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IB and British
Ages 2 to 18

The British School of Barcelona Verified badge.pink.sm

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CityBarcelona
CurriculumsIB and British
Leaving qualificationsIGCSE, A-Levels, and IB Diploma
Language of instructionEnglish
Age RangeAges 2 to 18
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Quick summary of key school information

Leaving qualifications IGCSE, A-Levels, and IB Diploma
Language of instruction English
Native English teachers
Extra languages (other than English)
Class sizes Average 20 students / class
Maximum 24 students / class
Extracurricular activities
School bus
School's webpage:
Yearly fees: from: €7,550
to: €18,300
This school has more than one campus in Barcelona:
BSB Castelldefels Campus: Ages 3 to 16

Address: Carrer de la Ginesta, 26, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain

BSB Sitges Campus: Ages 2 to 11

Address: Passeig Isaac Albéniz, s/n, 08870 Sitges, Barcelona, Spain

BSB Nexus Campus: Ages 16 to 18

Address: Carrer de la Ginesta, 2-10, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain

BSB City Foundation Campus: Ages 3 to 11

Address: Carrer de l’Esperança, 32 08017 Barcelona Spain

BSB City Main Campus: Ages 3 to 18

Address: Carrer Lucà, 1, 08022 Barcelona Spain

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All the details about this school in their own words

We have organised the information available for this school into 10 sections and 41 questions. Click or tap on the name of each section to read more.
Number of students

1,953 pupils

Number of nationalities represented in the school

74 nationalities

Most common nationality

Spanish

Ratio of local students to international students

36%

Native English speaking teachers

Yes

Language support for students not fluent in English

Yes, EAL support (English as an Additional Language)

Additional language classes offered by the school

- Spanish
- Catalan
- French/German: as foreign languages. These are optional subjects in Year 7 (first year of Secondary) which must be taken in Year 7 and Year 8.
In Year 9 they have the option to continue with their chosen language or not. They are also optional subjects as GCSE in Year 10 and Year 11, and as A Level in Year 12 and Year 13.

Additionally, we offer as after-school activity:
- Russian as a first language: for Russian students who want to perfect their mother tongue. The course follows the same programme as the schools in Russia.
- Elementary German: for students who wish to learn German as a second or third language.
- Spanish: accelerated programme of Spanish as a foreign language for students who join BSB without previous knowledge of the language.
- Catalan: accelerated programme of Catalan as a foreign language for students who join BSB without prior knowledge of the language.

Max. number of students per class

Early Years: 20; Primary: 24; Secondary: 20; Pre-University/Sixth Form: 16

Average number of students per class

Early Years: 20; Primary: 24; Secondary: 20; Pre-University/Sixth Form: 16

Does the school employ teaching assistants?

Yes

Use of technology in the classroom

Each pupil from Years 3 to 7 receives their own iPad and, from Year 8 onwards, a laptop.
Classrooms are equipped with SMARTScreens.
We make use of educational tools and software, such as MS Teams, OneNote, Flip Grid, Tapestry, Seesaw, Century Tech and Learning Through Questions...

Is the school ready to use virtual classrooms when needed? (e.g. teaching lessons online if the school is closed, e.g. during COVID-19 closures)

Yes, we use Microsoft Teams and classrooms are equipped with cameras to enhance the virtual experience

Do students practice religion at the school? What religion?

No. We are a nondenominational school. As a truly international school, we respect and celebrate all cultures and religions.

External examinations or assessments available

(I)GCSE, A Levels and IBDP

Results in these examinations

A Levels:
46% of grades were awarded at A*-A
22% of students achieved A* and A grades in all their subjects
100% of Chemistry grades being awarded at A*

IBDP
98% success for our IB contingent
50% of grades were awarded 7 to 9 (A*-A)
50% of all French and German grades were awarded at 9
25% of all English Language grades were awarded at 9

GCSE
20% of grades were awarded at 9
50% of grades were awarded 7 to 9 (A*-A)
50% of all French and German grades were awarded at 9
25% of all English Language grades were awarded at 9

Do teachers assign homework to their students?

Yes

Approximate hours of homework given

Half an hour

Percentage of students who pursue further education post-graduation

In 2023, 85% went straight to university or college directly after graduation, with the rest going on a Gap year or into National Service

Approximately 37% of our leavers chose to go on to study in the UK, gaining entry to some of the very best UK universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, York, Warwick, Imperial College London, King's College London, Bristol, Exeter and UCL (University College London).

The picture for Spain was equally strong with 34% of our graduates choosing to remain in Spain and gaining places and, in several cases, scholarships to excellent public and private universities.

14% of our students have secured places at universities in the Netherlands (Groningen, Amsterdam, Delft and Rotterdam amongst others). We also have several students going to other European universities in Stockholm, Berlin, Nicosia and Milan, to name but a few.

Four students travelled to US universities to continue their studies.

Dedicated staff/programs for students with special learning needs

Our student support department is made up of the following members:
- Director of Student Support
- Safeguarding and Protection Coordinators
- Personal Development Co-ordinators
- Learning Support Coordinators
- Specialist Learning Assistants

The team offers help in and out of the classroom, workshops and fully personalised support, whether academic, emotional or social. Support is provided when a student has a need, identified by teachers, family or the student themselves. It may be that a student needs additional support for a limited period of time or it may be that they need it throughout their school career. Support is always tailored to the individual needs of each student.

The student support services team has a wide range of qualifications and specialisations including:
- Psychology
- PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education)
- Masters in Intervention in Learning Disabilities
- Postgraduate Certificate: National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination
- Specialisation in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Childhood and Adolescence.
- Master's Degree in Neuropsychology
- Postgraduate in Emotional Education and Well-being
- Master's Degree in Inclusive Education

Learning support offered

Each individual child’s progress is monitored, measured, and evaluated on a regular basis. This allows our student support team to intervene in a timely manner when a student requires additional support or an alternative approach to boost their learning. This could be by scaffolding their learning or stretching and challenging them, targeting the area of need and building on the student’s strengths to enhance their learning experience.

At BSB we have a 3 tiered approach to supporting students' learning:
- UNIVERSAL: Quality first teaching for all. This is the quality first teaching your child will receive from their class teacher in the classroom. It may include adaptations to match learning needs or focussed work within lessons.
- TARGETED: Additional interventions to enable children to work at age-related expectations or above. The Student Support Team offer additional support as appropriate and work closely with teaching staff to support the provision of a differentiated curriculum that meets the needs of all students by:
This takes the form of a 4 part approach:
1. Assessing your child’s needs
2. Planning the most effective and appropriate intervention
3. Providing this intervention
4. Reviewing the impact on your child’s progress towards their individual learning outcomes
Specific targeted one to one or small group interventions may run inside or outside of the classroom. If taking place outside of the classroom, they will be carefully planned to minimise the disruption to the regular curriculum.
- SPECIALIST: Highly personalised interventions. This is targeted provision for a small percentage of children who either require a high level of additional support or specialised provision in order to address their needs.
It may be necessary to seek specialist advice and regular long-term support from a professional outside of the school in order to plan for the best possible learning outcomes. When this is the case, we support familiies in finding the best professionals and work with them in close collaboration.

The school supports gifted, able and talented students

We follow an adaptive teaching approach, offering personalised instruction to accommodate each child's unique learning pace. We believe that every student, regardless of their current ability, should be challenged appropriately to meet their individual needs.

Moreover, we provide tailored learning experiences for our more able learners to ensure they can reach their full potential.

Student access to education psychologist

Yes, these are part of our Learning Support team

Entry evaluation for students

Yes, pupils applying for places in Year 3 and above at BSB School must have an age-appropriate level of spoken and written English. They will be required to sit an English language assessment.

Brief description of entry evaluation required

Pre-Nursery & Early Years: Children applying for Pre-Nursery (at BSB Sitges only), Nursery and Reception places are not required to have any prior knowledge of English.

Primary: Pupils applying for places at Years 1 and 2 must have an age-appropriate level of spoken English. Pupils applying for places in Year 3 and above at BSB School must have an age-appropriate level of spoken and written English. They will be required to sit an English language assessment. Previous school reports and a reference will also be requested. A meeting between the Head or Deputy Head of Primary and the pupil will be arranged.

Secondary: Students applying for places in the Secondary department (Years 7-11) must have an age-appropriate level of spoken and written English. They will be required to sit an assessment of English language. An academic school reference and the most recent school reports must be submitted. A meeting between the Head of Secondary and the pupil will be arranged.

Pre-University: Pre-University candidates (Years 12-13) will be required to provide evidence they have achieved five 9-4 GCSE’s, or their equivalent, in their previous school. Candidates will also be required to present past school reports and an academic school reference. Candidates will sit an English language assessment and a Maths assessment designed to assess if they have a level of English and Maths that will allow them to participate in the Pre-University curriculum. Beyond this, candidates may be asked to sit exams specific to the subject areas they wish to study, depending on each candidate’s individual application. These exams will be appropriate to the candidate’s year group.

Waiting list

Yes

Deadline for registration (new academic year)

We do not have a deadline. As an international school we enrol all year round as long as there is availability of places in the required year group

Students can join after academic year begins

Yes, our enrolment is ongoing throughout the year

School start time

8.55 am at all campuses

School finish time

4 pm at BSB Sitges campus and BSB City
4.20 pm (3.40 pm on Fridays) at BSB Castelldefels campus and BSB Nexus

Supervised care before/after school

Yes, we offer early morning & after-school care provision to students from Nursery to Year 6.

In the morning from 8am and from the end of the school day until 6pm (5pm on a Friday). It is available during the after-school activities.

The Tuition Fees for Early Years (Nursery and Reception - and Pre-Nursery at BSB Sitges) include “Guardería” Service (childcare) in the mornings from 8.30am at no charge.

School bus service available

Yes, we offer a reliable school transport service with professional drivers and monitors and a well-maintained fleet of vehicles to bring students safely and promptly to and from school.

We currently operate fifteen regular routes, plus three shuttles, covering most of the areas where the nearly three hundred and seventy pupils who use the service to travel to school live. Different bus routes are available for each of our campuses. These are reviewed annually to meet the needs of families requiring the service.

For those students taking part in after-school activities at BSB Castelldefels / BSB Nexus, we also operate late shuttles from Castelldefels to Barcelona and to Sitges / Vilanova i la Geltrú. These buses depart at 18.15h Monday to Thursday.

School provided lunches

Yes, we have our own kitchen in the school. Lunch is included for students in Early Years and Primary (up to Year 7) and it is optional in the rest of year groups in Secondary and Pre-University

Food alternatives for special dietary needs (ie. vegan, kosher, halal etc)

We cater for the wide variety of dietary requirements of our international community of students. We offer a range of different meat menus (whether specifically no beef or no pork), a pescatarian menu and also vegan/vegetarian menus.
We take food allergies or intolerances very seriously. We work very closely with parents to ensure we provide the correct and balanced diet for children with food allergies or intolerances.

Uniform required

The school uniform is mandatory for all Early Years, Primary and Secondary students. All students have summer and winter uniform options, as well as a sports kit for PE lessons.
Pre-University students do not have to wear a uniform. However, they are requested to follow our policy on the appropriate dress code

Extracurricular activities or clubs offered

We offer a termly schedule of increasingly popular activities From Early Years to Pre-University, that vary from campus to campus to suit the interests of every child.
From sports to drama, Lego, robotics, arts & crafts, cookery or aloha (mental arithmetic), our specialist clubs give pupils the opportunity to meet new friends, boost social interaction without any requirement or expectation to be at a certain level of skills.
After-school activities are offered on a termly basis and they may vary from year to year. They are tailored to different age groups and scheduled accordingly.
As a general rule, after-school activities will run from 4.30pm to 6pm.
The programme varies from campus to campus. It includes:
- Sports Clubs: such as Football, Basketball, Netball, Rugby, Taekwondo, Multi-Sports, Multi-Skills, Mugendo…
- Creative Clubs: such as Robotics, Arts & Craft, Ballet, Chess, Guitar, Drama…
- Academic Clubs: such as Aloha (Maths), Kitsune (Maths), Maths Puzzle…
- Language Clubs: such as English, German, Spanish, French or Russian

Sports activities included

PE curriculum, multisports, swimming and padel

Sports teams or sport competitions available for students

We have a strong sporting tradition that forms a central tenet of our character education. Our varied sporting curriculum, alongside its rich co-curriculum, is designed to develop grit, resilience, team-work and self-discipline in our pupils - as well as enhancing mental and physical good-health.

At BSB, students have opportunities to participate in sporting trips and competitions locally, nationally and internationally on the world stage. Our sports provision also includes the possibility of joining federated teams to represent the school. We currently have 4 federated clubs that compete in the Catalan Football Federation in the Pre-Benjamin, Alevín, Cadete and Juvenil categories. We also have the first all-girls team in the Infantil category, which competes in the School League. In the School League we also have 3 boy's teams competing in the Benjamin, Alevín and Infantil categories.

Facilities at the school

Our campuses have Science Labs, Learning Resources/Library, Theatre, STEM rooms, Music rooms and individual music booths for rehearsal, fully equipped playgrounds, wellbeing rooms.
We also have the BSB STEM Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that facilitates innovative and flexible teaching methods for Secondary and Pre-University students. It includes a large collaborative Lab space with an innovative gallery suspended from the ceiling that supplies the services (water, gas and electricity), 4 mid-size flexible classrooms for Science lessons and focus groups and a scientific vegetable garden for experiential, hands-on learning.

Sports facilities at the school

BSB Castelldefels campus: a state-of-the art 9,000 m2 rugby and football stadium which is widely used by BSB students for PE lessons, after-school activities and enriched sports offer.
Theres is also an indoor gymnasium, three outdoor multi-sports courts,a multi-game artificial turf pitch

BSB Sitges campus: equipped play spaces and sports areas

BSB City campus: an indoor gymnasium, an outdoor playground marked out for different sports, a padel court

We also offer shared sports facilities with swimming pools, padel and tennis courts with the adjoining sports clubs next door, such as Club Tennis Barcino (BSB City), Club deportivo Granvia Mar (BSB Castelldefels) and Club Natació Sitges (BSB Sitges)

Qualities and characteristics best defining the school

The British School of Barcelona has a well-established and proud reputation for providing great education. Our students leave with excellent academic results, ready to live successful lives.

We achieve this through a combination of academic excellence, giving students more say in their curriculum, our focus on the skills and habits they will need to thrive after BSB, and the best possible personal, social and academic support for every one of our students.

Teaching approach of the school

Our Mission:
The British School of Barcelona is a caring, learning community with high expectations.

Our Educational Aims:
- Academic: We inspire all to be creative, curious thinkers within a culture of support and challenge.
- Character: We provide individual growth through high expectations; demonstrating commitment, resilience & respect for all.
- Global: We are global citizens, embracing difference, cared for and caring, and principled in our beliefs.

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