← Back to homeThe Academy International School
Marratxi, Spain · est. 1985 · Private
Illustration · Marratxi
The Academy International School is in Marratxí on Mallorca, and it began in 1985 as a summer school: it was so successful that in September of the same year it opened as a preparatory school, with 25 children and two teachers. Today it takes children aged 2 to 18; the school gives different pupil numbers, more than 480 in its history and more than 315 in its welcome letter. Most pupils are Spanish, British and German, but according to the school there are students from every continent. Teaching follows the National Curriculum of England and Wales in English: the nursery under the EYFS framework, the junior school, the senior school up to the Cambridge IGCSE exams, which the school has offered since 2005, and then the IB Diploma Programme, started in 2017 with eight students. The school calls itself the first international school in the Balearic Islands to teach the IB diploma entirely in English. It is inspected by British inspectors and by inspectors of the Spanish ministry of education, and it is a member of the National Association of British Schools in Spain. The junior school works in a country house with horses and a pool, the senior school since 2020 in a separate building three kilometres away, converted from a sports complex, with five padel courts and two pools. The KiVa anti-bullying programme is in place, there is a school counsellor and a written child protection policy. The school does not publish its fees.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · DP · Cambridge · IGCSE
Admits from
2 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Languages taught
Spanish, French, German, Catalan
Admissions The school takes children of any background and writes that it does not refuse admission on grounds of race, gender, religion or disability; most pupils are Spanish, British and German, but there are children from every continent. Applications are made online or on paper, for the diploma programme with a personal statement. The first visit is a tour with the head of admissions and pre-entry tests, the second a meeting with the leadership. From Year 2 everyone takes a test in English and mathematics; if it is not possible to come to the island, the test is arranged elsewhere. For the nursery there is a conversation with the child and parents, and English is an advantage but not a requirement. The junior school is non-selective, the senior school takes achievement into account; children from Spanish schools may be given extra English for at least the first term. The IB diploma requires at least six IGCSEs at grade C or above, B in higher level subjects and A for higher level mathematics, a motivation letter and an interview with the coordinator; from other schools, reports for two years, a recommendation and tests. Places are offered in April, for the nursery in the first term, and during the year as they become free; waiting lists are long, and a place is given not by queue but by decision of the leadership, taking into account siblings, the interview and the visit. An offer of a place must be confirmed within two weeks.
Stages and year groups Grades Nursery (age 2) - Year 13 (IB DP2, age 18). The nursery follows the British EYFS framework: Nursery for children under three, Reception 1 and Reception 2. The junior school covers Key Stage 1 (Year 1-2) and Key Stage 2 (Year 3-6), plus Year 7, the first year of the secondary stage, which is still taught in the junior building. From Year 8 to Year 11 the senior school follows the English curriculum with the compulsory subjects of the Spanish system, with Cambridge IGCSE exams in Year 10-11, which the school treats as equivalent to the Spanish fourth year of ESO. Year 12-13 is the IB Diploma Programme: English A, Spanish A, a foreign language, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, the arts, three subjects at higher and three at standard level. The school day starts at 8:55, in the senior school from 9:00 to 16:00, with seven lessons.
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · DP · authorised programmeCambridge · IGCSE · authorised programmeschool 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). IGCSE means exams at around Year 10 or 11, the British counterpart of a lower secondary leaving certificate.
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 pool
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio
Campus: Two buildings in Marratxí three kilometres apart. The junior school is a country house that keeps its rustic look with modern equipment: a central courtyard for morning assemblies, a large library, a science laboratory, a computer room, a music hall and a large dining room; on the grounds there is a seven-a-side football pitch with artificial turf, a volleyball and basketball court, a tennis court, a pool, a sports hall and a riding area where the younger pupils ride and care for the school horses. The senior school opened in 2020 in a converted sports complex: bright subject classrooms, two fully equipped laboratories, an art room with glass walls, a large exam hall, the agora amphitheatre, five padel courts, two basketball courts, an enclosed multi-sports field, a football pitch and two pools. Food is cooked on site in both buildings to menus set by a dietician.
Clubs and activities (6): Football league · Board games club · Active lunch · Drama club · Choir · Horse riding
Summer camp: the school runs its own camp; whether it takes children from outside is not stated on the website
The school announces on its home page an English-language summer school for juniors and seniors with recreation and sport; it publishes no dates, ages or price.
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 does not publish the number of its teachers; it writes that the team is highly qualified and internationally experienced, and names the leadership: general manager Oliver Marcos Walker, the deputy heads of the senior school (pastoral care and wellbeing) and of the junior school, the head of the senior school and IB diploma coordinator Caroline Foster, the head of the junior school, the head of early years and two assistant heads of the senior school. In the senior school each subject is taught by a specialist in its own room, each form has its own tutor, and diploma students work with a university counsellor and a careers coordinator.
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 training
✓Anti-bullying policy
The school has a written child protection policy: the welfare of pupils is named its paramount concern, all staff are trained in safeguarding, and posters of the wellbeing team and of the ANAR helpline are displayed. Against bullying the Finnish KiVa programme runs with lessons, lunchtime support groups for younger pupils and a school counsellor whom pupils see together with mentors; there is peer mediation, nurture groups, worry boxes in classrooms, PSHE lessons and a wellbeing week. The school has an internal reporting channel for misconduct. The school does not name security guards, video surveillance or a medical room.
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%)84 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 data90 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data76 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.
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