← Back to homeJudy Sharp International School
Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain · est. 1982 · Private
Illustration · Pozuelo de Alarcon
Judy Sharp International School is a small American school in Pozuelo de Alarcón outside Madrid, and the main thing about it has to be said first: it is built for children who find learning hard. The school calls itself a specialist in learning differences and lists plainly what it works with: attention deficit and hyperactivity, dyslexia, dyscalculia, mild forms of autism spectrum disorders. It has been running since 1982, and the Judy Sharp Foundation that owns it since 1976; the school is independent, non-profit and co-educational. It is very small: on average 25 to 30 pupils in total, 4 to 8 per grade, and about four pupils per teacher. There are only two stages, middle and high school, Grades 6 to 12, which is ages eleven to eighteen. Teaching is American, every pupil has an individualised learning plan, and it is reviewed together with the family. A second route runs alongside: a separate official Spanish programme and recognition of the American diploma, so that a leaver obtains the Spanish Título de la ESO and Título de Bachillerato; Grade 9 corresponds to the third year of ESO and Grade 12 to the second year of bachillerato. Lessons are mostly in English with native speakers, and the school states fluent English as a condition: for those who lack it there are ESL classes. The school day runs from 9:30 to 15:30, but the building is open from eight in the morning until 16:30, and teachers are in all that time - a pupil can come for help or a club before lessons and after them. The school draws its pupils from very different families: on its welcome page it names more than 20 nationalities, and it describes itself as a school for English-speaking pupils aged 11 to 18.
Key facts
Programmes
American programme · National programme
Languages of instruction
English
Admissions The school also admits foreigners: it describes itself as an American school for English-speaking pupils aged 11 to 18, names more than 20 nationalities among its pupils and takes its leavers through recognition of their diploma in Spain and on to universities in the United States, Spain and other countries. Pupils are admitted all year round, but the school advises starting the application no later than the end of April. Admission takes four steps and is very personal. The first is an e-mail to admissions@judysharpschool.es; in reply comes a form in which the school asks about the child and for report cards, transcripts and any assessment results. The third step is a meeting with the director, in person or by video. The fourth is placement tests, and the school warns separately that they do not decide admission: the tests show what support the child needs. The family hears back within a few days. Fluent English is required, because almost all lessons, except the official Spanish programme, are taught by native speakers; those whose English falls short get ESL lessons. Financial aid is available to all families on demonstrated need and does not affect the admission decision.
Stages and year groups Grades Grades 6-12, that is ages 11-18: middle school 6-8, high school 9-12. There are two stages: middle school is Grades 6-8 and high school Grades 9-12, from fourteen to eighteen. The school maps this onto the Spanish system year by year: Grade 9 is the third year of ESO, Grade 10 the fourth, Grade 11 the first year of bachillerato, Grade 12 the second. The school day runs from 9:30 to 15:30, Monday to Friday; the building is open from 8:00 to 16:30, and support classes and clubs run in those hours. In high school the required subjects are mathematics from pre-algebra to Algebra II, science and environmental science, history, English literature and Spanish in all four years; electives are fine and performing arts, PE, current events, philosophy, psychology, sociology, art history and online courses.
Address Calle Valentín Robledo 2, 28224 Pozuelo de Alarcón
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
MSA · 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
MSAMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools
One of the oldest American accreditations, working since 1887 in more than a hundred countries and linked to the Office of Overseas Schools of the US State Department. It judges the school as an institution across twelve areas, including finances, governance, premises and student support.
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. Authorisation here runs a year at a time: the register lists the school for the 2025-2026 school year.
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.
National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
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
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school occupies a small detached chalet in Pozuelo de Alarcón - that is how it describes its own building - and it is open from 8:15 to 16:30, with teachers present until half past four. The school names no library, no canteen, no gym and no grounds.
Clubs and activities (3): Ukulele · Esports · Dungeons and Dragons
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 staff is published by name - ten people, each with their degree stated: a director of school with a master's in education, a school psychologist with a master's in psychology, a dean of students, a head of the Spanish programme, teachers of humanities, STEM, middle school and high school, an honorary head with a master's in learning disabilities, and a secretary. The school states the ratio itself - an average of four pupils per teacher, with 4 to 8 in a class.
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 psychologist is the school's own, named, with a master's in psychology, and holds sessions in both Spanish and English. There is a special educational needs coordinator and an individualised learning plan for every pupil, reviewed together with the family; by referral the school gives access to bilingual specialists - a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, a behavioural therapist. All the school's staff receive ongoing training in neurodiversity, executive functioning and restorative classroom practices. The school names no child protection policy, no anti-bullying rules, no medical staff and no security.
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 data60 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 data67 Value for money (6%) scored at the median62 "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