The Consell approved the decree on Friday, 12th June, to create the Infant and Primary Education School (CEIP) Number 16 in Torrevieja, located in the Mar Azul urbanisation. This move aims to strengthen the educational offering of the municipality and address the planned schooling requirements for future years.
The immediate necessity for the facility is highlighted by the fact that its practical implementation has outpaced the official administrative process. Even though it has only just received official approval, the centre has actually been operational for just over a month, opening its doors a few weeks before the conclusion of the school year.
The core objective of the new school is to ensure a proper response to the continuous arrival of new students, enhance overall schooling conditions and boost the capacity of the public education network by adapting to a highly dynamic demand.
Formed following a request from the school community to divide CEIP Number 15, the new CEIP Number 16 will ultimately feature a total of 27 educational units once it is fully developed over the next few years. This will comprise nine units for the second cycle of Early Childhood Education and 18 units for Primary Education. The total maximum capacity will stand at 675 student places, with 225 allocated for Early Childhood Education and 450 for Primary Education.
For the 2025-2026 academic year, the school is running 13 active classrooms. These are split between two classrooms for the second cycle of Early Childhood Education and 11 for Primary Education, accommodating up to 325 students. The available spaces will be gradually expanded until the full capacity of planned classrooms is reached.
The Generalitat emphasised that the establishment of CEIP Number 16, which is affiliated with the IES Mare Nostrum, means the municipality has now seen its third newly established public school across the last three academic years. In the 2023-2024 academic year, CEIP Maestro Lafuente (Number 14) was established, followed by Number 15 in the 2024-2025 academic year, and now Number 16. The Consell noted that this development mirrors the continuous growth of the school-age population in the area and represents the commitment of the Generalitat to expand the public education system to manage the increase.
However, authorities did not mention that the facility was originally constructed using prefabricated classrooms, and that the municipality currently has four schools operating out of temporary buildings.
The launch and ongoing operation of CEIP Number 16 requires an initial investment from the Generalitat of 2,846,120 euro, covering both the physical infrastructure and the annual budget for the teaching staff. The decree comes into effect following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Valencian Government (DOGV), though its academic and administrative impact applies retroactively from the start of the 2025-2026 school year.
According to the Valencian government, this initiative aligns with a broader strategy to reinforce public education. Since the 2023-2024 academic year, over 20 new public educational centres have been established across the Valencian Community. This includes first-cycle preschools, infant and primary schools, special education centres, secondary schools, secondary school branches, and integrated public vocational training centres.
Officials concluded that the growth and consolidation of the public education network allows them to satisfy the rising demand for places, enhance territorial equity, manage areas experiencing demographic growth or high enrolment rates, and provide residents with accessible and cohesive public education across all learning stages.
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