← Back to homeAESA Prep Academy of Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain · est. 2016 · Private
Illustration · Barcelona
AESA Prep Academy of Barcelona is a private American high school in Barcelona's Pedralbes district for international pupils, mainly in grades 9-12 (the mission statement names grades 8-12). It belongs to the AESA system, founded in 2009 in Austin, Texas, by the Garza family: they needed a school where a child athlete could train seriously and still receive a strong university-preparatory education. In Barcelona the programme began in 2016 as blended learning for international athletes training in the region, grew over time into a full school and in June 2020 received the official name AESA Prep Academy of Barcelona. The school awards an American diploma and calls itself accredited by Cognia. Lessons are in English. Every year a pupil takes four core subjects - literature, mathematics, science and social studies; besides them Spanish and Catalan as foreign languages, Catalan and Spanish literature and history, art, music, PE, health, journalism and creative writing; for strong pupils there are honors courses and accelerated tracks. Classes are small on purpose, the timetable is flexible and there is less homework than usual - for pupils who are athletes and artists, although the school stresses that it is not only for athletes. The school works with pupils still learning English and with mild learning differences, including dyslexia and ADHD. It publishes its fees itself.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $16 946 a year
15 000 EUR
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Spanish, Catalan
About the fees The school publishes its fees itself: 15000 euros for the 2025-2026 school year. What the fee includes, payment plans and financial support the school asks families to check with the admissions team; the page gives no price for 2026-2027.
Admissions The school openly invites international pupils: families living in or moving to Barcelona, and foreigners who need an American diploma abroad; its pupils and staff come from many countries. The application is an online form in four steps with the pupil's passport (Spanish nationals also a DNI), information on languages and level of English, on learning difficulties and on the current school. The school writes that learning difficulties do not affect the admission decision. The school names no entrance exams and no minimum level of English.
Stages and year groups Grades grades 9-12 (8-12 in the mission statement). An American high school with university preparation and an American diploma. Core subjects every year: literature (English 1-4, Catalan and Spanish literature and history), mathematics (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, Calculus), science (biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science), social studies (world geography, world history, US history, government, economics). Languages: Spanish 1-4, Catalan 1-2. Art, music, PE, health, journalism, creative writing. There are honors courses and accelerated tracks.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cognia · accreditationCollege Board · authorised programmeschool is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
CogniaCognia, formerly AdvancED
The widest-reaching American accreditation: some forty thousand schools in over a hundred countries. It accredits both individual schools and whole school systems. It also sells a paid membership with no inspection behind it, and that membership is often passed off as accreditation.
What the badge means for this school. The school has been through this organisation's accreditation. It was judged as a whole: governance, safeguarding, staff, premises, teaching. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →College BoardCollege Board, the AP programme
An American organisation that allows a school to put the letters AP on a pupil's transcript. The permission is granted course by course and tied to a particular teacher, it has to be renewed every year, and College Board reads the course syllabus before granting it.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run advanced AP courses - not the school as a whole, but one by one: by subject and by teacher. Governance, safeguarding and the primary years are not part of that check. Which subjects are actually approved is visible in the ledger. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Where leavers go: Columbia University · Stanford University · Vassar College · Baylor University · Rutgers University · University of Washington · Louisiana State University · University of Alabama · University of Delaware · Savannah College of Art and Design · The Culinary Institute of America · Tecnológico de Monterrey
and others, 22 universities in the school's list in allThe list of universities on the alumni page is common to the AESA system - about 50 universities and colleges in North America and institutions in Europe, Asia and Australia; the school writes that many leavers receive academic and athletic scholarships. There is no separate list of Barcelona leavers by year.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The campus is in Pedralbes, one of Barcelona's quietest and most prestigious districts, between Oreneta Park and the Collserola natural park; nearby are consulates, private schools and the Pedralbes Monastery. The school has its own garden where, thanks to the mild climate, events are often held. The school describes no other facilities.
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The school does not publish the number or qualifications of its teachers. Classes, it says, are small on purpose so that the teacher can adapt to each pupil; the school has experience with pupils learning English and with mild learning differences.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
The school says nothing on its website about security, medical care or pupil support.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)60 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data70 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data60 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country