Principles and Aims

British Council School is an independent British bilingual and bicultural coeducational day school for pupils aged 2 to 18. It is owned by British Council and is registered in Spain as a private British school up to Year 11 (according to Spanish legislation for foreign schools) and as a private Spanish school in Years 12 and 13. The School vision is:

We aspire to offering our pupils the best British and Spanish education in a bilingual and bicultural setting where they can reach their full potential. We aim to develop well rounded, highly motivated global citizens who are confident in their ability to succeed.   We seek, as part of the British Council in Spain, to work actively with the Spanish education system and deliver value for the UK and Spain.

The School values are Caring, Loyalty, Flexibility, Resilience and Challenge.

The School educational model includes students from 2 to 18 years. Once pupils join the School and families become part of our educational community we expect to begin a long-term relationship that lasts through school years and into later life as part of our alumni community.

British Council operates a policy of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), and we are committed to ensuring there is no unjustified discrimination in the admission of pupils on the grounds of race, gender, religion or physical disability.

Targets and Outcomes:

  • A shared understanding between parents/guardians, students (appropriate to age of entry) and the school about the fit between the school and family objectives for the education of their children
  • The School has sufficient information about the student´s physical, social and educational development to determine whether a student can be appropriately placed in the School, needs can be met and a place can be offered
  •  Prospective families have sufficient information about the School to make an informed commitment to School vision, values and curriculum
  • The School has sufficient information about families to meet statutory, safeguarding and administrative requirements
  • Families are provided with criteria for prioritisation of applications, in the case of over subscription, and other aspects of the admissions process are clear to prospective families 
  • Families are provided with clear information on the assessment process used by the School to ensure the child is able to benefit from the School bilingual and bicultural provision.

Definitions and Glossary

Admissions Committee: Internal School body led by the Head of School with Heads of Section and Admissions department
Year of entry: The Admissions Committee considers applications for year groups based on the calendar year of birth of students, in accordance with Spanish legislation.
Offer of place: Admission to the School is made on an academic year basis subject to an annual process of place offer and re-enrolment. Once students join the School they are normally offered a place for subsequent academic years.
Admissions platform: the School online Admissions system
Section: the different individual sections that make up the British Council School based on age and academic stage - Early Years, Primary and Secondary
Assessment: All students are assessed as part of the admissions process. The format of the assessment will differ according to the age of the applicant. 

Related Policies/ Appendices and Other Documents

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following documents

  • Additional Needs Policy
  • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
  • Safeguarding Policy

For more information please see the school website.

Communicating and Storing Policy

This policy will be stored in the school internal shared policy drive, School community site and the and the public website.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The Admissions department will   

  • Publish information relevant to Admissions on the School website
  •  Host Open Day events for prospective parents to visit the School
  • Conduct individual visits for prospective families
  •  Manage the Admissions platform and support families through the Admissions process
  • Liaise with families and School sections to support the Assessment process
  • Ensure all required documentation is received before a student starts School
  • Liaise with families and School Sections to support the induction process

 The Section academic team will

  • Lead on the assessment process
  • Manage post entrance onboarding tests and class entry
  • Proactively support the induction process

Parents/guardians will

  • Complete all application documentation according to specified deadlines
  • Confirm the validity of assessments completed
  • Provide any other relevant information about the student´s learning and background to allow the School to make an informed decision about the student application
  • Support the induction process by attending information sessions and asking questions as required
  • Provide additional individual support if required in the place offer conditions

The student will

  • Complete all assessment processes to the best of their ability and subject to requirements for unaided work
  • Take the opportunity during assessment and induction to ask questions to find out about the School

The Admissions Process

1.      Timing and first steps

  • For year groups Reception – Year 12 the admissions process begins in October of the preceding academic year.
  • For year groups PreNursery and Nursery the admissions process may begin before this date with places offered and accepted for future academic years
  • Occasionally pupils are admitted during the school year
  • Applications are made through the School Admissions platform. All documentation must be uploaded to the platform and it provides a live status position on the progress of applications.

2.      Assessment

The objective of the assessment process is to understand a student´s contextual educational attainment, determine whether a student is able to fully benefit from the school´s educational offer and determine whether, if admitted, the student has any individual support needs. Elements of the assessment process may include:

  • Meetings with families
  • School reports
  • Written tests
  • Oral discussions with Section academic teams or school counsellor
  • Background information about previous schools - curriculum and times spent at schools
  • Relevant information to allow assessment with reference to School Additional Needs policy
  • Language assessment for the bilingual curriculum – a key area for assessment is a student´s ability to benefit from the bilingual curriculum 

3.      Entrance tests

  • Early Years applicants - Students joining PreNursery, Nursery and Reception – no formal entrance test
  • Students may take entrance tests at the School, their existing school or home if supervision is assured.
  • Primary applicants – previous academic school reports must be provided

*Year 1 students will meet Early Years section leadership team.

*Year 2- 6 entrance tests in written and spoken English and Spanish, and Maths.

  •  Secondary applicants – previous academic school reports must be provided

*Yr 7 Online assessment tests and oral English interview (expected level at least B1) Spanish interview if required

*Yr 8 Online assessment tests and oral English interview (expected level at least strong B1) Spanish interview if required

*Yr 9 – Online assessment tests and oral English interview (expected level at reaching B2) Spanish interview if required

*Yr 10 – Online assessment tests and oral English interview (expected level at least B2) Spanish interview if required

*Yr 11 – this is the second year of a two-year programme and students are therefore rarely admitted.   Online assessment tests and oral English interview (expected level at least B2) Spanish interview and additional subject testing is likely to be required

*Yrs 12-13  Applicnants will normally be expected to have at least 6 IGCSE/International GCSE/GCSE and grade B/7 or above or Spanish Graduado de Eso certificate. Additional subject testing will be required depending on area of specialisation

4.      Offer of a place

The Admissions committee will consider the following factors in determining offers of place:

  • Availability of School places
  • Prioritisation of siblings of current students
  • Prioritisation of children and grandchildren of Alumni
  • Date application received by Admissions
  • Results of assessment
  • Capacity of the School to support individual student needs

There is no appeal process related to the Admissions procedure. The final decision on entrance to the School rests with the School.

Successful applications

  • Admissions department will contact families to either offer a place in School or a place on the waiting list.
  • Family responsibilities additional needs

*If individual support needs have been identified by the School parents/guardians may be asked for a commitment to support these needs as part of the offer of place.

*If these requirements are not met it may impact on the school´s ability to offer a place in future academic years

  • School responsibilities additional needs

*Additional language support in English or Spanish may be provided by the School once students are attending School, if considered appropriate by the School, to assist new students to rapidly attain the optimum levels. 

*Other additional needs support may be provided based on the School´s assessment. All support is based on the School´s professional judgment.

Unsuccessful applications

Admissions department will contact families to provide feedback on the application and suggestions for next steps.  

5.      Confirming the place

  • In order to confirm this place offer the first step is to complete payment of the school registration fee
  • In order to start school families must provide the following documentation by a given deadline:

*Proof of identity of pupil (Passport, Birth Certificate, DNI or equivalent)

*Proof of identity of parents/legal guardian(s) (Passport, DNI or equivalent)

*Bank transfer proof of payment of enrolment fee

*Enrolment form signed by both parents/guardians

*Medical form

*Bus service application (if applicable)

Once all processes and documentation are complete the School will contact families to confirm the induction process for the new student. 

Monitoring Date:

Monitored by:

Full Review Due:

Review By:

July 2021

Deputy Head Business & Operations

 July 2023

Deputy Head Business & Operations, Head of School & Admissions Manager

See also

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