Torrevieja welcomes record number of students. City relies on prefabs and new investments in education
The new school year in Torrevieja starts on Monday, September 8, and it is already clear that it will be an exceptional period - both in terms of the number of students and organizational challenges. This year, 14,488 children and youth will sit in school desks, a historic record for the city.
The largest number of students arrived during the vacations. In July and August alone, more than 700 additional children applied, some of whom had to wait until the last days before the start of the school year to be assigned a place. In the end, everyone received an allocation, but the situation revealed the scale of the pressures facing the local education system.
There is a shortage of staff and places
According to Education Councilor Ricardo Recuero, additions to the teaching staff are still underway in many establishments. The target is to have 1,500 educators in Torrevieja, but their recruitment and assignments are proceeding in stages.
Even more problematic are the school buildings themselves. In just five years, the student population has grown by more than half. City authorities have already had to run temporary schools in modular buildings - CEIP 14, CEIP 15 and IES Eras de la Sal are currently operating this way.
New school in 2026
The most important investment is the construction of the new CEIP No. 16 in the Mar Azul area. Although the school isn't scheduled to start until January 2026, it's already clear that it will operate in prefabricated buildings that will be set up in the fall on the site of the former Amanecer college. The facility is expected to include three lines of classrooms, a cafeteria and full service facilities to at least partially relieve overcrowded schools.
At the same time, a major upgrade is planned for IES Las Lagunas, one of the city's largest schools, which until now has had to work two shifts. The investment, financed by the Generalitat Valenciana, will cost more than €9 million. IES Eras de la Sal is also undergoing expansion, with eight new classrooms for ESO students and possibly a Bachillerato section.
Programs and initiatives for students
In addition to investing in infrastructure, Torrevieja is also continuing social and educational activities. Projects to combat absenteeism and school violence will be maintained, and the local police will relaunch “Patrulla Escolar.”
Innovative extracurricular activities are also planned, from water sports lessons under the “El cole en el mar” program, to astronomy and meteorology workshops conducted in cooperation with Project Mastral. Nor is the city abandoning its Agenda 2030 activities or the “Torrevieja, ciudad de las niñas y los niños” initiative, involving the youngest in the local community.
The next edition of the “Reinventar la educación” congress will be held in the spring of 2026, and an Urban Family School will soon be established to support parents through a series of training sessions and workshops.
A challenge for years to come
While councilors highlight the efforts being made for education, it's hard not to notice that the city is struggling with a permanent shortage of seats and teachers. Each new school year puts Torrevieja in a position of having to put out last-minute fires - best illustrated by the fact that hundreds of children did not receive their seats until the Friday before classes began.
