← Back to homeColegio San Cernin
Pamplona, Spain · est. 1974 · Private
Illustration · Pamplona
Colegio San Cernin is a multilingual state-funded private (concertado) school in Pamplona, run by a cooperative of families, not-for-profit, founded and governed by the parents, with Catholic ideals. It began in 1974, when the nuns of the French order of the Assumption gave up a small school and about three hundred families set up a cooperative to keep it going. Today it has almost 1000 families and about 1600 pupils from age three to the second year of the bachillerato, in two buildings, with four classes per year group and about one hundred places a year. Languages are at its heart: from age three half of the day is in English, French is added from age three once a week and later becomes a language of subjects, and German can be taken from the first year of ESO. The school has run exchanges with France, Germany and the United States from the very beginning, from the sixth grade pupils stay with families abroad, and it takes part in Erasmus+ and is an Ambassador School of the European Parliament. At the final stage there are three paths: the national bachillerato, the International Baccalaureate diploma taken together with it, and BachiBac with the French baccalauréat. Alongside the classes run its own music school, a sports club since 1982, a Social School for volunteering, a school for parents and the San Cernin foundation. The school has twice received the National Education Award and since 1997 has worked to the European EFQM quality model, with a gold seal. In 2025 its leavers passed the university entrance exam at one hundred per cent of those who sat it.
Key facts
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Spanish, English, French
Summer camp
Yes, for its own pupils only
Admissions The school is concertado, and general admission follows the rules of the Navarre education department, which it publishes on its admissions page; the school itself offers an unofficial pre-registration for 2027-2028 and visits booked through the chat, by telephone or by form. The school takes children from other countries and says so directly: among its pupils are children from Chile, China and Argentina, children of foreign parents, and British, American, French, German and other students come for long language immersions; each receives support, an adapted programme and adapted exams. The IB diploma programme takes both its own pupils and pupils from other schools who have completed the fourth year of ESO: pre-registration from December to March, a motivation letter, reports for the third and fourth years of ESO, an interview with the coordinator and a B2 certificate in English and French by the start of the first year. There are 16-22 IB places per class; if there are more applicants, selection is by points: 4 out of 10 for the grade average, 6 for the interview, with a pass mark of 7. BachiBac requires B2 level in French.
Stages and year groups Grades kindergarten from age 3 - 2nd year of bachillerato (to age 18). The school runs the full cycle: kindergarten from age three, primary school, ESO and bachillerato, with four classes per year group and about one hundred places a year. Kindergarten and the first two years of primary are taught in the building on Sancho Ramírez street, the rest on Avenida de Barañain. The bachillerato has three paths: the national LOMLOE bachillerato in the humanities and social sciences and science versions, the IB diploma only for the science track, taken together with the national one, with the IB bilingual diploma for a science subject in English, and BachiBac with the French baccalauréat. The school day in kindergarten is 8:45-16:30, for older pupils until 17:00, for the IB until 18:00, and on Wednesdays mornings only.
Address Avenida de Barañain 3, 31011 Pamplona/Iruña, Navarra
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · 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
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
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: DP (ages 16-19). DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Exam results The school does not publish IB diploma results; it writes that from 2018 to 2025, 113 of its students completed the full diploma programme. For the university entrance exam the school reports that in 2025 all its leavers passed, one hundred per cent of those who sat it. In PISA for Schools 2025 its best result, according to the school, was in reading; it gives no figures.
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
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: Two buildings in Pamplona: Sancho Ramírez 17 for kindergarten and the first two years of primary, Avenida de Barañain 3 for older pupils. Each has its own library with books in the school's four languages and nine computers. The canteen serves all ages, run by an outside company and taking allergies into account; the youngest have their own lunch hour and a nap. There is an assembly hall, a chapel, early drop-off and after-school care, a school bus from home and a bus between the two buildings.
Clubs and activities (7): San Cernin Music School · Club Deportivo San Cernin · Theatre group · Debate tournaments · Speaker's Corner · Social school · Erasmus+
Summer camp: the school runs its own camp, but only for its own pupils
In the first days of the holidays, at the end of June, the school runs an urban day camp for younger children in its building, with games, dressing up and crafts. It publishes no dates, no price and does not say whether children from other schools are taken.
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 of its teachers or their qualifications. It describes a tutorial system: each class has its own tutor, the tutors are trained in mediation, conflict resolution and emotional work, and the guidance department works with them; in addition classes are split into groups for languages, mathematics and Spanish, there are daily revision classes and a programme for gifted pupils. New teachers are welcomed with a separate induction programme.
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 room
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
In both buildings there are staff trained to give first aid and an external medical service for the whole school day, as well as a defibrillator with trained staff. Against bullying and conflict the school runs the Convivencia coexistence programme, help teams of pupils from the fifth year of primary to the third year of ESO, peer mediation and tutors. The guidance department supports pupils with learning difficulties. The school does not name security guards, video surveillance or a written child protection policy.
Reviews
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Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)82 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data65 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data75 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 Value for money (6%) scored at the median74 "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.
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