← Back to homeThe British School - El Colegio Británico
Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain · est. 1940 · Private
Illustration · Pozuelo de Alarcon
The British School - El Colegio Británico is the former The British Council School; many families still know it by that name, and the old domain britishcouncilschool.es leads to the current site. The school was founded in 1940 and calls itself the first British school in Spain. It is a private co-educational day school in Prado de Somosaguas, Pozuelo de Alarcón, near Madrid, for children from 12 months to 18 years; it is now part of the Inspired Education group. It has almost 2000 pupils and around 200 teachers, British and Spanish. The curriculum is British, from EYFS to Year 11, together with Spanish language and culture, which take up about 20 per cent of the week; in secondary school about 80 per cent of lessons are in English and 20 in Spanish. In Year 11 pupils sit IGCSE and can obtain the Spanish ESO certificate. In the upper years there are three routes: the bilingual Spanish baccalaureate BiBac, run by the separate El Colegio Británico - Bachillerato section, the new International A Level from September 2026, and the IB Diploma, for which the school is a candidate, from 2027. French is studied for at least five years, Mandarin can be taken from Year 9 and German from Year 10. Four British Schools Overseas inspections in a row have given the school the top grade in every area. Music is a strength: the school is the only ABRSM partner in Spain, with orchestras, choirs, rock bands and a 300-seat theatre. The school publishes its fees itself, per term, in euros.
Key facts
Tuition
≈ $6 033–17 946 a year
5 340–15 885 EUR
Programmes
Cambridge · IGCSE
Admits from
1 year · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English, Spanish
Languages taught
French, Chinese, German
Students per teacher
about 9 pupils per member of staff in the primary school
About the fees The school publishes its fees itself, as a file for the 2026-2027 school year, per term, in euros; there are three terms a year, payment is termly or annual, by direct debit only. Tuition per term: Lion Cubs (12-24 months) and Pre-Nursery half day 1780 euros, full day 2610, Nursery - Year 1: 3165, Year 2 - Year 6: 4065, Year 7 - Year 9: 4370, Year 10 - Year 11: 4750, BiBac (Year 12 - Year 13) 4905, International A Level (Year 12) 5295 euros. Per year this is from 5340 to 15885 euros. The tuition discount is 25 per cent for the third child, 30 for the fourth and 35 for the fifth and subsequent children.
Admissions The school says it accepts applications all year round, subject to availability. The procedure: an enquiry form on the website, a visit to the school in person or online, an admissions form with documents, from Year 3 to Year 12 an online CAT4 test (30 euros, non-refundable), an interview in English or Spanish if needed; the admissions committee's decision comes within 1-3 weeks, and the place is secured by bank transfer. The school operates as an approved foreign centre under Spanish Royal Decree 806/1993: pupils follow the British curriculum together with Spanish language and culture, and after Year 11 the school arranges the Spanish ESO certificate for them. Whether the school admits children without Spanish citizenship or residence is not stated directly on its pages; of its pupils it writes that Spanish is their first language.
Stages and year groups Grades Lion Cubs (12 months) - Year 13 (age 18). Early years from age 1 to 5: Lion Cubs, Pre-Nursery, Nursery and Reception following the British EYFS curriculum, with three staff in every class and options of half day, full day and extended care until 17:45. Primary Year 1-6, ages 5-11, Key Stages 1 and 2: 650 children in 43 classrooms. Secondary Year 7-11, ages 11-16: 900 students including the Sixth Form in 42 classrooms, with IGCSE and the Spanish ESO certificate in Year 11. Upper years Year 12-13: BiBac in the El Colegio Británico - Bachillerato section, International A Level from September 2026 and the IB Diploma as a candidate from 2027.
Address Calle Solano 5-7, Prado de Somosaguas, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
BSO · accreditationCambridge · IGCSE · authorised programmeInspired · 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
BSOBritish government inspection of schools overseas
A scheme of the UK Department for Education: a school abroad is inspected against the standards for independent schools in England, including safeguarding and the standards for boarding. The inspections are done by independent inspectorates approved by the department, and the inspectorates themselves are monitored annually by Ofsted. The reports are published in full on the government website.
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 →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 →Inspiredschool network
Inspired Education Group is a private school group founded in 2013. The group gives different figures on its own pages - 125 schools on some, "more than 100" on others - and we quote both: choosing for a group which of its own numbers is correct is not something we do. Its schools are in Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and some of them keep their own historic names, such as King's College in Madrid and Riga. The group's site is inspirededu.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
Exam results IGCSE 2026: A* in 46 per cent of entries, A*-A in 68 per cent, A*-B in 87 per cent; 12 students achieved A* in eight or more subjects. BiBac 2026: 100 per cent passed the Spanish university entrance examination, the average entrance mark was 11.8 out of 14, the highest examination mark 13.84 out of 14, and the average school mark 8.14 out of 10. The Complutense University of Madrid has given the school an honourable mention for its entrance examination results. The school also cites Top in the World, Top in Europe and Top in Spain awards in Cambridge and Edexcel IGCSE examinations.
Where leavers go: University of Cambridge · Imperial College London · London School of Economics and Political Science · University College London · University of Edinburgh · University of Bristol · King's College London · University of Manchester · University of Warwick · IE University · ESADE · Universidad Pontificia Comillas
and others, 33 universities in the school's list in allAccording to the school, 100 per cent of its leavers go on to university; leavers have also won full sports scholarships at universities in the United States.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
✓Sports hall
✓Laboratories
✓Theatre or assembly hall
✓Library
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Sports ground or field · Art studio · Playground
Campus: The campus in Prado de Somosaguas covers more than 26000 square metres: the early years and primary buildings stand on one side of Calle Monzón and the secondary buildings on the other. Five science laboratories opened in 2012, with electron microscopes and chemical analysis equipment. Each building has its own library, every classroom has an interactive whiteboard, and there are 3D printers and robotics. There are music rooms in all three sections and a dedicated band and percussion studio. The Teatro del Británico covers 1200 square metres and seats 300, with soundproofed classrooms, two rehearsal rooms and a dance studio; there are also small drama rooms. The secondary art wing has four classrooms and an exhibition space. Each section has a gym, there is a football pitch and space for athletics and table tennis, and the playgrounds have awnings and are laid out by age. The early years building has recently been renovated. Each section has its own kitchen and dining room. Buses run from central Madrid and the surrounding area.
Clubs and activities: Art workshop · Athletics · Basketball · Chess · Chinese · Football · French · Golf · Karate · Kids Brain · Movement school · Padel · Painting · Rhythmic gymnastics · Robotics · Rugby · Sports school · Swimming · Tennis · Theatre · Zumba · Flamenco · Classical ballet · Orchestras · Choirs · Rock bands · Big bands · Model United Nations
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
There are around 200 teachers, British and Spanish. The British curriculum is taught by teachers fully qualified by the UK Department for Education and experienced in it, Spanish language and literature by Spanish teachers qualified in the subject; some of the A Level teachers are graduates of Oxford and other Russell Group universities. The school says it recruits staff under strict selection rules. Early years classes have three staff each, and every primary class has a British and a Spanish teacher. University and careers guidance in Year 10-13 is provided by 10 counsellors. The Executive Head from the 2026-2027 school year is Jeremy Newton.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
✓Security staff
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
·Child protection policynot stated on the website
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school employs a private security company present around the clock, and cameras around the perimeter and in the secondary corridors. Each section has its own infirmary, there are four nurses, and pupils' medical data are kept in a secure database. Each stage has school counsellors, and the leaders of the school 'families' are responsible for the wellbeing of the children in their groups. Every bus carries an escort with a telephone to contact parents. The school publishes its behaviour policy, attendance policy, code of conduct and disciplinary procedure; there is no separate child protection policy or anti-bullying policy on the website.
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%)72 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data80 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data80 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 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