← Back to homeDragón, el Colegio Americano de Torrelodones
Torrelodones, Spain · Private
Illustration · Torrelodones
Dragón is an American school in Torrelodones, north-west of Madrid, on Calle Tampico. The school describes its model as joining the American system to its own Qualia Based Learning method, and it leads to a double qualification: an American High School diploma recognised by universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and France, and the Spanish Bachillerato, recognised by Spain's Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sport. The stages run from Dragonfly - the second cycle of Infantil from three to six - through Elementary School to Middle & High School. From the age of three lessons are largely in English; the community has more than 40 nationalities and 80 per cent of the teaching staff are native speakers or bilingual. One feature the school puts on its front page: no electronic devices at all until Grade 7, and after that a conscious and responsible use of technology. Nature sits inside the timetable, not only in the break.
Key facts
Programmes
American programme
Languages of instruction
English, Spanish
Admissions The school makes admission individual: the process is built around the family, so as to see whether its educational model matches the family's expectations and the child's needs. Dragonfly takes children from the age of three into a mixed-age second-cycle Infantil environment. Separately the school runs the Dragon Talent Scholarship: eight scholarships for students aged 6 to 17 with a talent in sport, the arts, science, entrepreneurship or study, worth up to 100 per cent of the cost of teaching services; applications close on 1 November 2026. The school takes foreigners: its community has more than 40 nationalities. Applications are accepted all year - pre-registration never closes - for ages 3 to 18, from the second cycle of Infantil to the baccalaureate; the school promises a reply within 24-48 hours on working days, and when a place is available it sends the enrolment instructions by email.
Stages and year groups Grades Dragonfly (Infantil) from age 3 - Middle & High School. The stages are: Dragonfly - the second cycle of Infantil from three to six, Elementary School, Middle & High School, and preparation for university entry. There are no electronic devices in the school until Grade 7.
Address C/ Tampico 9, Torrelodones
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
NEASC · accreditationschool 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
NEASCNew England Association of Schools and Colleges
An American accreditation working since 1885. For international schools it uses an approach where the visitors look first at live lessons rather than at folders of paperwork: the team works in the school for about a week. It is the only one here whose public directory honestly separates accredited schools from candidates.
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 →American programme
The American school programme, with the High School Diploma at the end. It usually comes together with AP courses, which the College Board stands behind, and with an American accreditation - MSA, NEASC or Cognia.
What this means for this school. The diploma is written out by the school itself: the American programme has no common leaving exam, and the content of the senior years is set by the school. Outside checking therefore rests on two things here - the accreditation of the school, and the AP exams if the school runs them.
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: The school stands in a natural setting and calls itself Madrid's ecological school; nature is part of the timetable and there is a WildFitness strand. Meals come from its own kitchen: balanced menus of fresh local and seasonal produce, free of ultra-processed food and added sugar, with gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan options.
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 publishes its team by name: the director Silvia Oriola Tamayo and 16 teachers with their subjects and roles - head of studies Jean Michel Unglas (music and French), the coordinators of High School, Middle School and Elementary School, teachers of English, Spanish, maths and physics, social sciences, art, Wild Fitness physical education and the Dragonfly and Elementary stages. According to the school, 80 percent of teachers are native English speakers or bilingual, and the team is highly qualified with international experience. The school gives no class size or pupil-teacher ratio.
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%)72 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 data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data65 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 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.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country