Welcome from the Principal

 

Welcome from the Principal

Dear families,

I am delighted to welcome you to SEK International School Catalunya.

This year, we are proud to celebrate 27 years of excellence in Education, since our founder, Mr Felipe Segovia inaugurated the School on the 9th September 1995. Since then, our reputation has been consolidated as one of the best schools in Barcelona, with excellent teaching and sports facilities and offering superb artistic and technological experiences.

We are proud to follow the most innovative trends in education and to offer the international education programmes taught at all SEK Education Group schools. We are committed to ensuring that all students receive a personalised and quality education based on values. We pay special attention to the all-round development and education of our students, aware that this development is not only academic but also emotional, relational and physical.

With that spirit, our International Boarding House, has proved a great success and is presently close to full capacity in the space of only 4 years, with plans to expand it further for the start of the next academic year. Our success has been in providing students with magnificent accommodation where they can learn to live together and share experiences with students from five continents. Our goal is to ensure that boarders grow personally and acquire the necessary preparation to face adult life with autonomy, independence and an open and international mentality.

Our residence has been another step in the internationalisation of our school, a process which continues year after year. With an increasingly diverse and multicultural student body and faculty, the educational community of SEK-Catalunya is happy to welcome more than 40 different nationalities, which is why we continue to offer English as the main language at our School. The percentage of the syllabus taught in English varies according to the educational stage, but in all cases it is above 65%. Of course, students will continue to learn Spanish and Catalan, while also maintaining the option of acquiring a fourth language by choosing between French and German.

We continue to bolster our teaching of the International Baccalaureate Organisation curriculum and this year, we are excited to announce that all students in the Baccalaureate years, have chosen to only do the IB Diploma, something that proves the importance and committment that our entire community places on receiving an International Education.

We are the only school in Catalonia accredited to offer these three curricular programmes, and one of the few in Spain. The excellent results obtained by our students in the Diploma Programme are an extraordinary letter of introduction for access to the best universities in Spain and abroad. Our comprehensive offer of subjects and our excellent results are both important factors for all our students opting to do the IB Diploma at SEK Catalunya. In the past years, our offer has expanded to include interesting new subjects such as Sport and Exercise Science, Art, Music, Psychology, Global Politics, French, German, Russian Language A and Computer Science. We are also proud members of The New England Association of Schools (NEASC), which allows us to offer our students interested in attending university in the USA, the option of also obtaining the American High School Diploma when graduating from our school.

There are four other aspects that attest to the value of learning experiences at SEK-Catalunya. First, the strength of the technological curriculum, with students learning through real experiences with robotics, drones, 3D printing, or programming in Computer Science. We are also very proud of the quality of learning spaces that inspire students allowing them to develop freely and motivating them to work as a team. We would like to highlight our belief in the importance of the Creative Arts for our students. Our School of Music, which follows the programmes of Trinity College of London and the fact that the School is also a member of the prestigious International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA), confirm our efforts to develop our students´ artistic side, while gaining a first-class education and an appreciation for English and internationalism. This year the introduction of Empowerment Hubs into our school day, highlights our committment to facilitate student agency, creating time in their day, to promote their passions, creativity and leadership, in social innovation projects.

We are also aware that our incomparable setting, is another aspect that stands us apart. We are in the heart of nature, with a large forest on school grounds. The forest is an extension of the classroom and real learning happens among the trees. At the same time, it is a recreational space where students go to do sports and to participate in The Duke of Edinburgh´s International Award programme, with a focus on team building and activities that reinforce their skills and welcome balanced personal growth, emotional health and happiness.

Roberto Prata

Principal of SEK International School Catalunya