← Back to homeThames British School
Majadahonda, Spain · est. 2015 · Private
Illustration · Majadahonda
Thames British School is a private British school in Majadahonda near Madrid, opened in 2015; it belongs to the British education group Perrott Hill Education, with schools in the United Kingdom, Spain, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, and is accredited by Cambridge International. The school takes children from one year old to 18. Lessons are taught entirely in English following the National Curriculum for England, from Early Years to Year 11, where pupils sit IGCSEs, which in Spain count as the ESO certificate. In the last two years there are two pathways: Cambridge International A Level or the IB Diploma Programme. The school is small: almost every year group has one class, and up to Year 4 each class has a teacher and an assistant. Teachers are native and fluent English speakers with Qualified Teacher Status, many of whom have worked in the United Kingdom. By graduation pupils speak three languages: English, Spanish and French or German; for children who arrive from abroad without Spanish there is a separate Spanish induction programme. Every pupil has a personal tutor, and there is a safeguarding team, a school psychologist, a nurse with a medical room and published safeguarding and anti-bullying policies. After lessons there are 15 clubs, from football and chess to a rock band. In summer the school runs a two-week camp in English in Majadahonda for children aged 4-12 and a two-week trip to England for ages 12-17.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $6 722–16 358 a year
5 950–14 480 EUR
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · IGCSE, A-Level
Admits from
1 year · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Spanish, French, German
Registration fee
≈ $282
250 EUR
Summer camp
Yes, open to all
About the fees The school divides its fees into tuition and school lunch, and charges them either in full before the start of the academic year or in three equal instalments before each term. Annual tuition: 5950 EUR for a half-day Pre-Pre Nursery place, 8760 for full-day Pre-Pre Nursery and Pre-Nursery, 9650 for Nursery and Reception, 10400 for Years 1 and 2, 11200 for Years 3 to 6, 11900 for Year 7, 12850 for Years 8 and 9, 13290 for Years 10 and 11 and 14480 for Years 12 and 13. The fee covers teaching, books and materials and most sports activities; trips and some optional activities and services cost extra. Canteen: 545 EUR for the first term and 410 for each of the others in Pre-Pre and Pre-Nursery, 850 and 635 from Nursery to Key Stage 5. One-off charges after enrolment: an enrolment fee of 250 EUR in Pre-Pre and Pre-Nursery, 500 in Nursery and Reception, 1250 from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5, charged per child and non-refundable; a deposit of 1250 EUR, fully refundable provided all accounts are settled and school property returned. The annual re-enrolment fee is 500 EUR and is deductible from the fees. Sibling discounts on tuition: 10 per cent for the second child, 15 for the third, 20 for the fourth and 50 for the fifth. The school qualifies these amounts: they may vary depending on the student's category, a corporate agreement or another applicable scale.
Admissions The school calls itself an inclusive international school, accepts applications all year round and takes pupils from abroad: it says plainly that many of its pupils come from other countries and do not yet speak Spanish, and for them there is a Spanish induction programme, while in IGCSE international pupils take Global Perspectives instead of Spanish language and literature. Admission has four steps: an enquiry form, an interview and assessment, the school's decision, and an enrolment contract. For the youngest this is an informal conversation with the parents, for primary school the reports from the previous school and a conversation with the child, for Year 7-9 an online test is added, for IGCSE (Year 10-11) exams in mathematics and English, and for A Level an online test or subject exams, an English exam and sometimes a meeting with the head of the senior school; the school may also suggest a conversation with the psychologist. The decision is of three kinds: accepted, postponed or declined; accepted applicants receive a formal offer of a place. Tours run in term weeks, and open days take place on Saturday mornings in January, February, March and April.
Stages and year groups Grades Pre-Pre Nursery (age 1) - Year 13. The grid is British and complete: Early Years with Pre-Pre Nursery (1-2 years), Pre-Nursery (2-3), Nursery (3-4) and Reception (4-5), then Key Stage 1 (Year 1-2), Key Stage 2 (Year 3-6), Key Stage 3 (Year 7-9), Key Stage 4 (Year 10-11) with 9 IGCSE exams, which in Spain count as the ESO certificate, and Key Stage 5 (Year 12-13). In Year 12-13 there are two pathways: Cambridge International A Level (4 subjects, one of them Spanish) or the IB Diploma Programme with six subjects; additional IB subjects can be taken online through Pamoja. Almost every year group has one class, and up to Year 4 each class has a teacher and an assistant. Pre-Pre Nursery has a half-day option.
Address Calle Barbero de Sevilla 16, Majadahonda, Madrid
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · IGCSE, A-Level · authorised programmePerrott Hill Education · school is part of the networkschool 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: DP (ages 16-19). 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 →CambridgeCambridge International Education
Part of the University of Cambridge. It allows a school to teach the Cambridge programmes and to enter pupils for the exams. There are four stages and they are authorised separately: primary, lower secondary, IGCSE and A Level. If the stages are known they are named in the line below; if that line is missing, the school does not publish them, and the Cambridge registry does not show stages either - it gives only the name of the centre, the country and whether private candidates are accepted. Cambridge calls what it does registration rather than accreditation, and the network holds about ten thousand schools.
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: IGCSE (ages 14-16), A-Level (ages 16-18). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate. A-Level is the senior years, and their results are what British and many other universities admit on.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Perrott Hill Educationschool network
Perrott Hill Education is an independent education group that, on its site, describes itself as uniting four schools across Europe with a British curriculum. They are Perrott Hill Prep School in Somerset (UK, founded in 1946), Thames British School Madrid (established in 2014), Perrott Hill British School Prague (Czech Republic) and Meridian Lyceum in Vilnius (Lithuania); the site also names the online school Richmon Online School. The site does not give a founding year for the group itself. In Spain the group has one school, Thames British School Madrid, which teaches the British curriculum from Early Years up to A-Levels and the IB Diploma Programme. The group's site is perrotthilleducation.com.
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
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
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Playground
Campus: The campus was purpose-built for the school rather than adapted from an existing building, and the school says plainly that it enjoys more space than many schools in central Madrid. It now spans two floors of facilities with large outdoor areas. The youngest have bright, spacious classrooms with direct access to their own playground and their own bathrooms for each class, while the secondary classrooms are modern and light-filled. There are fully equipped laboratories for secondary students, an ICT suite, a music room and an SEN room, a hall and an arts hall for assemblies, performances and exhibitions, and a cinema room of its own, which the school calls one of its highlights and uses for screenings, media studies, interactive lessons and presentations. A Forest School programme runs lessons in a natural outdoor environment. For PE there is a full-sized grass football field, a basketball court and a wide range of equipment. Each section of the school has its own library with books and audiovisual material for its age group; the new primary library is an open, welcoming space.
Clubs and activities (15): French through games · Board games · English for parents · Football · Volleyball · Roller skating · Outdoor gymkhana · Combined events · Chess · Drama club and production · Art club · 5 km running club · Rock band · Spanish · Mathematics club
Summer camp: the school runs its own camp and takes children from outside as well
Summer programme away from campus:
There are two summer programmes. The summer camp in Majadahonda for children aged 4-12 runs for two weeks, in 2026 from 29 June to 3 July and from 6 to 10 July, from 9 to 16, entirely in English: sport, creative workshops, games and water activities, lunch included; one week costs 290 euros, two weeks 540, with discounts for families and early booking. For ages 12-17 the school takes pupils for two weeks to England, to Perrott Hill School in Somerset, from 6 to 19 July 2026: accommodation, meals, workshops, sport and trips to London, Oxford, Stonehenge and Bath; the price is 2800 euros including the flight, with registration by 15 April.
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 teachers are a mix of native English speakers and fluent specialists from around the world; all have postgraduate teaching qualifications and Qualified Teacher Status, and many have worked in the United Kingdom or in other British schools abroad. Up to Year 4 every class has a teacher and an assistant. The school presents its leadership by name, with degrees: the head Hayley Benfield (MA, PGCE from the University of Plymouth), the heads of primary and secondary, of academic development, the IB coordinator, and the special educational needs coordinator, who is also the designated safeguarding lead, with master's degrees in clinical psychology and counselling. A board of governors oversees the school. The school does not publish the number of teachers or class 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 room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
Child protection is handled by a team of seven: the designated safeguarding lead (DSL), who is also the special needs coordinator, her deputy, the school psychologist, the school nurse, the head and the heads of stages. The site publishes the safeguarding, anti-bullying, behaviour, attendance and health and safety policies. Every pupil has a personal tutor, and counsellors and wellbeing coordinators step in when needed. The school has a medical room and a qualified nurse for the whole school day, who also teaches health lessons; there is medical support for children with allergies and chronic conditions. The school names no security guards and no 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%)89 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 data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)90 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data75 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data78 "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