Plans advance for major refurbishment of eastern Costa del Sol secondary school

At more than 60 years old, the Reyes Católicos secondary school in Vélez-Málaga on the eastern Costa del Sol is the oldest of its kind in the municipality. The lack of significant investment over these six decades has led to serious deficiencies including cracks, lack of space, inadequate emergency exits, architectural problems and an outdated electrical system. A comprehensive renovation project for its facilities, which are used daily by a thousand pupils and teachers, has been in place since 2008, but it has yet to be implemented.

However, there are signs that the project may be closer. The Junta de Andalucía’s spokesperson for educational development and vocational training in Malaga, Miguel Briones, announced a first target date during a visit to Vélez-Málaga town hall on Monday 24 November.

The tender for drafting the comprehensive renovation project for the school is scheduled to be launched in the first quarter of 2026, with an initial estimated cost of 450,000 euros, compared to the 300,000 euros previously budgeted.

Once the project is drafted the work will have to be put out to tender and carried out, the cost of which is not yet defined. A previous preliminary project estimated these works at two million euros, a figure that Briones now put at three million. The work will include a complete renovation of the building including walls, roofs, windows, enclosures, and accessibility of the buildings, among other things.

Briones said the regional government is considering carrying out the work in phases, so that it can be done while pupils are in class. The school has over a thousand students and gives classes in the evenings as well as during the day.

Schools in Torre del Mar and Chilches

Briones also referred to the Custodio Puga and Blas Infante primary schools in Torre del Mar. The age of both schools and their proximity, combined with their location in the heart of the coastal area of Vélez-Málaga, have led the regional government to propose to the educational community a new school on the outskirts of the town, next to the Joaquín Lobato secondary school, on land already ceded to the regional government by the Vélez-Málaga town hall.

“We are in a very early stage, holding meetings with both schools to assess whether there is an agreement with the educational communities and thus be able to move forward with the administrative process,” Briones explained. He also talked of the possibility of a secondary school in Chilches, on land that has already been made available to the regional government by Vélez-Málaga town hall. “We are committed to putting the basic and detailed design plans out to tender,” Briones said.

Finally, Briones also mentioned the 12-million-euro investment in Malaga province to install air conditioning in schools, of which almost 570,000 euros will be allocated to 29 schools in Vélez-Málaga. “This will complement the work the town hall has already done to install air conditioning in classrooms,” Briones said, adding: “We are not complacent; we know there is still much to be done to improve educational infrastructure and we must ensure that all urban areas have the most equitable educational opportunities possible.”

Mayor of Vélez-Málaga Jesús Lupiáñez thanked Briones for his visit and highlighted “the sensitivity and investment that the Andalusian regional government is demonstrating in Vélez-Málaga,” stating that this new educational roadmap “represents real progress for thousands of pupils and families throughout the municipality.”

“For our town, it is great news to see such an important project as the comprehensive renovation of the Reyes Católicos secondary school being reactivated, a long-standing demand that is finally beginning to take shape. The town hall will support every step of the process.”