Back to school for over 1.5m youngsters in Catalonia

After almost three months of summer vacation, it's a moment that many parents are longing for and that many children are dreading. Schools in Catalonia are due to reopen next week, with some 1,581,534 students signed up for the 2019-2020 academic year.

And it doesn't matter which type of school it might be, there is no escape for youngsters in Catalonia as the entire education system - including public, semi-private and private schools - prepares for another year of classes that will go on until the end of June.

While there will be 536 more students across the whole education system this year, there will be 3,000 fewer students in compulsory education, with a large fall in the number of primary school students and a smaller rise in the number of secondary school students.

Education minister, Josep Bargalló, warned on Wednesday that the figures were only provisional and subject to change, because the government has still not been able to pass this year's budget proposals in the Catalan parliament.

Nevertheless, despite the uncertainty over the budget, Bargalló also confirmed that this year there would be some 670 extra teachers working in the system, along with another 53 educational professionals, amounting to a total teaching staff of 72,535.

Most students in Catalonia begin classes on September 12. Yet, those few parents who will miss having their children at home all day won't have to wait too long, as the schools break up for Christmas vacation on December 21 and don't open again until January 7.