← Back to homeLa Casa de la Luz Tarifa
Tarifa, Spain · Private
Illustration · Tarifa
La Casa de la Luz is a school of respectful accompaniment for children from three to twelve in scattered rural settlement near the village of Facinas, in the municipality of Tarifa in the province of Cádiz. The project has matured and changed over almost seventeen years, and the school writes about it exactly that way - as a living undertaking rather than a date. The families are gathered into a collective under the name Asociación Manawee; governance follows sociocracy: the circles Eco-Nutrir, Avanzar and Cuidar with different tasks, and a general body, La Nuez, made of the coordinators and representatives of each circle and resting on the collective knowledge of all members. The school has worked with NEASC since 2020 and describes it as a body that accredits international educational centres and holds the corresponding agreements with the Spanish education administration. In 2024 it received school centre code 11013569 from the Consejería de Educación of the Junta de Andalucía as an international school in Andalusia for the kindergarten and primary stages. One further feature: the school raised the money for its recognition through crowdfunding and lists its donors by name on the front page. The school does not name its language of instruction directly: its pages for families - organisation, stages, admission and fees - are written in Spanish, and the application forms are given in Spanish and in English, so the language of instruction on this card is Spanish.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $5 084 a year
450 EUR a month
The year is counted as ten payments: the school does not say how many payments it takes.
Languages of instruction
Spanish
Class size
about 9 children per companion in kindergarten, about 11 in Elementary
About the fees The school publishes its fees in the questions-and-answers section as a monthly contribution for families who are members of the association (socios colaboradores): 450 euros a month for one child, 805 euros for two and 1125 euros for three. On top of this there is an annual enrolment fee and an initial contribution to the association, which the school asks families to enquire about separately.
Admissions New families first come to one of the two open days the school holds every year in November and in February: a tour of the spaces and a talk about the project, meeting the companions, an explanation of how the association works and of the conditions - school periods, the family's personal involvement and money. Families already in the project confirm they are continuing the next year in the first half of March: form B1 or B2 (for partner members and full members of the association), the receipt for the annual fee and an up-to-date photo of the child. The school names no entrance exam and no language requirement. Children attend from 9:00-9:30 (flexible arrival) to 14:00.
Stages and year groups Grades ages 3-12. The school teaches the kindergarten and primary stages - from three to twelve; school centre code 11013569 was issued by the Junta de Andalucía for infantil and primaria specifically.
Address Camino Salada Viciosa, 30, 11391 Facinas, Tarifa, Cádiz
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 →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
The school does not describe its premises on its website.
Summer camp: the school runs its own camp; whether it takes children from outside is not stated on the website
The school has a summer programme - a section of its own, "Verano".
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
Instead of teachers the school has companions (acompañantes), assigned by experience and education. In kindergarten (ages 3-6) there are two, about one adult per 9 children; the kindergarten companion is in charge of the environment and materials and specialises in environmental education. In Elementary (ages 6-12) there are three, about one per 11 children; Elementary 1 emphasises sport, Elementary 2 hands-on materials and first steps in technology. The school publishes no qualifications by name.
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 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 data55 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