Mi hija va al colegio a pie porque está cerca de casa.

Because a + el normally contracts to al in Spanish.

• Voy al colegio = I go to the school
• Not voy a el colegio

This contraction is mandatory in standard Spanish. The same thing happens with de + el = del.

No. This is a very common false friend.

In Spain, colegio usually means school, especially for younger children. It does not usually mean a university-level college.

A rough guide:

• colegio = school
• instituto = secondary school / high school
• universidad = university

So mi hija va al colegio means my daughter goes to school, not my daughter goes to college.

Spanish normally keeps the article here: al colegio, a la escuela, al instituto.

English often says:

• She goes to school

Spanish usually says:

• Va al colegio

Even though English drops the, Spanish does not. This is just a normal difference between the two languages.

Because Spanish often leaves subject pronouns out when they are not needed.

In va, the verb ending already tells you it is:

• he/she/it goes

So Mi hija va al colegio is perfectly natural, and adding ella would usually only be for emphasis or contrast.

• Mi hija va al colegio = neutral
• Ella va al colegio, no su hermano = emphasis/contrast

A pie is a fixed expression meaning on foot or by walking.

So:

• Va al colegio a pie = She goes to school on foot

You should learn a pie as a chunk. It does not translate word for word very naturally into English.

Spanish often uses different prepositions in transport expressions:

• a pie = on foot
• en coche = by car
• en autobús = by bus
• en tren = by train

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same.

• Va al colegio a pie focuses on the means of transport: she goes on foot
• Camina al colegio focuses more directly on the action of walking

In many everyday contexts, ir a pie sounds very natural because people often talk about how someone gets somewhere.

Because porque is the word for because in a statement.

• porque = because
• por qué = why

Examples:

• Va a pie porque está cerca = She goes on foot because it is near
• ¿Por qué va a pie? = Why does she go on foot?

This is a very common spelling difference to learn early.

Because cerca describes location or position, so Spanish uses estar, not ser.

• Está cerca de casa = It is near home

A useful pattern is:

• estar cerca de = to be near
• estar lejos de = to be far from

Even though English just uses is, Spanish chooses between ser and estar, and with location-related expressions like this, estar is the normal choice.

Here casa means home, not just house.

In some common expressions, Spanish does not use an article with casa when it means home:

• cerca de casa = near home
• en casa = at home
• a casa = home

So está cerca de casa means it is near home.

If you were talking about a specific house in a more literal way, an article might appear in other contexts, but in this everyday expression, no article is normal.

Grammatically, the subject is understood from context. In this sentence, está most naturally refers to the school or the destination implied by al colegio.

So the idea is:

• She goes to school on foot because it is near home

Spanish often leaves out words that are obvious from context. English would often add it, but Spanish does not need to.

The normal and most common way to say my daughter is mi hija.

Spanish usually puts short possessives before the noun:

• mi hija = my daughter
• mi casa = my house
• mi coche = my car

Forms like la hija mía do exist, but they are less neutral and usually sound more emphatic, expressive, or stylistically marked.

So in an ordinary sentence, mi hija is exactly what you would expect.

It is present tense, but in this context it usually describes a habitual action.

So Mi hija va al colegio a pie normally means:

• My daughter goes to school on foot
• not necessarily My daughter is going to school on foot right now

Spanish present tense often covers:

• habitual actions
• general truths
• current actions, depending on context

Here it sounds like a regular routine.

Yes, that is grammatically correct, and many people would understand it perfectly. But va al colegio a pie is often more idiomatic when talking about how someone gets somewhere.

The difference is roughly:

• camina al colegio = she walks to school
• va al colegio a pie = she goes to school on foot

Both work, but the original sentence is a very natural everyday way to say it.