← Back to homeZürich Schule Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain · Private
Illustration · Barcelona
Zürich Schule Barcelona is a private German international school in Barcelona which calls itself the first school in Spain to run IB programmes with German as the language of instruction from the earliest stages. German runs right through - from kindergarten to secondary school, with full immersion - while Spanish, Catalan and English are added progressively; by the end of school a pupil leaves with C1 German certified by the Goethe-Institut and at least B2 English certified by Trinity College London. Of the IB stages the school states two: the Primary Years Programme and the Middle Years Programme. Children are taken from the age of two, at the KleinesZürich level; from three they enter Kindergarten and begin their language immersion. Groups are small: on average 22 to 24 pupils per class, and in early childhood 10 to 12 children with two educators per level. The school sees science as its second pillar: its science department produces its own teaching materials and resources, and the school says its curriculum far exceeds the basic competencies set by educational authorities. iPads and digital tools are used in Primary and Secondary under the school's own Digital School Strategy. Of its services it offers school transport, a dining room and extracurricular activities. In the site footer the school displays its affiliations and certifications: ZFA, PASCH, ISA Switzerland, EPIC, Trinity, IB and Goethe. The site describes the school as one with fifty years of confidence.
Key facts
Languages of instruction
German
Languages taught
Spanish, English
Admissions Admission runs in three steps. First, a personal interview with the family, at the school or online, and where possible the school schedules the visit during school hours so that parents can see an ordinary school day. Second, assessment of the application: for children from the age of seven or eight the school considers three things - its interview with the child, their school record and any other references, and the results of the instructional and aptitude tests they sit after the interview; the tests cost the family nothing. Third, enrolment: the admissions team contacts the parents or guardians and, if the outcome is favourable, gives instructions for formalising the place; it is confirmed once all the required documentation has been submitted and the enrolment and place reservation fees have been paid before the established deadline. The school states its language requirement plainly: basic knowledge of German and Spanish is needed for admission from the first year of primary school, and if a student does not have it, the school recommends immersion courses and provides personalised language support to help them settle in. If there are no vacancies, the child is placed on a waiting list. The school does not write separately about admitting foreign pupils: its conditions are the same for everyone, and the main one is language.
Stages and year groups Grades KleinesZürich from age 2 - secondary school. The school divides its provision into three stages - early childhood, primary school and secondary school - and adds to them an 'International Baccalaureate (IB)' entry as pre-university preparation. Children are taken from the age of two into the KleinesZürich level; from three they enter Kindergarten and begin their immersion in German. Of the IB stages the school states two: the PYP and the MYP. Classes average 22 to 24 pupils, while in early childhood groups are of 10 to 12 children with two educators per level. Assessment is continuous, and the school says that small groups let it go deeper.
Address Avinguda de Pearson 73, 08034 Barcelona
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · PYP, MYP · 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: PYP (ages 3-12), MYP (ages 11-16). PYP is the primary stage, ages 3 to 12. It is not a set of subjects but a frame for the whole school: learning is built around lines of inquiry, and there are no exams at the end. MYP is the middle stage, ages 11 to 16. There are no exams here either; at the end an optional electronic assessment of pupils' work is possible.
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 poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
✓Catering
✓School transport
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Campus: The school stands at Avinguda de Pearson 73 in Barcelona - the address from its legal notice. Of its services it lists school transport, a dining room and extracurricular activities. iPads and digital tools are used in Primary and Secondary under the school's own Digital School Strategy, and the science department produces its own teaching materials and resources. The pages read contain no list of rooms, sports facilities or a library.
Clubs and activities (1): Extracurricular activities
Teaching staff
The school publishes neither the number of its teachers nor their qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
The school says nothing on its website about security, medical care or pupil support.
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 data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data70 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data61 Value for money (6%) scored at the median61 "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