← Back to homeBellver College
Palma, Spain · est. 1950 · Private
Illustration · Palma
Bellver College calls itself the first and oldest private British school in Spain: founded in 1950, it has taught more than ten thousand pupils over more than 75 years. Teaching follows the English National Curriculum, and English is the language of every subject except Spanish, Catalan and modern foreign languages. The primary stage follows Key Stages 1 and 2 together with the Cambridge Primary 1 programme and a strong Spanish strand: Spanish is offered in two tracks, for native and non-native speakers, and Catalan from Year 2. In secondary, French and German are added, and in Years 10-11 the school prepares pupils for IGCSEs and sits the examinations on campus as a Cambridge and Pearson Edexcel centre. The senior stage is AS and A-Levels. The day is a long one: the gates open at 8:45, lessons start at 9:10, primary finishes at 16:15 and secondary at 16:10, with a Morning Club from 8:00 and an after-school club either side. In the final term the school takes its pupils out to sea - a sailing programme in the Bay of Palma with a local sailing school.
Key facts
Programmes
Cambridge · Primary, IGCSE, A-Level · Pearson Edexcel
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Spanish, French, German
Admissions Admission is open all year: the school accepts applications at any time subject to availability in the relevant year group, and says plainly that places are limited and demand is high. At the primary stage (ages 5-11) an interview with the family is required, and a place is offered on previous school records, availability, and whether the school can meet the child's needs. The admission policy is detailed: all new pupils go through selection, the decision is approved by the Principal, the school may ask the current school for a confidential reference and may refuse a child it believes will not benefit from its programme; siblings of pupils have priority. Key Stage 2 requires an English test based on Cambridge Checkpoint (except for children who have studied for at least two years in an English-speaking school); a pupil with insufficient English must take intensive lessons for at least two terms. Key Stages 3 and 4 require tests in English and mathematics, and Year 11 entry is only after the first year of (I)GCSE in the British system. Year 12 requires at least five (I)GCSEs at grade C or above, including English first language and mathematics, and B/6 for A-Level mathematics; pupils from other international systems take tests at IGCSE level. Young children without English are taken into Infants and Reception without extra support. The school does not write about foreigners or citizenship as such.
Stages and year groups Grades ages 5-18: Primary - Secondary - Sixth Form. Primary follows Key Stages 1 and 2 with the Cambridge Primary 1 programme, secondary Key Stage 3 and the IGCSE years, and the senior stage AS and A-Levels. The gates open at 8:45, registration is at 8:55 and lessons start at 9:10; primary finishes at 16:15 and secondary at 16:10. A Morning Club runs from 8:00 and an after-school club follows lessons.
Address Carrer de Josep Costa i Ferrer 5
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
Cambridge · Primary, IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmePearson · 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
CambridgeCambridge International Education
Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: Primary (ages 5-11), IGCSE (ages 14-16), A-Level (ages 16-18). Primary is the primary stage, ages 5 to 11: English, mathematics and science to Cambridge syllabuses. At the end of the stage a school may run the optional Checkpoint test, which is marked in Cambridge. IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate. A-Level is the senior years, and their results are what British and many other universities admit on.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →PearsonPearson Edexcel, a British exam board
It gives a school approved centre status: that means Pearson exams can be sat in the school itself. What is checked is the premises, the equipment, the secure storage of papers and the presence of trained invigilators.
What the badge means for this school. The school can run Pearson exams on its own premises. The status says nothing about teaching, about results or about the school itself: any school able to run an exam securely holds it. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. Which Pearson qualifications this school is approved for is not stated here.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
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
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: A campus in Palma with its own catering; a Morning Club runs from 8:00 before lessons and an after-school club with clubs follows them.
Clubs and activities (7): Yoga · Robotics · Chess · Krav Maga self-defence · Dance · Duke of Edinburgh's Award · Debating club
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 sizein the key facts above
The school does not give the number of its teachers, but writes that its classes have no more than 15 pupils and that 85 per cent of its teachers are native English speakers. The student support department has an occupational therapist, a speech and language therapist, a visiting psychologist, an English language acquisition teacher and literacy specialist, a special educational needs coordinator, an intensive needs teacher and two assistants. Clubs are led by school staff and outside instructors.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
·Nurse or medical roomnot stated on the website
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school has its own student support department: an occupational therapist, a speech and language therapist, a visiting psychologist for consultations, assessment and emotional support, a special educational needs coordinator, an intensive needs teacher and assistants. Through its partner Linden Global Learning and Support pupils and families get online counselling - for anxiety, self-esteem, transitions, bereavement, and family and peer difficulties. The school describes its campus as a secure urban campus. Its pages name no written child protection policy, medical room or security staff.
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%)95 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data60 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median64 "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 7 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