A number of public schools in Madrid provide a strong education for children of all abilities. The Catholic Church runs a network of State-supported schools that offer high quality  teaching and facilities at a trifling cost. There are also many superb international schools using French and German as the languages of instruction, which serve students and parents of foreign origin who wish their children to maintain ties to their native cultures. In addition, eight reputable British schools are located in Madrid. The university system consists of six public universities and eight private and Catholic ones. Madrid is home to some of the oldest institutions of higher education in the world, among them the Complutense University of Madrid, which also stands out as the largest and most prominent university in Spain.