Three primary schools designed for approximately 1,260 pupils are already accommodating about 1,730, with further applications still awaiting placement.
Schools in Orihuela Costa are facing severe overcrowding, with an estimated shortage of around 600 primary and infant school places.
The coastal area’s three public schools currently accommodate approximately 1,730 pupils, despite having a combined official capacity of just 1,260.
A further 100 applications are awaiting consideration by the school admissions committee, while education sources expect around another 100 late enrolments as families move to the coast during the autumn and throughout the academic year.
Los Dolses Primary School, designed for 360 pupils, currently has around 650. CEIP Playas de Orihuela has approximately 630 children despite an official capacity of 540, while the prefabricated Number 20 school accommodates around 450 pupils in facilities intended for 360.
Education representatives say the long-term solution must include the expansion of Los Dolses, which has awaited additional space for around a decade, and the construction of a permanent replacement for Number 20.
Even with those projects, they warn that a fourth school may still be required.
Classrooms created wherever space can be found
Schools have increasingly relied on temporary classrooms and converted spaces to accommodate rising enrolment.
Storage areas, computer and music rooms, libraries, corridors, staff rooms and spaces intended for early-years activities have reportedly been turned into classrooms.
Education sources say overcrowding is also affecting academic performance. More than 70 per cent of pupils on the coast reportedly arrive with limited knowledge of the teaching language, increasing the need for specialist staff and language-immersion support.
However, schools say they lack the personnel, classrooms and resources needed to provide adequate assistance.
Headteachers have repeatedly raised the issue with education inspectors and regional authorities. They also warn that pupils who have not reached the required academic level cannot always repeat a year because there is simply no room to accommodate them.
School representatives argue that the situation threatens children’s right to a high-quality education and leaves newly arrived families unprepared for the limited services available.
Families left without summer-school places
Parents have also criticised access to municipal summer schools.
Orihuela’s programmes are generally restricted to children attending schools within the municipality. However, many children living on the coast attend schools in nearby Torrevieja or San Miguel de Salinas because of proximity and overcrowding.
Those municipalities often restrict their summer programmes to registered residents, leaving some Orihuela Costa children unable to access either service.
Los Dolses normally organises its own summer school, but the programme has not gone ahead this year, creating additional difficulties for families working in the coast’s busy tourism sector.
Sewage discharges reported at CEIP Los Dolses
The director of Los Dolses Primary School, Isaac Bonafé, has also filed a complaint against a neighbouring residents’ association after another drainage outlet was allegedly installed above the school grounds.
The school says wastewater from adjoining properties has repeatedly been discharged into the children’s play area. Up to 12 outlets have reportedly been identified.
The school management and parents’ association say the problem presents a health risk to more than 600 pupils.
Part of the playground has also been closed because of concerns over the deteriorating boundary wall separating the school from neighbouring properties.
Bonafé said the issue had continued for around 15 years despite repeated complaints to Orihuela City Council, describing it as another example of the longstanding infrastructure and maintenance problems affecting the coast.
