← Back to homeWingate School
Arona, Spain · est. 1982 · Private
Illustration · Arona
Wingate School is a private British school in Cabo Blanco, in the municipality of Arona, in the south of Tenerife. It was opened in the summer of 1982 by Mr and Mrs Green for 9 children of 7 nationalities; the school is still family-owned, by Margaret, Damien and Jonathan Green. It now has more than 570 pupils of more than 30 nationalities and more than 70 staff, with an average of 13 pupils per teacher. About 36 per cent of pupils are Spanish and about 13 per cent British, with sizeable groups of Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Italian, German and Ukrainian pupils. The curriculum is the British National Curriculum, from Foundation (ages 3-5) to the Sixth Form, taught in English; Spanish is taught as a subject, and Spanish pupils in Year 10-11 study Spanish social science in Spanish so that their British qualifications can be validated in Spain. In the Sixth Form the school offers Pearson Edexcel International A Level and international BTEC courses. The British Schools Overseas inspection has twice in a row judged the school outstanding in every respect. The school publishes its fees itself, per term, in euros. In the holidays the Wonder Camps run, open also to children from other schools.
Key facts
Programmes
Pearson Edexcel · IGCSE, A-Level · BTEC
Admits from
3 years · Pre-School
Languages of instruction
English
Students per teacher
an average of 13 pupils per teacher
Class size
11-14 children per teacher
Summer camp
Yes, open to all
About the fees The school publishes its fees itself for the 2026-2027 school year, per term, in euros: Foundation (ages 3-5) 1948 euros, primary (ages 5-11) 1881 euros, secondary (ages 11-16) 2165 euros per term. In the Sixth Form the fee is per course: International A Level or AS 985 euros per term, an IGCSE resit 438.50 euros, the BTEC Extended Diploma (equal to 3 A Levels) 2636.50 euros per term plus 978 euros registration, the BTEC Subsidiary Diploma 985 euros per term plus 587 euros registration, the Extended Project Qualification 150 euros; examination fees are extra. The fee table does not state the number of terms per year. The fee includes materials, 2 trips a year (except the Sixth Form), free lunchtime clubs, insurance and a digital fee. There is a 5 per cent discount for families with three children at the school and 7.5 per cent with four or more. Separately, in Adeje, The Learning Centre play centre takes children from age 2 for 546 euros per term.
Admissions The school admits children of all nationalities: it writes that it provides a British education to pupils of all nationalities and backgrounds, and it publishes guidance for families relocating to Tenerife, including support for children whose first language is not English. The procedure: an online application, uploading documents (the children's birth certificates and passports, the parents' passports and NIE or DNI number, the certificate of registration of residence in Tenerife, reports for the last two years and, when moving from a private school, a statement that no fees are outstanding), the registration fee, an interview and assessment. The interview focuses on English: written, spoken and comprehension; the school states plainly that most refusals are of children whose English would not allow them to follow lessons. The decision is sent by email, and the place is secured with a deposit within 7 working days. There can be a waiting list.
Stages and year groups Grades Foundation (age 3) - Sixth Form (age 18). Foundation Stage for ages 3-5, two classes following the British EYFS. Primary for ages 5-11. Secondary for ages 11-16, more than 250 pupils of more than 28 nationalities: the British National Curriculum with Spanish lessons, with smaller groups in mathematics, science, English and Spanish; in Year 7-9 everyone studies Spanish social science in English, and Spanish pupils in Year 10-11 study it in Spanish; IGCSE at the end of Year 11. Sixth Form from age 16: Pearson Edexcel International A Level and AS, international BTEC at levels 1-3, the Extended Project Qualification and preparation for the Spanish university entrance examination.
Address Calle Mirador de la Cumbrita 10, Cabo Blanco, 38326 Arona, Tenerife
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
BSO · accreditationPearson · IGCSE, A-Level · 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
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 →PearsonPearson Edexcel, a British exam board
It gives a school approved centre status: that means Pearson exams can be sat in the school itself. What is checked is the premises, the equipment, the secure storage of papers and the presence of trained invigilators.
What the badge means for this school. The school can run Pearson exams on its own premises. The status says nothing about teaching, about results or about the school itself: any school able to run an exam securely holds it. 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 →BTEC
A British vocational qualification from Pearson: not an academic course with an exam at the end, but a programme of practical assignments in a particular trade, from engineering and business to art and sport.
What this means for this school. Teaching and assessment work differently from A-level: instead of written exams there is a run of practical assignments marked by the school, while Pearson checks the school itself and samples the work. British universities do accept BTEC, but not all of them and not for every course: level 3 carries the same UCAS points as A-level, and that is what a family aiming at a particular university should look at. For a child who needs the classic academic route, BTEC is not a replacement for A-level but a different path.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
Exam results According to the school for 2025: 99.6 per cent passed IGCSE and 98.6 per cent passed A Level. The school's pupils recently received 12 Pearson awards: 10 for the best IGCSE result in the world in English language and English literature and 2 for the best in Spain in Spanish and psychology; most of the winners, the school says, are not native English speakers.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
✓Theatre or assembly hall
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Also on site: Playground
Campus: The site covers more than 15000 square metres in Cabo Blanco. There is a basketball court and an indoor theatre; for football the school makes wide use of an artificial turf pitch nearby. In 2022 a green area for relaxing and outdoor study opened, with lawn and study spaces, accessible to wheelchairs; there is a vegetable garden, whose produce partly goes to the dining room, and a conservatory for monarch butterflies is being built. Hot lunches have been prepared by an external caterer since 2018, catering for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free diets. Solar panels on the roof, the school says, cover almost all its needs. Buses run across the south of the island, from Los Gigantes to Golf del Sur.
Clubs and activities: French · Sewing · Debating · Computing · Singing · Choir · Reading · Chess · Football · Volleyball · Gymnastics · Drawing · Theatre · Karate · Fit for Fun · Robotics and 3D printing · Tennis · LEGO · Crochet · Guitar · School band · Creative Club · Craft and Fun Club · Wood carving · English Booster
Summer camp: the school runs its own camp and takes children from outside as well
Wonder Camps are holiday camps for children from age 6, open both to Wingate pupils and to children from other schools: at Easter a week of spring activities, and in summer the largest camp with outings and water play. The programme: arts and crafts, sport, STEM activities with experiments and coding, nature walks and team games, with qualified instructors and small groups. The camp page gives no dates or prices.
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 has more than 70 staff. It writes that it invests heavily in its staff, recruits under strict rules and keeps a very low pupil to teacher ratio: an average of 13 to 1, and on the admissions page 11-14 children per teacher. Every secondary pupil has a personal tutor with regular meetings. The head of school is Martyn Howells.
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 policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
·Anti-bullying policynot stated on the website
The school publishes policies on child protection and a safeguarding overview, safer recruitment, CCTV, e-safety, first aid and administration of medicines, fire safety and evacuation, risk assessment, behaviour and discipline, pastoral care and wellbeing. Children are, the school says, supervised from the moment they arrive until they are collected. The school does not name a separate anti-bullying policy, security guards or a nurse.
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%)85 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 data70 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 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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