Spanish families face record back-to-school costs topping €600 per child in Andalucía

The only exceptions were 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic disrupted normal school life and pushed costs down.

The latest reports suggest that Spanish families will spend an average of more than 500 euros this September. Among Andalusian families, the figure will rise to 600 euros.

Other studies paint an even bleaker picture. The Ocu organisation of consumers and users says that the average cost could reach 550 euros. This includes enrolment fees, the cost of clothing and uniforms, textbooks and school and IT equipment.

According to the Aescon Spanish consumers' association, this average would apply in regions where these figures are lower, such as Asturias. In other regions, however, it can range from 635 euros to 1,849 euros.

Despite their differences, all the reports highlight the impact of the area in which the school is located. In all the cases, Madrid is the most expensive region and Asturias the cheapest.

Andalucía ranks somewhere in the middle, tending towards the lower end, with an average of 615 euros for state schools, 766 for state-subsidised private schools and 1,826 for private schools.

The Ocu report shows how these figures add up over the course of the entire academic year. While in 2019 expenditure averaged 1,970 euros per student per academic year and fell in 2020 and 2021 to 1,860 euros, in the space of four years it has risen from 2,006 euros to 2,484 this year.

The biggest increase occurred between the 2023 and 2024 academic years, when the average jumped from 2,074 euros per student to 2,335 euros.

Costs vary according to educational level. The families facing the highest costs are those with children in nursery school, specifically those between the ages of three and five: 2,597 euros.

Next are primary school pupils (2,355 euros), sixth-form students (2,350 euros), vocational training students (2,293 euros) and lower secondary school pupils (2,216 euros).

According to the Ocu, the average cost per pupil per year in state schools is 1,294 euros, compared with 3,450 euros in state-subsidised private schools and 8,761 euros in private schools.

Andalusian families are increasingly relying on loans to be able to provide everything their children need to go to school. A total of 26.6 per cent of Andalusian households will be in this situation this year to cope with inflation.

Malaga ranks as the third province where this is most common, at 28 per cent, behind only Almeria (32 per cent) and Cadiz (29 per cent).

In light of these figures, the organisations behind these reports recommend specific strategies to help families make ends meet over the coming months.

The first piece of advice is to plan ahead and avoid impulse buying, as well as to bear in mind the differences in quality and price between products at different shops. It is better to avoid doing all the shopping in the same place simply for the sake of convenience.

The organisations also stress the importance of keeping the receipt, bearing in mind that online purchases can be cancelled within 14 days. In addition, items from previous years can often be reused.

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