Some 128,693 pupils began the 2026–27 school year on Tuesday across the Tarragona area and the Terres de l’Ebre. For families, the return brings school-material costs and, in some secondary schools, new lunch facilities.

According to the Departament d’Educació i Formació Professional, the Generalitat department responsible for education and vocational training, 98,449 pupils are enrolled in the Tarragona area and 30,244 in the Terres de l’Ebre.

At the state-subsidised, privately run Sant Pau Apòstol school in Tarragona, which has around 1,200 pupils, no teachers joined Tuesday’s strike action. The school opened at about 8.30am for secondary pupils and 9am for children in preschool and primary education.

Enrolment falls in Tarragona but rises in the Ebre area

Publicly run schools educate 73,320 pupils in the Tarragona area, compared with 20,600 in state-subsidised private schools and 4,529 in independent private schools, the department’s figures show.

  • Primary education: 32,282 pupils in Tarragona and 9,919 in the Terres de l’Ebre.
  • Compulsory secondary education: 25,871 pupils in Tarragona and 7,717 in the Terres de l’Ebre.
  • Vocational training: 13,437 pupils in Tarragona and 4,859 in the Terres de l’Ebre.
  • Upper secondary education: 7,274 pupils in Tarragona and 1,872 in the Terres de l’Ebre.

The Tarragona-area total is 1,093 lower than last year’s 99,542 pupils. The Terres de l’Ebre begins the year with more than 3,500 additional pupils, according to the figures.

Families cite costs as pupils return

Tamara Montes, whose son has entered Year 3 of primary school, said her family spent about €300 on the return to school. Sant Pau Apòstol headteacher Pablo Muñoz put the school’s average family cost for books, materials and sportswear at about €500.

Families should use the materials and clothing list issued by their child’s school when budgeting, as the €500 figure is Sant Pau Apòstol’s estimate rather than a standard charge for every school.

Mireia Cram, mother of a child starting I5, the final preschool year for five-year-olds in Catalonia, said she supported teachers’ reasons for taking action while welcoming the fact that Sant Pau Apòstol had no strike participation. Cram and her partner work in healthcare, she said, making school stoppages difficult to manage around essential shifts.

“We understand and share why they are mobilising, because teachers support our children’s future and their progress depends on them,” Cram said.

Muñoz said agreements between the education department, employers and unions representing state-subsidised private schools had increased teaching resources for inclusive education at the school.

Four new secondary-school dining rooms planned

The education department has also announced four new dining rooms for secondary-school pupils: one in La Canonja, one in Reus and two in Tarragona. Families seeking to use a new service should check directly with their child’s secondary school, which can confirm whether it is among the centres receiving a dining room and explain its meal arrangements.

At Sant Pau Apòstol, Muñoz said air conditioning is already installed from nursery through I5 and in upper secondary classrooms. This year, primary and secondary classrooms have also started the term with fans.

Primary sources: documents.espai.educacio.gencat.cat, Departament d'Educació. Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament d'Educació de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Generalitat de Catalunya. Departament d'Educació, repositori.educacio.gencat.cat. Reported by reusdigital.cat, diaridetarragona.com, Infocamp, Tarragona21, Modernet Digital, triaescolacristiana.cat, Ràdio Ciutat de Tarragona, Departament d'Educació i Formació Professional, entornweb.com, secundaria.info, La Ciutat, tarragona.cat, comparacolegios.es, diarimes.com, Tarragona Ràdio, Micole.