AbstractThis article examines the school choices of families who have recently experienced downward mobility during the economic crisis in Spain. Based on semi-structured interviews we analyse the educational strategies of the families in a Bourdieusian framework, focusing on how they cope with the loss of their perceived social status. Prior to the crisis, these families of working-class origin improved their social position as a result of their success in economic capital accumulation with a humble increase in social and cultural capital. Our research suggests that the concerns of families confronted with downward social mobility are manifested in tensions related to their school choice in terms of their strategies of resistance and negotiation with regards to the ownership, social composition and corresponding perceived quality of the school. School can symbolically represent the last resort, an indispensable investment in one’s own future and that of the next generation.