have a very practical impact: they can determine whether a student is eligible to attend a particular school.

The school keeps its 341 places

The change does not reduce the school’s capacity.

The Swedish School keeps the 341 student places already authorised, distributed across Förskolan, Grundskolan and Gymnasiet.

What changes is mainly the legal framework under which the education is provided and, as a result, the position of students who hold only Spanish nationality in certain year groups.

The Regional Government also states that the school will need to request a new administrative review if it wishes to change any of the details included in its authorisation in the future.

What happens to students already enrolled?

The published resolution states that the change takes effect from the beginning of the 2026/2027 academic year.

However, the official text does not provide an individual breakdown of how every possible case involving previously enrolled students should be handled, nor does it establish a detailed transitional regime by year group or student profile.

For that reason, families who already have children at the school and may be affected by the new classification should contact the school directly to confirm how the authorisation applies to their specific situation.

A particularly important change for new residents

The change comes at a time when more families moving to the Costa del Sol are looking for schools that can provide continuity with the education system in their country of origin.

For families arriving from Sweden, having an authorised school offering Förskolan, Grundskolan and Gymnasiet makes it possible to maintain an academic pathway directly linked to the Swedish curriculum.

For Spanish families or households with mixed nationalities, however, the new authorisation makes it even more important to check the requirements in advance.

Nationality, which may play a less significant role in other school admissions processes, becomes an essential factor here when determining access to compulsory education stages.