← Back to the rankingSEK International School Dublin
Greystones, Ireland · est. 1981 · Private
Illustration · Greystones
SEK International School Dublin is a private, non-denominational, co-educational school for students aged 12-18, founded in 1981. It sits above Greystones in County Wicklow, between Bray and Greystones, about 35 minutes from central Dublin: a campus of over 250000 m² next to the N11, reachable by DART or the 84/A bus. The school describes itself as the first in Ireland authorised to teach the IB MYP and DP; today it runs the five-year MYP and the two-year DP. All lessons are in English: the school states that "Our entire curriculum is delivered in English", while Spanish, as part of the school heritage, is developed separately; French, German and Irish are also offered. Students are local Irish and international day students from Dublin and the surrounding area plus international students living away from home; the Head mentions over 22 nationalities. The ratio is 8 students per teacher. Lessons run Monday to Friday 8:30 to 16:30, and on Saturdays from 10:00 there is a cultural programme: museums, galleries, trips around Ireland (Galway, Cork, Belfast). International students can join short immersion programmes: one or two terms of MYP or one year of MYP. The school works with Fundación Real Madrid on football programmes and takes part in F1 in Schools; students can go on exchanges to group schools in Spain and France.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · MYP, DP · Spanish programme
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Spanish, French, German, Irish
Students per teacher
8 students per teacher
About the fees The school does not publish tuition fees on either the English or the Spanish version of the site; prices are given on request. SEK group scholarships are available through the Fundación Felipe Segovia: excellence scholarships for the DP, sports scholarships and an award for the best SEK student (2026-2027 call).
Admissions The school admits both local and international students: "The school welcomes local day students and international students to whom two options of accommodation are offered: Boarding on campus or Home Stay with local families." Steps: enquiry by web, email or phone, an optional visit, then an interview; documents (ID of parents and child, report cards for the previous and current year) are uploaded to MySEK Admissions, and students who cannot sit the tests at school have an online interview. The Admissions Committee decides; places are limited. The Spanish version of the site says places are offered all year round. Students from outside the EU need a study visa (from some countries it is obtained in Ireland with the letter of acceptance). Every international student must have a guardian in Ireland regardless of age, and private health insurance; according to the school, guardianship costs from 1000 to 4000 euro a year, and the school keeps a list of agencies. Besides the full course (5 years MYP, 2 years DP), international students can come for one MYP term (September to December), two terms (January to June), one year of MYP or the two years of the DP.
Stages and year groups Grades MYP 1 - DP 2. Two IB programmes in sequence. IB MYP - five years, roughly from 11-12 to 16 (the Spanish version of the site calls this stage Educación Secundaria for ages 11-16); IB DP - two years, ages 16-18, described as a pre-university programme. The leaving qualification is the IB Diploma. The school writes that it is undergoing NEASC accreditation and will soon be able to offer an accredited American High School Diploma to DP graduates. It also prepares students for Cambridge, DELF, Instituto Cervantes and Goethe-Institut language exams. The school does not mention the Irish Junior Cycle or Leaving Certificate.
Address Belvedere Hall, Windgates, Greystones, Co. Wicklow, A63 EY23
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · MYP, DP · authorised programmeNEASC · accreditationMEFPDSEK Education Group · school is part of the networkThe IB register lists the Middle Years and Diploma programmes at the school. The school is accredited by NEASC. The Spanish Ministry of Education lists it among private Spanish schools abroad (as San Estanislao de Kostka): for students from Spain the school certifies the ESO course. It belongs to the SEK Education Group network.
school 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
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: MYP (ages 11-16), DP (ages 16-19). MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible. DP is the final stage, ages 16 to 19: six subjects plus a compulsory core of theory of knowledge, an extended essay and CAS. The diploma is accepted by universities all over the world, and in a number of countries it counts for admission on the same footing as the local leaving certificate.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →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 →MEFPDMinistry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports of Spain
A school of the Spanish education system abroad: run by the Spanish state, or a private Spanish school supervised by the ministry, or a school under an agreement with the ministry. The curriculum is Spanish, and leavers receive the Spanish certificate. Every such school is named in Spain's state register of schools, each with its own code.
What the badge means for this school. This is a Spanish school abroad, and that can be checked in Spain's state register. The entry is not a quality inspection: a school is on the register as part of the Spanish system, not as the outcome of an assessment. The curriculum and the certificate are Spanish. What other programmes the school offers, and what it charges, are on its own website. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Spanish programme
The state school programme of Spain, with the Spanish certificates: ESO at 16 and the Bachiller after the baccalaureate.
What this means for this school. The programme is set by the Spanish Ministry of Education, which also names the school in its state register of schools, in the "abroad" section. Leavers receive Spanish qualifications: the Graduado en ESO after secondary school and the título de Bachiller after the baccalaureate. They are used for entry to Spanish universities; in other countries they are matched to local ones.
SEK Education Groupschool network
A Spanish educational organisation, founded in 1892 in the historic centre of Madrid; the site calls it Institución Educativa SEK. The numbers diverge: the "History" page speaks of 10 schools and one university, the "About us" and "International schools and university" pages list 13 schools by name. There are more than 7,000 pupils, aged from 4 months to 18 years. The countries: Spain, Ireland, France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The group also includes the Camilo José Cela University and the Felipe Segovia Foundation.
What this means for this school. The network owns or operates the school. Its accreditation and programme authorisation the school obtains separately, in its own name.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Where leavers go: Stanford University · Yale University · Georgetown University · University of Chicago · New York University · University of Toronto · Cambridge University · Oxford University · Imperial College London · University College London (UCL) · King's College London · University of Edinburgh
and others, 19 universities in the school's list in allUniversity preparation starts in MYP 5 with a career guidance counselor and interview workshops. The school states that 90% of students obtain the score required to enroll in their declared major. The list of college and university acceptances is given without years: USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Israel, Qatar, Australia.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
✓Laboratories
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
✓Boarding
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Makerspace
Clubs and activities: Football · Golf · Horse-riding · Piano · F1 in Schools · Fundación Real Madrid After School Football Programme · Saturday Program
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 school cites a ratio of 8 students per teacher and small classes. According to the Head, teachers have strong international profiles and IB expertise; the school does not publish the number of teachers or their qualifications. A career guidance counselor works with students from MYP 5.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
✓Security staff
·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 campus has a Guidance Department staffed by specialists in different age groups: it detects learning difficulties, reports on student progress to teachers and families and advises on university choices. The boarding halls have round the clock security. International students are taken to the Greystones medical centre or the VHI Swift Clinic accompanied by the family coordinator. School coaches are certified to ISO 9001, have seat belts, and routes are supervised by school staff. The school does not publish a child safeguarding policy on its site.
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%)90 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data70 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data70 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)95 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data80 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 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