← Back to homeLa Matriz Learning Community
Soto del Real, Spain · est. 2023 · Private
Illustration · Soto del Real
La Matriz Learning Community is a small active-learning school in Soto del Real near Madrid. It was created by a group of families who wanted a school centred on the wellbeing of children, families and teachers, and took as a model American community schools with parent involvement: they contacted the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, travelled to Boston and New Haven and trained in creating new schools. Pedagogical coordination is provided by the Eureka project, which grew out of Jardín Pirata. The school opened with all authorisations in March 2023 and intends in time to offer all stages from 0 to 18. It now describes stages equivalent to the second cycle of kindergarten, primary and secondary school in Spain, and teaches subjects of the American system together with Spanish language and culture. Its work combines the Montessori method, forest school with weekly outings into nature, and inquiry-based learning. For parents there is a coworking space at the school and meetings and courses on conscious parenting and non-violent communication.
Key facts
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Spanish
Admissions The school does not set out admission conditions on its site: it invites families to request information through the form or by telephone and to come to open days. In the coworking space, priority goes to new families going through adaptation from scratch and to families with the youngest children.
Stages and year groups Grades Infantil (3 years) - Secundaria. The school runs the second cycle of kindergarten, primary school for children of 6-12 and a secondary stage, equivalent to the Spanish ones; primary classes are mixed-age. Kindergarten is built on free play and movement, primary school on the transition from concrete to formal thinking at each child's own pace, secondary on social relationships and suitable challenges. The subjects are those of the American system plus Spanish language and culture.
Address Calle San Lorenzo 33, 28791 Soto del Real, Madrid
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 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: Classrooms designed as a safe space for small children; beyond the school door nature becomes the place of learning, with forest school days on Fridays in the surroundings of Soto del Real. There is a coworking room for parents.
Teaching staff
The school publishes neither the number of its teachers nor their qualifications.
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 data60 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