Spain is a prominent destination for international students from all over the world due to its rich culture, pleasant temperature, opulent lifestyle, excellent higher education system, and exchange opportunities.
The country receives a sizable number of international students each year. Whether students choose a certificate course or a degree course, learning about Spanish culture and lifestyle is something to think about.
Students taking a course in any discipline will have tremendous prospects thanks to Spain’s well-organized educational system. The country’s academic system offers several options for learning. It prepares pupils for real-world situations, and the education system as a whole reflects this. As a result, a sizable number of international students come to Spain to pursue higher education.
Barcelona has been at the forefront of the rich Spanish educational legacy. St PETER’S SCHOOL is the only school in Barcelona that is validated to teach the International Baccalaureate (IB) Continuum in English, a methodology based on inquiry and cross-conceptualization. Located in Barcelona, the school is a revolutionary educational institution that emphasizes the integration of science, technology, and humanism in its curriculum.
St PETER’S aims at preparing students for the future by incorporating the latest technologies and scientific advances into its classrooms, including topics such as blockchain and GPT-4 or skills such as Futures Literacy. One of the standout features of St PETER’S SCHOOL is its Science Lab 06, which is the first laboratory for children ages 0-6 and encourages scientific curiosity from a young age.
Strong Emphasis on Innovation
St PETER’S SCHOOL introduces its curriculum to exciting subjects and projects such as Prompt Engineering, Nanoscience, and Artificial Intelligence. The school places a strong emphasis on innovation in its curriculum and regularly incorporates the perspectives and insights of experts from various fields, including science, technology, economics, and the humanities. To further this goal, the school has established an Innovation Committee, which meets regularly to provide ideas and advice on improving the educational curriculum. The committee plays a vital role in helping St PETER’S stay at the forefront of educational innovation and prepare its students for the challenges they will face in the near future. The school follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and methodology in all stages.
Bringing Nations Together
There is a diverse and international community at St PETER’S. The school has more than 40 different nationalities between its staff and families. For this reason, respect is the first principle that the school shares, respect for cultural and individual diversity.
Its program of inquiry includes diversity transdisciplinary, and the school organizes cultural and social events to promote it, such as International Day or Home Language Week. The school invites families to share their traditional and cultural backgrounds in class as a way of enriching the student’s learning and promoting open-mindedness. The school includes celebrations such as the Chinese New Year, Hanukah, or the end of Eid al Fitr.
Alums Striving on Global Map
St PETER’S notable alum Ariadna Farres (Class of 1999) has a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Barcelona. Specialized in astrodynamics and celestial mechanics, she has devoted part of her scientific career to the study of the use of solar sail for missions in the Earth-Sun system. Currently, she works with the Flight Dynamics team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as an expert on the impact solar radiation pressure has on Liberation point orbits and studying how to minimize the cost of station-keeping manoeuvres—collaborating with the James Webb Space Telescope and Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
She has recently participated in the Hypatia I mission, a female-led mission to the Mars Desert Research Station, in April 2023. The crew aims to advance Martian research, promote space exploration, and enhance scientific vocations. Before embarking on the mission, she offered a conference to St PETER’S MYP students.
Building a Safer Environment
The school has designed a Safe and Support Environment policy to ensure the student’s well-being. This includes a protocol against bullying and a plan of activities to promote a healthy and caring environment.
The school has an ambassadors and host families program to help the students and their parents integrate into the community. Additionally, the school offers a buddy and well-being program to ensure the student adjusts to the new school.
The school’s hub is growing stronger and more potent than ever for the upcoming academic year. The after-school programme features four hubs: the Sports Hub, the Thinkers Hub, the Language Hub, and the Creative Hub. Every activity has been planned to help kids and families succeed, find new interests and talents, participate in sports, learn new skills, and have fun. Activities are available for both kids and parents. For adults, Spanish and English are available at the Language Hub. The After-school Hub is accessible to all.
Prioritizing Technology
Science and Tech is one of the school’s main pillars in its curriculum. One of the standout features of St PETER’S SCHOOL is its Science Lab 06, which is the first laboratory for children ages 0-6 and encourages scientific curiosity from a young age, including early computer science. Technology is integrated transdisciplinary as a tool at the service of learning. Robotics, coding, artificial intelligence and blockchain are introduced in a variety of subjects from Primary to Middle Years.
It provides plenty of opportunities to be trained in IB curriculum, futures literacy, innovation and disruptive technologies, or specific content training according to the teacher’s specialization.
With an objective to facilitate building this connection, the school is committed to promoting face-to-face, multilingual activities that take students out of their comfort zone, inspire them to innovate and, above all, help them to feel safe and supported from the moment they decide to join the St PETER’S community.
Building a Stronger Community
The Community Project includes a program of social and family events throughout the academic year, a team of ambassadors and class hosts that help welcome new families and advise families in the process of relocating to Barcelona.
Knowledge Hub
The Knowledge Hub includes partnerships and collaboration with different institutions:
- St PETER’S collaborates with the organization Teach the Future in order to promote and encourage future literacy and foresight in the curriculum.
- It belongs to the Andorra and Catalonia IB Network and is an active part of their conferences, gatherings, and workshops.
- The Open Innovation Committee is composed of external experts in several leading-edge fields and staff representatives who will work together on a regular basis to improve its Curriculum. The Chair for this Committee is Xavier Ferràs, who is an expert in Innovation and currently teaches and conducts research on the subject at ESADE University.
- The University Program aims at building partnerships with national and international universities, thanks to one-to-one agreements or international projects such as Erasmus. Thanks to these partnerships, the school offers placements to national and international trainee teachers, and it takes part in different research and innovation projects.
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