← Back to homeSecond Body Montessori
Valencia, Spain · Private
Illustration · Valencia
Second Body Montessori is a private bilingual Montessori school in the centre of Valencia, on the Plaza Rodrigo Botet. It takes its name from the 'second body system' described by Thich Nhat Hanh in his book Happiness: everyone in the community has a person they look after as an extension of themselves, and so care closes into a circle; the school calls this its main principle for children, families and staff. The school has no kindergarten: it starts at six and runs Lower Elementary for grades 1-3, Upper Elementary for grades 4-6 and an adolescent programme for grades 7-10. Teaching is bilingual: in each environment two Montessori guides work, one teaching in Spanish and the other in English, and both teach all subjects; on top of them there are teachers of visual arts, music, physical education and Valencian. The Montessori programme also draws on the American Common Core, and instead of marks children assess their own work on the basis of the teacher's observations, checking in every week and recording what they have done in a diary; the school builds life skills on the model of the Scouts programme. Outings into the city are a compulsory part of learning: museums, cultural institutions, the supermarket, historic quarters. Older pupils have mentoring, student micro-businesses, service learning, a podcast and a blog. The founder, Tess Igarta, is an elementary guide and teacher trainer of the American Montessori Society. The school writes that it is seeking recognition from the Spanish ministry of education, NEASC accreditation and American Montessori Society accreditation.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $9 320–11 015 a year
825–975 EUR a month
The year is counted as ten payments: the school does not say how many payments it takes.
Languages of instruction
English, Spanish
About the fees The school publishes its fees for 2026 monthly: the elementary stage is 825 euros a month, the secondary stage 975 euros a month. The school does not state the number of payments a year. The fee covers tuition, meals (lunch, morning and afternoon snacks) and materials. A one-off enrolment fee for new pupils is 925 euros. On top of the fee come extracurricular activities and class excursions. Family discounts: 8.5% for the second child and 10% for the third. Morning care from 8:00 to 9:00 costs 40 euros a month or 5 euros a day.
Admissions The school has announced admissions open for the 2026-2027 school year. Children are taken from the age of six: Lower Elementary takes children born in 2018-2020, Upper Elementary those born in 2015-2017, and the adolescent programme starts with those born in 2011-2014. Admission begins with a form on the site and an email to the school; the school writes that it wants to meet families whose goals match its approach. The enrolment fee covers an introductory orientation, parent education, an evaluation of the pupil's language, placement in a suitable environment and an annual family meeting with the founder. The school names no entrance examinations and no requirement to know Spanish or English.
Stages and year groups Grades Lower Elementary (grade 1, age 6) - Adolescent Program (grade 10). Three stages in mixed-age groups: Lower Elementary, grades 1-3, ages 6-9; Upper Elementary, grades 4-6, ages 9-12; the Adolescent Program, grades 7-10, from 12. There is no pre-school stage. Instead of lessons by the bell, children work in long uninterrupted periods and do projects. The day runs from 9:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday and from 9:00 to 15:30 on Friday; morning care from 8:00 to 9:00 is paid. The school does not state group sizes.
Address Plaza Rodrigo Botet 6, 46002 Valencia, Spain
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 →Montessori
The pedagogy of Maria Montessori: a child chooses the activity, works at their own pace with special materials, and mixed-age groups are arranged so that older children teach the younger ones. It is used most often in the nursery and primary stages.
What this means for this school. The name Montessori belongs to nobody: any school may call itself a Montessori school, and there is no single body that checks this. There are associations that train teachers and recognise schools, but membership of them is voluntary, and our entry means exactly that the school describes itself this way. This pedagogy has no leaving certificate, so what to look at is what the school finishes with.
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
Also on site: Art studio · Makerspace
Campus: The school stands on the Plaza Rodrigo Botet in the centre of Valencia, reachable by public transport, by bike lane and by car, and the park in the old Turia riverbed is a few minutes away. Inside there are Montessori environments open to children all day, a handwork workshop, an art workshop and a café-gallery where pupils gain work experience. Its own kitchen cooks home-made balanced food every day, taking diets into account; the children lay the table and clear up after themselves.
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 team is listed by name, twelve people: seven Montessori guides, four of them teaching in Spanish and three in English, a Valencian teacher, teachers of visual arts, music and physical education, and the founder Tess Igarta. The founder writes of herself that she has more than 10 years of experience as a guide, programme leader and director and holds American Montessori Society credentials as an elementary guide and a teacher trainer. The school has an advisory board of Montessori specialists, among them three recipients of the AMS Living Legacy award, with more than 135 years of experience between them. Each environment has two trained Montessori guides. The school does not state the pupil-teacher ratio or group sizes.
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
·Counsellornot stated on the website
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The enrolment fee includes the pupil's accident insurance. In relationships the school relies on Positive Discipline and the principle of respect for oneself, for others and for learning, and the 'second body system' means that someone in the community looks after every child. Outings into the city are accompanied by a teacher. The school names no security guards, no video surveillance, no medical room, no psychologist and no written child protection policy.
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 data65 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.
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