Castilla-La Mancha announces English immersion stays at the CRIEC in Cuenca

The Department of Education, Culture and Sports of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha has announced the educational and English immersion stays at the Rural Center for Educational Innovation of Cuenca (CRIEC) for students in the sixth year of Primary Education and the second year of Compulsory Secondary Education during the 2026/2027 academic year. The call is detailed in the Resolution of 10/08/2026, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha number 166, dated August 31, 2026, with reference 2026/6067, and signed by the regional minister Amador Pastor Noheda.

The measure is based on Organic Law 2/2006, of May 3, on Education (LOE), amended by Organic Law 3/2020 (Lomloe), which establishes proficiency in one or more foreign languages as one of the goals of the educational system, and on Decree 3/2026, of February 10, which regulates bilingual and plurilingual programs in non-university stages of the region. The stays will be conducted on a boarding basis in the town of Carboneras de Guadazaón, Cuenca, with a duration of five days and four nights, between October 13, 2026, and June 18, 2027.

Recipients and modalities

Public educational centers in Castilla-La Mancha with students in 6th grade of Primary or 2nd year of ESO enrolled during the 2026/2027 academic year may participate. Each shift will bring together a minimum of two centers, which will form groups of up to 26 students, accompanied by two teachers from the requesting center, at least one of whom must have a B1 level or higher in English according to the CEFR.

Centers may choose from three modalities:

• Modality A: centers with an authorized bilingual English or plurilingual program that present students enrolled in said program.
• Modality B: centers with an authorized bilingual or plurilingual program that present exclusively students not enrolled in it.
• Modality C: centers without an authorized bilingual English program or with a program in another language.

Single-track centers, incomplete centers, or Grouped Rural Centers (CRA) may complete the group with students from other centers through a single participation proposal.

Deadlines and submission of applications

Applications must be submitted exclusively electronically, with an electronic signature, through the Electronic Office of the Administration of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha. The deadline will be ten business days starting from the day following the publication of the resolution in the official gazette. Each center will submit a single application, indicating the order of preference for the quarters and, if applicable, the weeks of participation.

The final resolution will be published on the Education Portal within a maximum period of two months from the closing date for applications. Non-selected centers will form a reserve list by modality.

Selection and recognition

The scoring of the centers will be based on criteria such as participation in previous calls, the seniority of the bilingual program, the type of center, the number of inhabitants in the municipality, and the status of being a center in a difficult-to-staff area. In the event of a tie, a public draw will be held.

Accompanying teachers will receive three training credits per week, up to a maximum of ten, in accordance with the Order of 08/10/2008 of the Ministry of Education and Science. Pedagogical activities will include blocks such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, Scratch programming, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship culture, and healthy physical activity dynamics, with a teaching schedule of thirty hours per week.

The call consolidates the region’s commitment to plurilingualism and coexistence between centers from different localities, offering thousands of students across Castilla-La Mancha the opportunity to improve their communicative competence in English in a real immersion environment, with special attention to rural and smaller centers.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 166, August 31, 2026, III.- Other provisions and acts, p. 31203 (official reference: 2026/6067).