King’s College, The British School of Madrid,

 Junior 

As in Britain, towards the end of Year 6, the children take National Assessment Tests (NCTs) in the core areas of Literacy and Numeracy. Other “Foundation Studies” based on Art, Craft and Technology, Humanities, Information and Communication Technology, Music, P.E., in addition to one lesson of Spanish per day, complete the Junior curriculum. In general, Junior children work mainly with one class teacher although certain subjects, such as Music and Physical Education, are studied with specialist teachers.

Studies from 11 to 14 (Years 7 to 9)  

In National Curriculum Years 7 to 9 specialist teachers deliver a balanced programme broadly based on the English National Curriculum, but with additional factors such as the introduction of the three separate sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) in Year 9 and the availability of three modern languages (French, Spanish and German).

All students validate their studies by following courses in Spanish Language, Literature and Social Sciences, according to the curriculum set by the Spanish Ministry of Education. Students with little knowledge of Spanish study Spanish as a foreign language.

As in England, assessment based on National Curriculum levels continues to be used and students progress monitored accordingly.  King’s College keeps abreast of all curriculum developments in progress in the UK and pursues those policies best suited to the students’ needs.

Choices at 14-16  (Years 10 to 11)

The curriculum for age 14-16 is fundamentally the same as in English schools. All students study up to nine subjects in preparation for the award on the International General Certificate of Secondary Education. IGCSE is a highly regarded qualification which is accredited by the University of Cambridge (www.cie.org.uk) and approved by the Joint Council of British Universities. The school also offers GCSE’s and IGCSE’s from Edexcel.

All students are required to study English Language, Mathematics, Science, Spanish Language & Literature and Social Sciences.  In addition, they have a certain freedom to choose those subjects which they prefer and which will be most useful for their future career.

Students with little knowledge of Spanish will normally study 9 academic subjects, as would be the case in most schools in England and in other international British schools. The rest of the pupils will study slightly fewer subjects in order to include within their academic programme the necessary courses required by the Spanish Ministry of Education: (a) Spanish Language & Literature, and (b) Social Sciences.

On to A Level Best Boarding School 

(Year 12 and Year 13)

Access to the Sixth Form to begin preparation of Advanced Subsidiary (AS) examinations in Year 12, and General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (A2) examinations in Year 13, is open to those students who have passed a required minimum of subjects at (I)GCSE with good grades.

Students take five subjects in their first year (Year 12). One of the five subjects will be Spanish A Level or, for those students who intend to study for their degrees in Spain, Validation Studies.

In their first year our A Level students take four or five subjects from the wide range offered at Kings College. These include: Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, History, English, Economics, Art and Design, ICT, French, Spanish (compulsory), Psychology, German, Business Studies, Media Studies, Accounting. In addition, Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Physical Education (PE) form part of each student’s timetable.

At the end of the year, students sit an Advanced Subsidiary examination in their chosen subjects. This examination is set at a level of difficulty halfway between (I)GCSE and A Level and will count towards students university entrance. More importantly at this stage it will give our students and their teachers the opportunity to see how they are progressing.

Students may then choose which of their subjects they wish to continue studying to A Level standard in their second year. Most students sit A Levels in 3 or more subjects at the end of Year 13.

Success in the A Level examinations gives access to university education worldwide.

At the same time, Spanish students equally have direct access to universities in Spain and do not have to enter the EvAU (university entrance examinations). With their British A Level qualifications, students obtain their Calificación de Acceso a la Universidad (CAU) automatically. They can enter the “Fase voluntaria” exams in order to improve their grade point average by up to 4 points, especially if they intend to access those courses that require a high grade point average such as engineering or medicine. The same is the case for non-Spanish nationals who may wish to enter Spanish universities.