← Back to homeMayrit Escuela Activa
Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain · est. 2015 · Private
Illustration · Pozuelo de Alarcon
Mayrit Escuela Activa is a small active-pedagogy school in Pozuelo de Alarcón near Madrid. It was conceived by families who could not find the school they wanted for their children: in September 2013 they began building the project, in 2015 they opened the doors, and since 2018 the school has worked in a building designed for children together with architects. It is a non-profit project: all income goes back into the school. Mayrit is an American international centre authorised by the Community of Madrid as a foreign centre and accredited by NEASC; it runs a kindergarten from three to six and a primary school from six to twelve, in mixed-age groups. The school combines Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Decroly, creative education and forest school: children choose their own tasks and materials, propose projects, and on Fridays the whole school goes to the forest. English lives through two native-speaker companions who talk with the children all day and through separate play-based sessions; in a conflict or in tears a child is spoken to in their mother tongue. The school day begins with a calm entry at 9:00 and ends at 14:00, followed by lunch and free play. Once a week a clinical and educational psychologist works at the school, and the rules of community life are set out in a plan with mediation and restorative justice.
Key facts
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
Spanish, English
Admissions Admission is open all year, but places usually fill in advance, and for September the school advises applying between January and April. There are four steps: first contact through the form or by telephone, an interview with the pedagogical director Ángeles Blasco, to which the school asks families to bring the child, a visit to the school and formalisation - documents, a place reservation form and a pedagogical agreement; the full list of documents is given at the interview. Children are taken from 3 to 12. The school writes plainly that the interview is needed to make sure the family's expectations match its active pedagogy. Settling in is gradual, with a close adult staying near the child for the first weeks. The school does not write about conditions for children from abroad.
Stages and year groups Grades second cycle of Infantil (from age 3) - Primaria, to age 12. The school runs only the second cycle of kindergarten and primary school, in mixed-age groups: ages 3-6 and 6-12. It has no ESO or bachillerato; pupils' documents, the school says, are as official as at any Spanish school, and they can move to any state, publicly funded or private school without examinations. The day: a calm entry from 9:00 for twenty minutes, a circle, work sessions with materials and workshops, a snack and outdoor play, more sessions, the end of the school day at 14:00, then lunch and free play; on Fridays forest school.
Address C. Orense, 108, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, 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
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: Since 2018 the school has occupied a building on calle Orense in Pozuelo de Alarcón, designed by the teachers together with architects: bright prepared environments with materials for independent work, a garden and a yard for play. Lunch is provided by a healthy catering service. On Fridays lessons take place in the forest, and on weekdays the school goes out into the town - to libraries, shops and public transport.
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 no number of teachers and no child-adult ratio, but presents its team by name, with their training. The pedagogical director Ángeles Blasco is a psychologist (Universidad Camilo José Cela) with a master's in child psychology and training in Montessori and active pedagogy. The companions: Charo Sanz - a primary teacher and Montessori guide for ages 3-6 and 6-12; Amara Gómez - with a double degree as kindergarten and primary teacher; Ben Galvin and Alyssa Spry - native English speakers, fine arts graduates, trained in forest school. Once a week a clinical and educational psychologist, a specialist in learning difficulties, works at the school. The school calls its teachers companions.
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 policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school has a written coexistence plan under Madrid decree 32/2019, with mediation, group assemblies and restorative justice, which can be downloaded from the site. Once a week a psychologist specialising in learning difficulties works at the school, and the school collaborates with the Instituto Integral de Educación y Salud Mental. At difficult moments a child is spoken to in their mother tongue. The school names no medical worker, security staff or video surveillance.
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 data65 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 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