← Back to homeThe Global College
Madrid, Spain · Private
Illustration · Madrid
The Global College is an International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme college in Madrid's El Viso district, on Calle Castellón de la Plana. It has no junior stages at all: the school teaches only the IB Diploma and prepares students for university entry, and admission for the September 2027 cohort is already open. The college has a strategic partnership with IE University, and it explains its advantage precisely through that - a view from inside a university of what skills and what education a student needs today. There is boarding: a newly refurbished residence stands within walking distance of the college, and at weekends the campus is open to boarders. Places in the boarding house are limited, so boarding admissions run in two rounds with deadlines on 15 November and 21 February, and after that on a rolling basis as places allow. Its strength shows in the numbers: in 2026 every student passed the Diploma, with a class average of 36.4 against a world average in the low thirties, a top score of 45, and 32 students above forty points.
Key facts
Languages of instruction
English
Admissions The school admits foreigners: in its FAQ it writes that diversity of nationalities, cultures and backgrounds is part of its DNA and is taken into account in admissions, although there is no fixed ratio; boarders have a separate international recruitment address, and the school describes its boarding house as a truly international community. The school names three main criteria for admission: motivation, intellectual capacity and a level of language sufficient to complete a demanding Diploma Programme in English; there is no EAL class at the school, and support is given case by case through the mentor. The decision rests on school reports for the previous and current academic year, the information in the application, language level and the interview. The application includes a short video about the candidate, a letter of recommendation and information about international experience, goals, extracurricular activities and achievements. All candidates sit a Baseline Assessment in language and mathematics; candidates who are not native speakers or have studied in an English-speaking school for less than two full years must submit an English certificate. Deadlines for the 2027-2028 academic year: boarders apply in two rounds - by 15 November 2026 and by 21 February 2027, then on a rolling basis while places remain; day students by the end of January, with a decision in February.
Stages and year groups Grades the IB Diploma Programme only. The college teaches only the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme; it has no junior stages. Admission is open for the September 2027 cohort, for day students and boarders alike.
Address C. de Castellón de la Plana, 8, 28006 Madrid
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
NEASC · accreditationIB · DP · authorised programmeCIS · membershipschool 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 →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 →CISCouncil of International Schools
It accredits international schools and is a paying association at the same time. It examines governance and ownership, the curriculum, teaching, student wellbeing, staff and premises; a team of volunteers from other CIS accredited schools visits the school. Membership and accreditation are different things here, and schools confuse them more often than anything else.
What the badge means for this school. The school belongs to this organisation but has not been through its accreditation. The difference matters: membership is usually paid for and has no external inspection behind it. The entry is confirmed in the organisation's open directory.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Average IB score
36.4 (world average 30.88)
Exam results Diploma Programme results for 2026: 100 per cent of students passed the Diploma, the class average was 36.4 out of 45, the top score of the class was 45, the average of the top third of the class was 40.3, and 32 students scored above forty points.
Where leavers go: IE University · King's College London · Eindhoven University of Technology · Durham University · CUNEF Universidad · Maastricht University · McGill University · Erasmus University Rotterdam · Sciences Po · Bocconi University · Esade Ramon Llull University · Lancaster University
and others, 25 universities in the school's list in allThe school publishes the university offers made to the class of 2026 with the number of offers from each: IE University 43, King's College London 27, Eindhoven University of Technology 9, Durham 7, CUNEF 6, Maastricht and McGill 5 each, Erasmus Rotterdam and Sciences Po 4 each, Bocconi, Esade, Lancaster and The New School 3 each, LSE, NYU and Stockholm School of Economics 2 each, and Imperial College London, Boston College, Boston University, Emory, Northeastern, Politecnico di Milano, the Technical University of Munich, Trinity College Dublin and Temple University Japan one each.
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
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
✓Boarding
Campus: A campus in the El Viso district in central Madrid: the classrooms, laboratories and creativity areas are technologically enhanced, and the spaces themselves are geared around the student and the IB education - built to encourage risk taking, enquiry and collaboration. At weekends the campus is open to boarders and to anyone who wants to use its facilities. Boarding is a newly refurbished residence within walking distance of the college, in El Viso: bright single and double rooms, live-in staff, video surveillance, high-speed Wi-Fi, weekend activities and Mediterranean diet options. There is a library of its own.
Summer camp: the school runs its own camp; whether it takes children from outside is not stated on the website
In July the college runs an introductory Summer IB Camp - not compulsory but strongly recommended before the Diploma Programme begins; applications open in April. The school gives no session dates and no 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 names its leadership: President and CEO Lucía Figar, Principal Barry Cooper, Deputy Principal César Prado, Academic Director Karen McWilliam, Dean of Admissions Andrew Freeman and Head of Pastoral Care Maggie Nelson. Every student has a personal mentor. Subject groups vary in size: because in the Diploma Programme each student builds their own set of subjects, some courses have 5 students and others up to 25. The school publishes no number of teachers and no qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
✓CCTV
·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 school builds student wellbeing on a pastoral care model: each student has a personal mentor who guides them both academically and emotionally, and the boarding house is run by the Head of Pastoral Care, a House Master and live-in House Parents available around the clock. The residence has video surveillance. The school names no written child protection policy, no psychologist and no medical staff.
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%)82 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 data60 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 data55 Value for money (6%) scored at the median67 "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